Gregory Mcdonald: Flynn's World (USA 2004)

From the Publisher:
When Boston Police Inspector Francis Xavier Flynn's barely adolescent daughter asks him to rescue her friend Billy from the cemetery, where he's been fastened to a tree by a nail through his earlobe, the good inspector is pretty sure there's something more behind what at first seems like a bully's prank. And he's convinced there is more than mischief involved in the hateful threats against distinguished Harvard professor Louis Loveson. If that weren't enough to keep Flynn busy, there's Lieutenant John Kurt, whose very impressive arrest record follows some very disturbing patterns. In Flynn's World, two-time Edgar Award-winner Gregory Mcdonald's dogged detective confronts intolerance in all its guises, and sheds light on more than one dark secret.

F.X. Flynn made his first appearance in Confess, Fletch, where he matched wits with the inimitable Irwin Fletcher. Since then he has befuddled, bemused, amazed, and infuriated his colleagues on the Boston Police force as he has pursued international terrorists, blackmailers, murderers, embezzlers, politicians, and, occasionally, his fellow policemen -- all while doing his regular job.

Gregory Mcdonald: Flynn's World. Vintage Books, ISBN: 0375713581 (July, 2004), 210 p., $12.00.

Gregory Mcdonald: Flynn's World (USA 2003)

From the Publisher:
From one of the world's best-selling and most entertaining mystery writers comes a beguiling new novel starring the beloved Inspector Flynn.
Boston police inspector Francis Xavier Flynn is in for a tough day. He has hardly gotten a wink of sleep, due to a marathon bout of detective work. His daughter, Jenny, drags him to a cemetery, where her best friend is nailed to a tree by his ear. Unfortunately, the boy refuses to reveal who did it or why. Next, Flynn hears that his incompetent sidekick, Grover, has convinced the police chief to fire him -- again. And then Flynn finds out that a local cop has developed a tendency to pursue and arrest the wrong people -- based only on the color of their skin. Dealing with the infuriating, befuddled, and intolerant Boston police force is enough to keep him more than busy, but someone even more powerful than the chief of police wants Flynn to forget everything else and concentrate on discovering who is threatening a certain Harvard professor.

With startling wit, deft characterization, and insightful social commentary, Flynn's World is a masterpiece of mystery and a complete joy to read.

Gregory Mcdonald: Flynn's World. Pantheon Books, ISBN: 0375422366 (June, 2003), 210 p., $23.00.