Archibald "Archy" McNally is a fictional character created by bestselling novelist Lawrence Sanders.
Thirty-six years of age when the series begins,[2]: 1 Archy lives in his parents' home (a "third floor suite: bedroom, sitting room, dressing room, bathroom"[2]: 11 ) and is the head (and sole member) of the firm's Discreet Inquiries department.
[2]: 4 Archy is employed as a private investigator for the firm's clients, often working in tandem with Sergeant Al Rogoff.
Expelled from Yale Law for a youthful indiscretation that involved streaking in a Richard Nixon mask,[2]: 4 Archy McNally is a self-described "bon vivant, dillettantish detective, and the only man in Palm Beach to wear white tie and tails to dinner at a Pizza Hut.
"[3]: 2 No cynical hardboiled dick, Archy (not "Arch," which is more adjective than name)[4]: 278 McNally drives a red Mazda Miata ("one of the first in South Florida"[2]: 5 ), stays in shape by swimming two miles along the Atlantic shore in the late afternoons[2]: 49 ), dresses per local custom ("this is South Florida, where everyone favors pastels")[2]: 2 ), favors frozen daiquiris "from the June solstice to the September equinox,"[3]: 3 ) and tries to limit his consumption of English Oval cigarettes[2]: 52 ) as he adds daily notes to his private journal[2]: 11 ).