Archy McNally
14 primary works • 25 total works
Book 1
Book 2
From the Bestselling Author of McNally's Secret
It's hazy, hot and humid in the Palm Beach world of the rich and famous, but charming, sophisticated - and street smart - investigator Archibald McNally keeps his cool, solving discreet cases for a select group of posh clients.
Things start to sizzle when Archy is hired to locate Peaches, a stolen cat owned by a wealthy real estate developer. The case, which Archy expects to be a snap, is suddenly ignited by the tycoon's sultry wife and her stunning sister, a side-trip into the occult, and a series of unlucky events that lead to murder.
Bestselling author Lawrence Sanders introduced Archibald, the intrepid investigator, in McNally's Secret. Now he brings him back to debonair, oh-so-fashionable life in this fast-paced, witty tale of murder.
Book 3
A Murderous Maze of Sun-Drenched Scandal
When elegant, drop-dead gorgeous Theodosia Johnson steps ashore in Palm Beach, even the most jaded roving eyes stop to notice. Sophisticated champagne heir Chauncy Wilson Sackville-Hersforth is equally enchanted by this mysterious beauty, but when he proposes marriage to her, Chauncy's mother isn't nearly so impressed.
Archy McNally, the brilliant, blithe-spirited hero of McNally's Luck and McNally's Secret returns to unravel the puzzle surrounding Miss Johnson. However, he too falls under her romantic spell...and bodies begin to appear like uninvited guests at a poolside dinner party.
Shocking, swank, and more fun than a weekend in Palm beach, McNally's Risk is full of sure-fire suspense that only Lawrence Sanders can deliver.
Book 4
Book 5
Death is an ugly business.
As an investigator for his father's Palm Beach law firm, Archy McNally has discreetly handled scores of unusual cases for the firm's upscale clientele. But when Sunny Fogarty, the attractive comptroller for Whitcomb Funeral Homes, approaches McNally & Son to investigate an unexplained rise in her company's fortunes, Archy soon finds himself conducting a most peculiar investigation.
It seems that an inordinate amount of the dead bodies handled by the Whitcomb homes are being shipped north for burial. As Archy searches for an explanation, he is sucked into the Whitcomb family's internal power struggles while his relationship with Sunny takes on new steamy dimensions. Confronted on all sides by characters with questionable motives, Archy smells a connection to the seedy side of Palm Beach society, and he must unravel the mystery before the pile of corpses grows any higher.
With a colorful cast of characters and scintillating plot twists, "McNally's Trial" is another rollicking ride from the master of suspense.
Book 6
Book 7
Archy lives a life most people only dream about. As Chief of Discreet Inquiries at his father's white-shoe law firm, Archy keeps tabs on the rich and famous while keeping hours only a barfly could love. When well-to-do widow Edythe Westmore is urged to buy a Faberge Imperial egg, her adult offspring violently oppose the investment and enlist Archy's services to put the kibosh on the deal.
As he investigates the bona fides of the bejeweled trinket, mysterious machinations of the siblings, family advisors, and an aged antiques dealer are revealed, and Archy is thrust into a whirling vortex of greed, passion, and murder that even he must fight to rise above.
Mixing drama with highjinks, McNALLY'S GAMBLE is Lawrence Sanders's most delectable offering yet.
Book 8
Book 10
Book 10
Book 11
Book 11
Book 12
Book 13
When self-styled impresario and former human cannonball Matthew Hayes rents a luxury villa on Palm Beach's famed South Ocean Boulevard, the locals roll their eyes. But when he scuttles the traditional backyard accoutrements of swimming pool and tennis court in favor of a grand garden hedge maze modeled after the one at Hampton Court, the South Florida smart set can't wait for their invitations -- to the gala opening of the Amazin' Maze of Matthew Hayes.
The big night arrives and gasps of wonder and delight are replaced by those of horror, as Hayes's ladylove is discovered at the center of the maze, very dead indeed. The authorities are stumped, as Hayes's carnival background gives rise to a number of possible suspects. Or are there other forces -- and more devious minds -- at work? Hayes's flair for the dramatic only complicates a mystery that has more false leads than his Amazin' Maze. It's up to Archy McNally to see through the scam and catch a killer.
When the Palm Beach Community Theater needs a director for its Production of Arsenic and Old Lace, Archy tosses his megaphone into the ring. After all, Hollywood legend Desdemona Darling will lend her considerable talents to the production. While resident grande dame Lady Cynthia Horowitz wants a little of the spotlight to fall on her latest live-in hunk, Buzz Carr, she has no intention of letting Buzz rehearse all day with the actress, who, like Lady C, has made marriage a cottage industry.
For poor Archy, there's more drama backstage than onstage, and plenty of confusion everywhere, especially with the fuzzy-headed Binky Watrous serving as stage manager. When an actor takes a sip of prop wine and drops dead, the Palm Beach police suddenly take a special interest in the local theater scene.
In a play filled with murders, only Archy can separate the actors from the genuine article, and bring down the curtain on the latest and most enjoyable of McNally's follies.