Everyone's favorite playboy-turned-sleuth, Archy McNally, is back on the Palm Beach circuit. This time, he's investigating the deathstyles of the rich and famous--in particular, a strange increase in business at the posh funeral homes owned by the wealthy Whitcomb clan. There seem to be more caskets than corpses more family secrets than family members--and more private eyes than meet the eye. Because now, Archy has a new sidekick. His name is Binky, and what he knows about sex, sin, and scandal could barely stuff an olive. But Archy doesn't mind revealing the tricks of his trade. Especially when it comes to sex, sin, and scandal...

from penguinputnam.com

Here is the fifth outing for Archibald "Archy" McNally, the playboy son of and private investigator for prestigious Palm Beach attorney Prescott McNally. This time, Archy is befuddled by what is really being shipped north in caskets by a prominent mortuary. Almost any mystery reader will have figured out the answer by the middle of chapter five, but the fun here isn't in the plot; it's in Archy's descriptions of life among the monied classes. Whether he is describing the sumptuous meals served at least twice a day in the McNally manse or the joys of tooling around southern Florida in a fire-engine-red Miata, Archy demonstrates such an eye for the telling detail and such obvious joie de vivre that the reader can only be amused by his upper-crust ostentation. The novel also boasts a delightful assembly of supporting characters, especially Archy's pal, the totally dissolute, utterly inept would-be detective Binky Watrous. A pleasant diversion from the best-selling author of the Ten Commandments mystery series.

from Booklist, January 15, 1995

As an investigator for his father's Palm Beach law firm, Archy McNally has discreetly handled scores of unusual cases for the firm's upscale clientele. But when Sunny Fogarty, the attractive comptroller for Whitcomb Funeral Homes, approaches McNally & Son to investigate an unexplained rise in her company's fortunes, Archy soon finds himself conducting a most peculiar investigation. It seems that an inordinate amount of the dead bodies handled by the Whitcomb homes are being shipped north for burial. As Archy searches for an explanation, he is sucked into the Whitcomb family's internal power struggles while his relationship with Sunny takes on new steamy dimensions. Confronted on all sides by characters with questionable motives, Archy smells a connection to the seedy side of Palm Beach society, and he must unravel the mystery before the pile of corpses grows any higher. With a colorful cast of characters and scintillating plot twists, McNally's Trial is another rollicking ride from the master of suspense.

Synopsis: Everyone's favorite playboy-turned-sleuth, Archy McNally, is back in Palm Beach. This time, he's investigating the deathstyles of the rich and famous--in particular, a strange increase in business at the posh funeral homes owned by the wealthy Whitcomb clan. There seem to be more caskets than corpses and more family secrets than family members.

from amazon.com