It is time once again to dig into my bookshelf for a classic Bryan Moore book review. I don't do it as often as I should. OK, Bryan, cut the crap and get to it!
Tonight's entry: "Confess, Fletch". It is the second entry in the Fletch book series by the late Gregory McDonald and, for a change, not source material for a movie. Chronologically, it would be the 6th book in the Fletch series, as Mr. McDonald jumped around the Fletch timeline frequently during the 9-book series between 1974 and 1986. "Confess" was published in 1976. Personally, I believe this to be the best work in the series, with the original book coming in at a close second. This is due to two major characters instead of one.
The major character is Irwin Maurice Fletcher, known more colloquially as Fletch. An instinctual former reporter who previously came upon $3 million in the original novel, he is now a man of independent means, though by no means a tacky representative of the nouveau riche. He is greatly appreciative of fine art and respects the value of a dollar, having previously lived on a reporter's salary and owed 2 ex-wives back and front alimony.
That is his past life, and now he is in Boston searching for a vast, stolen art collection belonging to Italian count Clementi Arbogastes de Grassi, presumably kidnapped and murdered shortly before the book began. Fletch is also engaged to "Menti's" daughter Angela and is looking for the de Grassi collection on her behalf. There is one hitch to his search: in the apartment he has just rented is the slain naked body of a young woman. In the first of many great scenes, he calls the police business line instead of police emergency, as the emergency is over.
In comes the second major character, Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn, to investigate. He is Irish, a large-built man with a smaller head and a voice played like a soft woodwind. He is wry, quite intelligent, and a perfect match for Fletch's innately dodgy nature. He earns Fletch's respect quickly. Flynn is shown as a good man, a cop who solves cases on his own meticulous nature and time, never bowing to political pressure. He is also a firm but loving husband and father of 4.
Along with Flynn comes Sergeant Richard T. Whelan, who is dubbed "Grover" by Flynn throughout the book. Grover is a classic example of a hard-charging cop, preferring to arrest on circumstantial evidence and let the law take its course. He reminds me of Wojciehowitz on "Barney Miller". Flynn treats him as a necessary but unwanted presence. Grover's respect for him is even lower.
Throughout the book, Fletch, going under the moniker of Peter Fletcher (a ruse quickly uncovered by Flynn), is alternately trying to solve the woman's murder to get himself off the hook, as his fingerprints were the only ones on the murder weapon (a wine bottle), while also coming into contact with Professor Ronald Risom Horan, an arrogant art dealer whom Fletch almost immediately dislikes and suspects of having the de Grassi collection.
There are many other supporting characters adding much flavor to Fletch's world.
Angela de Grassi: Fletch's young fiancee who is determined to reclaim the de Grassi art collection in order to take care of her home and servants in Italy.
Sylvia de Grassi: Angela's stepmother, quite busty, 40ish, and hot-tempered. She is also determined to get the art collection, but mostly for herself. In the middle of the book, she "rapes" Fletch in order to curry favor with him. This scene is important because it re-establishes Fletch as a believer in free love.
Jack Saunders: An editor at the Boston Globe and Fletch's old boss from when they worked at a Chicago newspaper. He loves work more than his family, and calls Fletch in one late night to cover a series of fires. Fletch has a quick theory about the cause, which Flynn later disproves. This part does 2 things. One, it shows how good an investigator Fletch is, and two, it shows Flynn as a competent detective.
Bart Connors: The owner of the apartment Fletch is living at. Bart has taken residence in Fletch's home in Italy in turn through a homeswapping service. Connors is a middle-aged lawyer going through a painful divorce. He and Angela engage in coitus, showing Angela to be as liberated at Fletch. Bart is the singular focus of Fletch's suspicion of the woman's murder, Fletch believing that Bart killed her before leaving for Italy.
Lucy Connors: Bart's soon-to-be-ex-wife. A recently de-closeted lesbian, she has taken residence with her lover Marsha Hauptmann. Through a clever Fletch ruse, he learns that Lucy has a history of sexual violence and anger. She is another suspect of murder in Fletch's eyes.
Clay Robinson: The murder victim's fiance, he comes to confront and kill Fletch. Fletch quickly disarms and comforts Clay in his distraught grief. I like this scene because it shows Fletch as a compassionate understanding character, adding to his complex nature.
Over the course of the book, there are many funny and witty scenes as Fletch consistently loses his police tail, speaks with Flynn, and sets up the suspected art thief for a fall.
Probably the two best scenes are between Fletch and Flynn. In the first, Flynn makes a genuinely friendly visit to Fletch in order to get to know his number one suspect better. He cannot arrest Fletch until he has all of the evidence and there is just something about his suspect that makes him reluctant. in the same visit, Fletch (and we) learn that Flynn was a member of the Jugendfuhrer (Hitler youth) as a spy for the British government. The other scene is where Fletch visits Flynn's home near the airport. There he meets Elsbeth (Flynn's wife), Randy, Todd, Jennifer, and Winnie (Flynn's kids), and watches them perform a 40-minute concert of Beethoven music.
The murder case and art thievery are resolved at the end with a few twists and turns and a surprise at the end. I have read this book many times and enjoy it thoroughly each time. It is a great example of witty dialogue, the rival of Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels.
Highly recommended to all...if you can find a copy! Thank heaven for Amazon and used book stores!
No comments:
Post a Comment