Book Description
When a young man is found dead in the pool of one of South Florida's most prominent citizens, Archy McNally rushes in to salvage reputations and solve the possible crime. But Palm Beach's rumor mill is already in overdrive. So is a killer who's just beginning.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
It's hard to beat Lawrence Sanders' wily and witty Archy McNally series. The not-quite-respectable son of one of Palm Beach's richer families, Archy (who didn't make it through Yale) squeaked into the family law firm as a discreet inquirer. (That's a private investigator who makes sure the firm's wealthy clients don't get their dirty laundry aired in public.) This time, Archy helps out ultra-rich Malcom MacNiff after a waiter has the poor taste to be murdered at a benefit organized by McNiff. When Archy isn't coming up with sound bites for MacNiff to feed the press, he's sifting through the guest list and questioning the hired help...and he soon starts wondering why the name of Lance Talbot keeps popping up. Talbot is new in town -- recently arrived from Switzerland to claim his late grandmother's fortune. Archy doesn't know much about this nouveau millionaire, and he's determined to change that. Since Talbot is keeping company with a much older (though still alluring) lady, checking him out includes looking into that relationship as well. Tracking down the truth about this enigmatic pair is interfering with Archy's social life. But if Lance is an imposter, it's Archy's job to discover that￯﾿ﾽand find a way to close this case without ending up on "Life Styles of the Rich and Dead." Talented mystery writer Vincent Lardo takes the engaging character invented by Lawrence Sanders on a tongue-in-cheek tour of Palm Beach high society, where money doesn't just talk -- sometimes it kills. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The dowager duchess of Palm Beach dies, leaving behind a fabulous fortune and a handsome young heir - and Archy McNally is left trying to figure out who's who." "When a young waiter working Malcolm "Nifty" MacNiff's annual Tennis Everyone! benefit is found dead in Nifty's otherwise pristine swimming pool, it's Archy McNally, south Florida's most famous Discreet Inquirer, who rushes in to salvage the town's reputation and solve the unfortunate crime. Palm Beach is already in a tizzy over the arrival of its newest millionaire, Lance Talbot, just in from Switzerland to claim his inheritance after the demise of his grandmother." Poor Jeff Rodgers has barely been pulled from the water when Palm Beach's rumor mill goes into overdrive. Why has Dennis Darling, crack reporter for Bare Facts magazine, descended on the fair island? Just how did handsome Lance escape the avalanche that took his mother's life, and brought him back to his Florida family? And just who is the alluring Baroness Holga von Brecht, the well-preserved woman on Lance's arm, whose ageless features have Palm Beach matrons lusting after her beauty secrets? When an old school chum of Holga's is made redundant, Archy works overtime to snare a double murderer.

FROM THE CRITICS

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