MCNALLY'S DILEMMA

In his eighth Archy McNally adventure, master plotter Lawrence Sanders manipulates events so that seemingly unrelated cases meet head on. Adam Henderson's version of Archy McNally is smug and self-congratulatory as the private sleuth hobnobs with the Palm Beach set, for whom "conspicuous consumption is the rule, rather than the exception." Henderson's women sound as if they were dipped in treacle, and he turns McNally senior into the reincarnation of W. C. Fields (who would, no doubt, rather be in Philadelphia). However, the story is engrossing, and offers enough twists and surprises to keep the legions of faithful Sanders fans more than satisfied. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]