Flynn's In

Flynn #3

by Gregory McDonald

When it comes to crime, Boston Police Inspector and part-time intelligence agent, Francis Xavier Flynn is no stranger to the bizarre, the perverse, or the ridiculous. But when he is suddenly summoned by Police Commissioner D’Esopo to a secret wilderness compound far outside of their jurisdiction, he is a little surprised to find himself the hostage of a secret club of the nation’s most powerful and peculiar. Famous for his irreverent methods and razor sharp intellect, Flynn is forced to conduct a clandestine murder investigation. But before one murder is even solved, membership at the Rod and Gun Club continues to drop.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Humor, Detective, Audiobook, Thriller

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very dissapointing. I turned to this book for a dose of light, unbelievable Flynn entertainment and came up empty. The lightness of touch is missing for the most part, the characters are interchangeable cardboard, and the "twist" ending unconvincing and dissatisfying. McDonald carefully set up Flynn's character and habits in the previous 2 books, only to ignore his mysterious parent organisation and his own abilities, leaving him floundering in a sea of jello. Flynn is less music-hall Irish than in the last book, but the wit is mostly gone too. The only nicely-crafted bit is how the chess game reflects the game that is being played (badly) around Flynn and his hapless non-efforts to investigate.

Published in 1984, it reflects the fascination of the time with documentaries about "secret societies" and clubs where the powerful make decisions that affect us all--think Skull and Bones, think Illuminati, think some people's ideas of the Masonic organisations. (My parents belonged to several of those, and made us kids join the kids' groups. It consisted mostly of prancing around in formal clothes and sitting through endless meetings on village-beautifying projects, car wash fundraisers, and the burger booth at the county fair, with cake and punch for afters. Oh, and then the young were expected to go do the actual physical work. Riveting stuff.) The thing is, Flynn is not "in"--he is most definitely an outsider, and doesn't even use his secret-spy training to help him out.

Two of the rich guys have weird habits: one is a cross-dresser who is more White Queen than Queen of the Night, the other goes around naked all the time (in midwinter). But even so, it was hard to keep straight who was who. There was a strong smell of Christie's And Then There Were None in the first half of the book, but McDonald couldn't pull it off and opted for a cheap stuck-on denouement. If it had been a film I'd have thought they were over budget and way over schedule.

I'd like to have my three hours back, please.

[Andy Rausch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gregory McDonald's novels were more about hanging out with colorful, chatty characters than they were the plots. This particular book finds his Flynn character in the middle of an Agatha Christie-like mystery where different characters keep getting bumped off in a single location. I wasn't particularly fond of the plot or it's handling, but Flynn's gift of gab keeps the book entertaining. There's also an Easter egg in the brief appearance by Senator Craxton Wheeler, who plays a prominent role in one of McDonald's Fletch novels.

[Regula Tamás]

Mert rohad… Mert az egész demokrácia egy nagy átverés, és valójában csak egy maréknyi hataloméhes csoport ármánykodása.
Körülbelül erre kellett volna rájönnie az olvasónak… https://hajokoffer.blog.hu/2020/06/26...

[C. Scott Kippen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a variant on the locked-room mystery. It is written very well (as is common for McDonald), and the character of Flynn is interesting (if not irritating at times). The mystery is not bad, but not particularly compelling. A fine read, but nothing special.

[Edward Champion · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a particularly depressing period in Gregory Mcdonald's career. This is probably his worst book. The "mystery" -- so to speak -- is terrible. Flynn, who was so much fun in CONFESS, FLETCH and the first Flynn novel, is completely stripped of his eccentricities. Mcdonald seems to have forgotten that this was a man who had his two sons start a fight to find an underground organization and who had been part of the Hitler Youth. Here, he's just a generic detective for a generic novel. And not even the dialogue here is good. Mcdonald wrote far too many books in the early 1980s and it's clear he was more of a mercenary writer at this point. Which is truly sad. Because, at the top of his game, he was brilliant, right up there with Westlake/Stark.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a weird book. I really liked the first Flynn novel (and his initial appearance in Confess, Fletch). I really didn't like the second Flynn novel. So I approached this one with some trepidation. And for a while it was okay. Nothing special. Kind of a generic mystery, but unoffending. But it completely fell apart in the third act. Just...bleh. And then, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Flynn was an interesting character. He was different than the run-of-the-mill cop or P.I. But then McDonald either forgot that or just stopped caring. Dude seriously wrote three pretty darn fine books, created a couple of fun characters and then went to hell in a handbasket.

