3013 Archer at Large: The Galton Case - The Chill - Black Money, by Ross Macdonald (read 19 Sep 1997) The first-named story, The Galton Case, is the author's first novel, published in 1944. It deals with a boy apparently pretending to be the grandson of a rich woman. Lew Archer ("I" in the book) is a detective of the hard-boiled kind. He has things work out for him, though he gets beat up. But most things work out, people confess, etc. The novel is easy to read, though his writing reminds one of pulp fiction. I enjoyed the novel but it is not literature. The Chill was one of the ten books included in "A Sleuth's Hall of Fame" published in Newsweek about 1985. It is a complex story, but it can be kept straight with attention. I was quite impressed by the work. Black Money tells an intricate story of three murders. The last few chapters explain all in an exciting way. But I thought the story moved dully at times. Of the three stories there is no doubt The Chill is the best one. ( )