Pulp Fiction discussion

Mr. Sanders was born in Brooklyn in 1920 and grew up in the Midwest. He graduated from Wabash College, in Indiana, in 1940, and served in the Marine Corps from 1943 to 1946. Before turning to fiction he spent 20 years in journalism, writing mainly for magazines.

He wrote his first novel, The Anderson Tapes, in 1970 at the age of 50, and in 1971 received the Edgar Award for best first novel. With The First Deadly Sin in 1973, Mr. Sanders hatched the sure-fire formula of crime, sex, violence, and moral highhandedness that would sustain his career. With McNally's Secret in 1992, Sanders began a series featuring private investigator, Archy McNally, and his misadventures in Palm Beach, Florida. The series continued through McNally's Gamble in 1997. Vincent Lardo took over the series, and wrote four more volumes after Sanders' death in 1998 at the age of 78.

Sanders books seem to be very popular. I’m already underway as my library had a copy I downloaded to my kindle.

I may have already read this first Archie McNally caper, being a Sanders fan long before joining Goodreads, but I don't remember much about the plot so I might revisit it

I read this one over the weekend which is rare for me. It's not that I loved it so much that I couldn't put it down, but it was very easy to read and I had a 5-hour cross country flight to visit my daughter, so I got some serious reading time in.

I will try not to spoil too much, but if you haven't read the book and don't want to know much about it then, as usual, avoid reading this post or any of the discussion until you're done.

This was my first by Sanders. It was easy to read. I would almost have called this a "cozy" except that there were no cats (I have never read a "cozy" so I may not know what I'm talking about here). There was a murder, but not until midway through the story. Sanders had a nice casual style with plenty of mild humor without the modern day "snark" that so many authors these days seem to rely upon. Also the font type was awfully large, and if not double-spaced then one-and-a-half spaced at least. I could almost have read it without my reading glasses.

The main character of Archy McNally was an amusing guy, sponging as he does off the family business as basically a glorified errand boy for his attorney Papa. Some reviews that I read seem to hate Archy, but I found him likeable and fairly clever. There were other interesting characters too; some were memorable but others were archetypal.

Early in the story I thought the plot was going to be kind of simple, but it turned out to be more complicated than I predicted. There were some parts that felt contrived, and the whole resolution was a bit too pat, but I didn't mind reading it.

"Didn't mind it:" that could be the tagline for my review. While the book was perfectly harmless and I will probably even try another in the series (eventually) I was also not blown away by it or anything. Fun books that this one are nice for a snack from time to time.

I've been mostly off the air...but I did read this, and enjoyed it. Be mindful that this not something I would have been drawn to, but as it's the group read, i'm a trooper. I'll read what's voted in.

McNally's Secret is actually a lot of fun. There is more humor than I anticipated. Archy McNally our lead Private Eye for his father's law firm, seems to be on the edge of hijinks, but manages to just be an observer. As RJ-Slayer of Trolls notes it's complicated enough. Many things are not so obvious (that's a good thing!) as we bumble along and the whodunnit is revealed.

A fine choice, Melki, in sending us to Florida.

Archy's kinda like your priggish, uppity nepo baby who was given some cushion allowance from mom and dad, but can hold his own with the likes of police department brass. The archetype of the Miata being his Rocinante traipsing him about South Florida adds to this "cute" character and Sanders does a fine job creating this character and story for a fun trip all around - even if it is predictable. Old man McNally, though, was too perfect, and in some ways reminded me of what my old man is like. Creeped me out a bit.

Very much enjoyed it. Late to the party bcuz I got it on Interlibrary Loan and it took about 5 weeks after the members poll finalized to come in.

I wouldn't call Sanders' writing elegant or extraordinary but he's a writer who makes the process look easy when it isn't. Everything rings true - no false notes to jar the flow.

I'm a big Elmore Leonard fan, and I felt some of that style here. I'll call Sanders an "Elmore Leonard-lite". Not in quality, but in the flavor of the action and the humor.

Brian wrote: "...I wouldn't call Sanders' writing elegant or extraordinary but he's a writer who makes the process look easy when it isn't. Everything rings true - no false notes to jar the flow.

I'm a big Elmore Leonard fan, and I felt some of that style here. I'll call Sanders an "Elmore Leonard-lite". Not in quality, but in the flavor of the action and the humor."

Great points, Brian, and I think I agree. I was also impressed with how easy Sanders made it look. And I do get the Elmore Leonard comparison in terms of the mixture of action and humor.

Thanks, RJ :)