Fletch Reflected

Jack has only just finished his story on the Tribe (Son of Fletch) for GCN when he gets a call from an old flame.  Shana is engaged to Chet Radleigh, son of famed inventor Dr. Chester Radleigh.  Dr. Radleigh has an immense estate in Georgia called Vindemia, where he has created an idyllic setting for his family.  However, someone is trying to kill him.  Shana invites Jack to investigate.  Having soured on GCN, Jack heads to Georgia and gets a job at the estate.

Meanwhile, Fletch retrieves Jack's mother from the fraudulent weight loss clinic and drives her from Wisconsin to Wyoming.  He plans to deposit her with a man who trains boxers.  On the road, he often chats with Jack to learn the latest events and offer sage advice.

The Radleighs are the standard dysfunctional family in a Fletch novel.  With the exception of Shana and the doctor's mother-in-law, everyone expresses bitterness toward Dr. Radleigh.  Shana believes that Dr. Radleigh's four children are responsible for the multiple attempts on his life.  There is the oldest, Amy, who has been thrice married and has 7 kids, Chet the Phi Beta Kappa law student who is being groomed for politics, Alixis the nymphomaniac actress, and Duncan the racecar enthusiast.  Doctor Radleigh's wife is a walking case of depression.  Even the employees speak ill of Dr. Radleigh.  There will be no shortage of suspects if a murder is successful.

The storyline with Fletch driving the morbidly obese Crystal across the country is often a lesson on weight control.  It was funny when Crystal suggested that Fletch write a book on the subject since this book offers lots of pop-psychology on the topic.  Meh.  The whole thread of Fletch & Crystal across America is weak and generally not believable.

Jack is a pale reflection of his father.  Where Fletch would cleverly insert himself into social situations and pump people for knowledge, Jack just openly pries.  There's nothing subtle in his questioning.  Mostly, everyone just spills their guts when he's around.  Let's air our dirty laundry with this new anonymous employee.  Some of that is played as the ignore-the-help snobbery of elites but quite often he is poking his nose where lowly servants ought not.

In the end, most of the mysteries that littered the story are not resolved.  The conclusion is disappointing, having comically bad events with a descent into madness.  Not to ruin it, but it has one of those Murder on the Orient Express villains, i.e., everyone did it.  It is not surprising that this was the conclusion to the Fletch series.

Skip this one.