The Chill

Start the year off with a bang! I had picked this up in a bookshop on a whim last month. I had never heard of the author nor the book, but the tagline referencing Hammett and Chandler meant I could not pass it up.

Fast-paced and well-plotted, with a resolution that had me yelping out loud in disbelief (in a good way!) I foresee more MacDonald in my future. And maybe more hardboiled private eyes too. I shall have to browse the Edgar list more carefully.

Aside 1: Has the golden age of hardboiled detectives passed already or are there some great modern ones? Did they just evolve into something new, like Scandinoir, which are much darker and intentionally uglier? Is it even possible in the internet age to have these sorts of gritty yet light, show more bantery run-arounds?

Aside 2: whilst I was reading this, my partner had been in the middle of his first Sue Grafton. Since it's been a couple of years since I wiki'd Grafton, I thought I'd brush up. And lo and behold in the opening paragraph: "she said the strongest influence on her crime novels was author Ross Macdonald." What synchronicity. show less

This gloomy whodunnit shows Macdonald's skill with plot and builds on the character of Archer, who has become more and more thoughtful in the years since the first book. Unfortunately, it's largely devoid of humor and the overall impression is one of more or less shabby people in a world falling apart. The core is a sordid family drama that takes a whole book to unravel - even Archer is clueless to solve it until the last few pages. I have to say that the solution is so intricate that I'm almost tempted to read the book over just to apply what I now know to scenes that were mysterious the first time. But my urge to wash my hands of all those sad, broken people is stronger.

A superbly well-written novel. The story starts off with private detective Lew Archer being engaged by one Alex Kincaid to track down his wife, Dolly, who has disappeared after the first day of their honeymoon. Normally Archer doesn't do simple domestic cases, but this case proves to be far from simple. The threads of the case extend 20 years into the past toward events that continue to have a significant impact on the present. The case takes Archer almost halfway across the United States and back again as he tracks down the people involved in those past events and figure out what they have to lose now. It's difficult to describe the plot without worrying about giving things away, but suffice to say that it will definitely keep you show more guessing.

I enjoyed this book very much. It's very much informed by the writing of Hammett and Chandler, but I found Macdonald's writing to flow a bit more smoothly than Chandler. Also Chandler has this tic of overloading the first quarter/third of his books with similes before finally settling down, whereas Macdonald is more creative in his descriptions. (Don't get me wrong, I like Chandler a lot too, but the simile thing really gets on my nerves for some reason.) And the plot is brilliantly twisted, always providing surprises. The pacing is just about right, too. All in all, I would recommend this one if you're starting with Macdonald. This one certainly has me hooked. show less

This may be the BEST detective novel I have ever read -- and that's on a list that includes Chandler and Hammett (as well as Spillane, Christie, Gardner, AC Doyle, and plenty of others). Three murders have been committed, stretched over the span of 20 years, and whether and how they are linked is just one of the questions that perplexes detective Lew Archer. The other is who, in a broad cast of characters, could have committed them.

This is a tale with adultery, blackmail, cons, and death. The writing is superb, with subtlety and wit, full of keen observations and penetrating insights. There is plenty of action, plot twists abound, and an atmosphere of suspense suffused the whole. And the ending is a shocker!

I had to go back and read show more this book a second time (something I almost never do) to put the clues together, and to see what I might have missed the first time. I recommend this book highly. show less

Right up there with the best of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Actually, Ross Macdonald was a better plotter than either of them, and the details of his complex storyline for The Chill interlock as magnificently as the stones of an Incan wall. If I have anything even remotely resembling a complaint, it's the fact that I would have enjoyed seeing Lew Archer, Macdonald's private eye, become a little more personally involved in the story; in sharp contrast to Chandler's Philip Marlowe (who invariably wound up throwing his heart and soul into the case he was working, whether he wanted to or not), Archer seemed to stand at an ironic distance, psychoanalyzing the other characters. But it's hard to find fault with such a dark, haunting show more tale so beautifully told, and The Chill may be recommended without reservation--not only to fans of crime fiction, but to fans of intelligent writing in general. I consider it one of the three essential hardboiled novels, along with Hammett's The Glass Key and Chandler's The Long Goodbye. show less

When I raced through all of Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer mysteries in the 1970’s I was just mesmerized – I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out who did it and how. This is the first book of his that I’ve reread since then, and now I appreciate his talent even more. Archer is a consummate detective, single-mindedly ferreting out the information he needs to solve the crime(s). Macdonald is such a master of pacing that the reader is propelled along with Archer as he does his legwork interviewing unlikely characters who have a piece or two of the puzzle. The dialogue is real, not stilted or artificial. Archer isn’t a wise-cracking tough guy like so many other PI’s of the time -- he’s human and humane. The other show more characters have their own voices and all seem to have secrets not easily uncovered.

I’ve read a lot of mysteries in my time, but I had no idea what strung the three murders in this book together until the final chapters. A terrific book. show less

"I could tell you things about that girl that would curl your hair."
"Go ahead. I've always wanted curly hair."

Dolly Kincaid, a young woman who witnessed her mother's murder as a child, has disappeared and Lew Archer is asked to find her. But it's not just a missing dame. Now there are bodies, complications, layers upon layers all making the situation... messy. Lew doesn't like it when someone puts the chill on, he wants the truth and he's going to get it.

This is actually the 11th Lew Archer book. I hadn't realized I was stepping into a series, and to be honest, I couldn't tell I was missing any critical data. But let me tell you what a gem I found in Ross MacDonald! The man is a fantastic stylist. Think Chandler and Hammett but back it show more off just a little. MacDonald is not quite as dark but he still has plenty of edge. "No more guns for you, I said. No more anything, Letitia." Archer is not as physical a detective as Spade or Marlowe. He may get sapped once, but he's really more of a man who knows how to get people to talk. "She rode for awhile in hunched and fearful silence, a thin, dry cricket of a woman who had lost her chirp."

While I was really captivated by MacDonald's style, I was a little lost in the overall plot. One murder can be complicated enough but three? Or four? (I admitted I was lost!) Pretty soon I just gave up trying to keep all the details straight and enjoyed the scenery. I'll probably get it on a second read-through - and I will be revisiting MacDonald, he's too good to pass up! show less