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Leslie's Reviews > The Chill
The Chill
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Excellent example of the gumshoe style of mystery. One aspect that I particularly like is the fact that the book is focused entirely on the mystery - no long passages about the detective's personal problems. I don't mean to imply that Lew Archer is one-dimensional but that he is a man who focuses on the job. This had plenty of twists and surprises but none that the author 'cheats' with - the reader learns about them when Archer does.
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William wrote: "I’ve had trouble with Macdonald. The Galton Case was pretty good until 3/4 through, but the Find A Victim was long-winded and confused, with some brilliant gems within. The ending of Find a Victim ..."I just recently read The Galton Case and I liked the twist at the end. This one was actually one of the first Archer books I read, then I decided to try to read them somewhat more in publication order.
But the world would be a dull place if we all agreed all the time!
William, agreed, "Find the Victim" the weakest MacDonald I've read. BUT, the title is literal. Every single person in the book is a victim in some way. Givien that all P.I.s play both sides of the law, here, everyone is innocent AND guilty AND are victims. It's an odd book, certainly.
Leslie, I though "Chill" excellent and you mention one point why: the author focuses on the mystery, not on Archer. Have you read Hammet's "Red Harvest"? Not only is the entire book about the mystery, the name of the narrator is never mentioned and you never know ANYTHING about the narrator, it's all about the story, which is one reason I love "Red Harvest" so much. There is a great Ellery Queen novel, "The Player on the Other Side" in which the reader knows more than the Father and Son Queen and that is a fascinating read also.
Have you read those? Is this superior?