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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I've reached a point in the series where the source of most missing persons cases Archer is hired to investigate is mired somewhere back in the missing person's childhood or issues with parents real or imagined.
This one unwinds slowly and MacDonald is cleverly deceitful to the reader leading you down one alley when-ooops- you're suddenly dragged into an unexpected dog-leg. I certainly had no idea where MacDonald was going with this.
Archer is hired by Dr. Sponti, the headmaster of Laguna Perdida -an exclusive pseudo-private school/detention center for troubled youth. One of his recent acquisitions, a Tom Hillman, got into a punching match with Mr. Patch, supervisor of the East Hall dormitories. Patch is a bit of a martinet and a pugilist who enjoys practicing up on racalcitrant "students".
After punching out young Tom Hillman for attempting to organize the teenage delinquents into pitching a riot over physical punishments being handed out, young Hillman escapes later on that same night. His trail can only lead south over the surrounding mountains to San Diego or back towards L. A.
Despite being requested not to do so, Archer leaves the "school" and pays a visit to the home of the parents of the missing teenager. Hillman refuses to be square with Archer, refusing to reveal little of the events that precipitated young Tom's incarceration-by-parent into Laguna Perdida
Archer will learn only that Tom had stolen the next-door neighbor's car, stayed out all night long, and then wrecked the car in a roll-over, the Hillmans and their neighbors both seem to feel the wreck was intentional. The next-door neighbors, once something approaching close-friends are no longer speaking to the Hillmans. The neighbors have a daughter Tom's age, Stella.
Stella proves to be Tom's only champion.
So the book continues to meander in a talky, soap-opera manner. It turns out that Tom is an accomplished piano player and without his parents' knowledge, he'd been slipping out on Sunday nights and playing with a Jazz combo in a rundown nightclub on the "bad" side of town... Oceanview. One of the members of the combo reveals that Tom's lately been seen with an older babe, an older lady on the glamorous but seedy side. The wise, former-junkie tried to give Tom a little fatherly advice but the kid refuses to discuss this new flame he's been seen with.
And then the anxious parents recieve a phone call. Tom's been kidnapped and the kidnappers want $25,000 ransom.
It's around about page 75 where the going gets hardboiled and the similes begin flying. Archer is sleuthing around a motor court and in one of the cabins discovers the body of the aforementioned blonde, beaten to death. Not a pretty site. Archer hears a car roll up outside the shabby little room the woman is lying in. Archer tries to get a jump on what turns out to be the woman's husband and gets his head stove in during a pistol-whipping.
This is the part where the novel really takes off. By page 87, Archer is back in L. A. searching for leads. Someone back at the sheriff's office in Oceanview (the doctor performing the autopsy>) suggests the dead woman had been strikingly atrractive before she set off on the hard side of life.
Archer has copies of photographs of the woman's battered face taken by the coroner post-mortem he intends to show around Hollywood.
The book rolls on in unexpected ways. A beautiful woman from Archer's past makes an appearance. I learned for the first time that although Archer's office is on the Strip, his actual home is somewhere in West L. A. This is my favorite part of the novel, Archer reminiscing on the Hollywood of the just post-War years, parts of his past coming back to him along with an old, aching throb of a lost love making her presence known in the present as he searches for leads on the dead woman. His former love invites him home to have a few drinks and discuss how she came to know the dead woman.
I'm tired of writing this review. This is one of my favorite Lew Archer entries. More is revealed about Lew Archer's private life than has been revealed in any of the other entries except for one earlier in the series. It's a hell of a story even if it bogs down in psycho-babble on occasion. It's the most Hitchcockian of all of the previous Archer entries.
This one unwinds slowly and MacDonald is cleverly deceitful to the reader leading you down one alley when-ooops- you're suddenly dragged into an unexpected dog-leg. I certainly had no idea where MacDonald was going with this.
Archer is hired by Dr. Sponti, the headmaster of Laguna Perdida -an exclusive pseudo-private school/detention center for troubled youth. One of his recent acquisitions, a Tom Hillman, got into a punching match with Mr. Patch, supervisor of the East Hall dormitories. Patch is a bit of a martinet and a pugilist who enjoys practicing up on racalcitrant "students".
After punching out young Tom Hillman for attempting to organize the teenage delinquents into pitching a riot over physical punishments being handed out, young Hillman escapes later on that same night. His trail can only lead south over the surrounding mountains to San Diego or back towards L. A.
Despite being requested not to do so, Archer leaves the "school" and pays a visit to the home of the parents of the missing teenager. Hillman refuses to be square with Archer, refusing to reveal little of the events that precipitated young Tom's incarceration-by-parent into Laguna Perdida
The past was very strong here, like an odor you couldn't quite place. It seemed to be built into the very shape of the house, with its heavy dark beams and thick walls and deep windows; it would almost force the owner of the house to feel like a feudal lord. But the role of hidalgo hung loosely on Hillman, like something borrowed for a costume party. He and his wife must have rattled around in the great house, even when the boy was there.
