Fletch
question
Fletch - best reading order
Mxyzptlk
Aug 19, 2011 07:15AM
I picked up a few of the Fletch novels at a recent book sale, and was curious what the preferred reading order of these books would be: to read them in the order they were written, or read them based on the chronological time line of the series. Any thoughts?
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I read the books in a sort of random order. They each stand alone fairly well.
I suggest reading them in order. Some important things happen to him in the last few books, and I think you care a lot more if you've read all the previous books.
Willard Brickey
No. I mean the order the books were written in. Because Fletch is continually fleshed out and developed as a character as McDonald kept going. I think
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I would read Fletch itself first. Fletch Won and Fletch Too wouldn't be as interesting without the setup from Fletch.
You didn't mention which of the Fletch books you bought, but assuming you have FLETCH and CONFESS, FLETCH, I'd start with them. They're the first two published, and the best of the lot. They're also both winners of Edgar Awards (from the Mystery Writers of America).
For my money, the next most entertaining one is the prequel FLETCH WON. And then the others in the series range from good to fine—as largely standalone novels—with CARIOCA FLETCH as the weakest entry. (But still worth a read, because it's the one that finally explains what happens right after the events of the first novel.)
For my money, the next most entertaining one is the prequel FLETCH WON. And then the others in the series range from good to fine—as largely standalone novels—with CARIOCA FLETCH as the weakest entry. (But still worth a read, because it's the one that finally explains what happens right after the events of the first novel.)
I believe that this is the series timeline:
Fletch Won (1985)
Fletch, Too (1986)
Fletch and the Widow Bradley (1981)
Fletch (1974)
Carioca Fletch (1984)
Confess, Fletch (1976)
Fletch's Fortune (1978)
Fletch's Moxie (1982)
Fletch and the Man Who (1983)
Am I correct?
Fletch Won (1985)
Fletch, Too (1986)
Fletch and the Widow Bradley (1981)
Fletch (1974)
Carioca Fletch (1984)
Confess, Fletch (1976)
Fletch's Fortune (1978)
Fletch's Moxie (1982)
Fletch and the Man Who (1983)
Am I correct?
I just realized that the prequel names are homophones for numerals (one & two). That's embarrassing!
