The Chill
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season271 pages, about 5 hours: four-fifths the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbPrivate eye Lew Archer is hired by a young husband to find his bride, who vanished hours into their honeymoon.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesOne review ranks Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and Chandler’s The Big Sleep, both on the shelf, above it.
The case for it
on the writing style
“it’s not as showy, but more precise, and his books are much more tightly plotted”
a book blog on the female characters
“the female characters are as well-constructed as the male ones”
a book blog on family conflict
“honing his craft as he explores the themes of family conflict and disturbed minds”
a book blog on the cast of characters
“MacDonald is great at making each of them believable”
five stars · a book blog
The case against
on the multitude of names
“very difficult to keep track of the multitude of names”
a book blog on the dialogue
“some of the worst cardboard dialogue I’ve ever heard”
a book blog on Alex Kincaid
“he is also something of a jerk”
a book blog on the crowded cast
“One really does need a scorecard to read this densely written and populated book”
a book blog