Archer will learn only that Tom had stolen the next-door neighbor's car, stayed out all night long, and then wrecked the car in a roll-over, the Hillmans and their neighbors both seem to feel the wreck was intentional. The next-door neighbors, once something approaching close-friends are no longer speaking to the Hillmans. The neighbors have a daughter Tom's age, Stella.
Stella proves to be Tom's only champion.
So the book continues to meander in a talky, soap-opera manner. It turns out that Tom is an accomplished piano player and without his parents' knowledge, he'd been slipping out on Sunday nights and playing with a Jazz combo in a rundown nightclub on the "bad" side of town... Oceanview. One of the members of the combo reveals that Tom's lately been seen with an older babe, an older lady on the glamorous but seedy side. The wise, former-junkie tried to give Tom a little fatherly advice but the kid refuses to discuss this new flame he's been seen with.
And then the anxious parents recieve a phone call. Tom's been kidnapped and the kidnappers want $25,000 ransom.
It's around about page 75 where the going gets hardboiled and the similes begin flying. Archer is sleuthing around a motor court and in one of the cabins discovers the body of the aforementioned blonde, beaten to death. Not a pretty site. Archer hears a car roll up outside the shabby little room the woman is lying in. Archer tries to get a jump on what turns out to be the woman's husband and gets his head stove in during a pistol-whipping.
This is the part where the novel really takes off. By page 87, Archer is back in L. A. searching for leads. Someone back at the sheriff's office in Oceanview (the doctor performing the autopsy>) suggests the dead woman had been strikingly atrractive before she set off on the hard side of life.
Archer has copies of photographs of the woman's battered face taken by the coroner post-mortem he intends to show around Hollywood.
I went from the station to the news room of the Hollywood Reporter. Most of the people at work there resented being shown such pictures. The ones who gave them an honest examination failed to indentify [her].
I tried a number of flesh peddlers along the Strip, with the same lack of success and the same effect. The photographs made me unpopular. These guys and dolls pursuing the rapid buck hated to be reminded of what was waiting on the far side of the last dollar. The violence of the woman's death only made it worse. It could happen to anybody, any time.
The book rolls on in unexpected ways. A beautiful woman from Archer's past makes an appearance. I learned for the first time that although Archer's office is on the Strip, his actual home is somewhere in West L. A. This is my favorite part of the novel, Archer reminiscing on the Hollywood of the just post-War years, parts of his past coming back to him along with an old, aching throb of a lost love making her presence known in the present as he searches for leads on the dead woman. His former love invites him home to have a few drinks and discuss how she came to know the dead woman.
Home was an apartment on Beverly Glen Boulevard. It had a mezzanine and a patio and African masks on the walls. She invited me to make us both a drink, and we sat and talked about Carol and then about Tom Hillman. She seemed to be very interested in Tom Hillman.
I was becoming interested in Sussana. Something about her dark intensity bit into me as deep as memory. Sitting close beside her, looking into her face, I began to ask myself whether, in my present physical and financial and moral condition, I could take on a woman with all those African masks.
I'm tired of writing this review. This is one of my favorite Lew Archer entries. More is revealed about Lew Archer's private life than has been revealed in any of the other entries except for one earlier in the series. It's a hell of a story even if it bogs down in psycho-babble on occasion. It's the most Hitchcockian of all of the previous Archer entries.
"...How can you possibly know so much about the details of other people's lives?"
"Other people's lives are my business."
"And your passion?"
"And my passion. And my obsession, too, I guess. I've never been able to see much in the world besides the people in it."
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one is a 3.5. It has the good qualities of the previous books, but a couple significant flaws.
One big piece of the mystery is dropped in clues early on. It seems the reader is expected to be surprised when Archer finally stumbled on it. The final reveal, though, was still a surprise to me.
The other problem is that the story relies heavily on the coincidence of connections between key characters in the book.
Archer of course gets concussed again. That’s at least 12 times in twelve cases. This is only the second time he goes to a hospital for it.
A love interest for Archer appears in this book. I hope she shows up in the next story.
One big piece of the mystery is dropped in clues early on. It seems the reader is expected to be surprised when Archer finally stumbled on it. The final reveal, though, was still a surprise to me.
The other problem is that the story relies heavily on the coincidence of connections between key characters in the book.
Archer of course gets concussed again. That’s at least 12 times in twelve cases. This is only the second time he goes to a hospital for it.
A love interest for Archer appears in this book. I hope she shows up in the next story.
Glad I came back to MacDonald. Lew Archer is good stuff for when you need more Philip Marlowe but you haven’t any more Marlowe.