It is late at night when Flynn is summoned by Jenny, his 13-year-old daughter, to a nearby cemetery. There, they find Billy, Jenny's boyfriend, with his ear nailed to a tree. Billy refused to say who nailed him to the tree, even if it costs him his ear. The following day, Flynn is sent to meet with the president of Harvard, who would like Flynn to investigate potential threats to an elderly professor. Flynn finds that the man, once a beloved academic, has somehow become a pariah. Moreover, threatening letters, phone calls, and even websites abound. What could be the cause of this? Lastly, a particular detective has an outstanding conviction record and yet the demographics of his arrests is 100% minorities. Peculiar.
Where previous Flynn novels have tackled monetary shenanigans (The Buck Passes Flynn) and the undeserved power of the rich and powerful (Flynn's In), this one explores the decline of academia, racism, and the first inklings of co-ed sports. The story of the Harvard professor involves both anger at his failure to retire (he's 76) and his clinging to old-fashioned thinking that Western Civilization is objectively better than those being promoted. Of note, the faculty is shown to break into little cliques based on their race, ethnicity, or age. This Balkanization of academia is viewed negatively. Clearly, McDonald preferred an earlier version of Harvard's faculty; it should be noted that Gregory McDonald attended Harvard. In another of the storylines, Flynn shows displeasure at co-ed sports, notably wrestling in this particular instance. Were McDonald still alive, one supposes he would be against transgenderism, at least as regards sports. Lastly, the corrupt cop proves to be a Nazi. Wow, subtle on the racism storyline!
Though better than the previous two entries, it has some serious problems. First, it takes place when it is written: the late 1990s. With Flynn's first appearance being in 1976. In the late 1990s, his daughter is still only 13. Hmm. Also, it is again mentioned how his parents were murdered by Nazis at the end of the war when he was 14. So, born in 1931, he would be in his late 60s by now. Yeah, I am reminded of comic book characters who never age. Bart Simpson has been in the 4th grade for more than 30 years. Second, the mysteries are not really mysteries. While investigating the nailed ear case, Flynn spoke to a person who knew the reasons but failed to offer them. The resolution for the Harvard professor was just as disappointing, the main culprit being unbelievable. As for the corrupt cop, good grief. Let's just stick a secret Nazi on the police force and have Flynn figure it out. Ugh.
The much-maligned Grover, Flynn's dull-witted assistant, has an opportunity to shine by attaching himself to the good professor. Yes, by the end, Flynn finds that there may be hope for Grover. This was a nice change of pace as I had grown tired of Grover the clown.
Having now read all the Flynn novels, I'd say that McDonald should have stuck with Fletch instead. Flynn was a terrific support character in Confess, Fletch, and would have been fun to see return as many other characters had. As the central character, he was not a particularly good detective, never lived up to his super spy hype, and all too often offered asides meant purely for the reader. He had to be surrounded by dullards to seem smart, which is exactly what happened.
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