Fletch and the Widow Bradley

This 4th is probably my favorite Fletch novel, so far. Fletch is up to his usual antics, of course. However, in this installment, the focus mostly remains on the mystery that has directly affected him. When assigned to do a story on a small company, Fletch quoted the president, whose recent memos he had been shown. Once the article is published, though, Fletch is fired because that man has been dead for 6 to 12 months. As a journalist, Fletch can't stand that the evidence doesn't add up to what he knows to be true and so sets out to find the truth. I really enjoyed it.

't is feest waar men Fletch leest.
U weet het inmiddels wel: ik ben behoorlijk verknocht aan de non-chalante reporter van The News Tribune die constant in de clinch ligt met zijn meerderen (ditmaal hoort daar ontslag bij) en zich met zijn vlotte babbel in elke situatie overeind weet te houden.

Deze episode leest erg vlot, kent een strakke opbouw en een goed uitgewerkte plot. Die plot zal bij verschijning (zo'n 40 jaar geleden) wel wat heftiger aangekomen zijn dan bij de modale lezer van vandaag, maar dat doet het boek niets tekort.

Dikke vriendjes, die Fletch en ik. (Al weet ik niet of mijn dochter daarmee thuis moet komen

Chronologically, Fletch and the Widow Bradley precedes the original Fletch books although the author assumes you'll be clever enough to figure it out. Indeed, here, Fletch actually cares about losing his job. He has yet to acquire his villa on the Italian Riviera. Also of note is that, despite the appearance of Moxie in this story, there is no real connection with "Fletch's Moxie" which takes place chronologically years later after Moxie becomes a star.

This story takes us on a journey into the art of reporting and the difficulties one might encounter when one quotes recent memos of a long-dead CEO. Perhaps that small faux pas might piss the hell out of your publisher. But a good reporter is like a bulldog once he gets his teeth into show more something and that's just what is pulled off in this book. The pace might be a bit languid for someone used to lots of action, but what makes this one really work is that McDonald keeps a steady pace throughout as well as a singleminded focus. The one real tangent - Fletch's life as a sort of Mother Teresa type of Good Samaritan is a good foil against the main plot. show less

Very enjoyable, but light reading. Like all Fletch books I've read so far - some very funny, quirky bits tucked in alongside a decent investigation mystery. Fletch is fired from the paper for reporting on a business story and quoting the CEO who had been dead for over one year. But was he dead? or had he been murdered? Fletch tries to get his job back by getting to the bottom of the mystery. Wrapped up nicely and even though the book is over 30 years old (1981) - it isn't overly dated - which says quite a bit about the writing.

Pretty good Fletch episode, though this is the first in the series that might make you question the chronology of it all. For instance, this one (I'm guessing) seems to have taken place before the events of the first three, and after Fletch had at least one divorce behind him. Oh, well. Entertaining enough for me.

My husband and I listened to this together. We really enjoy the Fletch books. Lots of laughs and a good mystery, too. We were surprised by how ahead of his time Gregory McDonald was in writing this. Dan John Miller did a great job with the narration.

Fletch gets around and discovers a 2020s problem.
Doing a financial story Fletch quotes memos only to learn that the author was declared dead before they were written. Wandering through the puzzle presented by memos written after a man’s death Fletch travels all over the country to discover the truth.