So read Fletch, Confess, Fletch, and Flynn. Then write McDonald off as a flash in the pan. You're welcome.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as much fun as the earlier Flynn books but still a bit of a treat. It’s like an old fashioned English country house ‘whodunnit’ but set in a USA country retreat (the Rod and a Gun Club) for senior politicians and media leaders (movers and shakers). It’s pretty bleak about American politicians and ‘leaders’ but I suspect rather too accurate. Flynn is not his usual smart self in this book though, so if you are a fan be warned, he makes some errors. But his humanity remains characteristically present.

[Ken Stewart]

SPOILERS!!! Let me ask, as I seem to have missed it, when was it mentioned that Hewitt had taken possession of kerosene. It seemed to me (as I mentioned, I apparently missed it) like Flynn just asked Cocky the question about why Hewitt would need kerosene out of the blue, then, BAM! mystery solved.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another typical Flynn story as the reluctant Inspector investigates a death at the prestigious and secretive Rod and Gun Club. It becomes clear before the twist who did it, but the wordplay keeps the fun going throughout.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flynn novels tend to be conspiracy theoryish, but they're fun mysteries.

[Peter Karlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fletch fans, don’t forget about Flynn.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flynn investigates a death at a private hunting club of powerful men. A sort of low-level Bohemian Grove.

[John Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story although it came to kind of an abrup0t conclusion in terms of who the actual cuplrit ended up being. Still, it was entertaining.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. I have already purchased others in the series.

[Josh Newhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best and parts have not aged well… the ending is cynical and sour and a little unsatisfying… but it’s still Gregory McDonald!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting a little more interesting with this one

[Tim Berntsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Steven M. Durben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

It’s enjoyable read. I’m glad that McDonald gave Flynn his own spin off series. I really enjoyed the character on Confess Fletch.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is tough to rate, but is something like a 3.5 star book for me.

McDonald created a great character with Flynn and provided him with one of the most earnest and ridiculous backstories imaginable. He then created three worlds for him to live in and populated each world with equally interesting characters. I could read 10 books about Flynn and his family. I could read 10 books about Flynn and his dubious role in the Boston P.D. I could probably read 3-4 books about his work with No Name…more if it reduced the level of campiness. But, here's the deal. We only get Flynn at his best with Confess, Fletch and a reasonable funny/tragic appearance in Flynn, but then he becomes too much for a single book. The next two books just cannot capture all the sides of Flynn and they can't keep up with all the important side characters. Fletch has important recurring characters, but he doesn't rely on them in the same way. Flynn is part of three larger overlapping worlds and a single book can't fit all of them. Basically, McDonald created too great of a character.

Anyway, this is a enjoyable quick romp with a wink and nod to characters that play a bigger role in Fletch's stories. I enjoyed it for the Who is Figuring Things Out, but really didn't care of about the Whodunit part. When that was finally revealed, I realized that I hadn't paid much attention to that character, but also didn't care enough about the plot part to go back and pull pieces together. I was there to spend time with Flynn not actually keep both eyes on the plot.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the "The Buck Passes Flynn" and loved it. One of the best Biker Bar scenes I've ever read is to be found in the pages of that little detective book. So far, I'm 125 pages into Flynn's In, and though its not a bad book, it isn't as fun as "The Buck..."

Okay - finished up my second Flynn book - this one was okay - until the end of chapter 36. The way the bad guy gets apprehended was truly unique and, well, moving too. (And maybe I like corny sentimentality too.) But how can you ask for more than that from a dime detective novel? One thing memorable seems pretty good to me. Anyway, this Flynn book was much better taken as a whole (at the end I kinda went "wow") than as a simple narrative broken down into smaller chapters. I'll read more Flynn adventures.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admittedly, I am a Fletch fan but feel that Mcdonald's zippy dialogue is better suited to that franchise. This offering, featuring the otherwise fascinating Flynn character, feels a bit aswim when coupled with Mcdonald's exuberant style.

[Mhd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this character and how he interacts with those around him. Be sure to read this series in order!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the others but enjoyable. It spoke too much of the fktupd society we live in.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the better ones.