Books I've read this week - McNally's Luck

I read McNally's Luck ©1992 by Lawrence Sanders last week. The story starts out with a cat-napping and Archy McNally is called to investigate. He works with his father, an attorney in Town of Palm Beach, doing undercover investigations. The rich owner of the cat, Harry Willigan, doesn't want the police involved so he asks Archy and his father to help. Archy finds things very suspicious when a neighbor, Lydia Gillsworth, receives threatening letters written on the same paper and in the same style as the cat ransom notes. Her husband, Roderick, comes to the McNally's when his wife says she isn't worried and won't involve the police. She should have been very worried as she soon turns up dead. Archy runs around flirting and making out with all the ladies while he and his police friend, Sergeant Rogoff, put together the clues and solve the crimes. Also involved is a medium who tries to help find the cat and the killer. The story had quite a few twists and turns.

I'm not sure what to think of this author. The writing style made me think the story was taking place in England in the beginning. Imagine my surprise a few pages later to find out it takes place in Florida. The story was written from the perspective of Archy. He was expelled from law school so he works as an investigator helping his father's clients. He's supposed to be a swinging batchelor even though he still lives at home. He drives a red Miata but is fascinated with out-landish clothes (PUCE berets?) and exotic foods. I hate stereotypes, but if he wasn't messing around with the ladies, I would have assumed he was gay. He also likes to use big words which don't really add anything to the story. (Like canard, misanthropic, dilettantish, pulchritude, dryads, osculations, and transmogrified) And at one point, he and a lady are on their way to dinner when a storm comes up. They continue to drive in the open convertible as the rain pours down. Now how believable is that?!