The Far Side of the Dollar
A Lew Archer novel

In this admirable example of the Lew Archie series, a wealthy high school boy's search for his personal history precipitates crimes in the present as it dredges up the sins of the past. This book is filled with the hunger for fathers and fathering, and its tragedy is a consequence of fatherly failure......more

"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."This exchange seems to take on a partic......more

I simply love the way this man writes. Granted, he's glib, and pop, but he's very good at what he does. He nails people: She smiled, and I caught a glimpse of her life’s meaning. She cared for other people. Nobody cared for her. He catches those fleeting but profound emotions: She climbed down the lad......more

It seems that nearly every Ross Macdonald novel involves old family secrets rearing their ugly heads. But then Mozart pretty much used only 7 different notes per octave, so it's the execution that matters, not the tools. And this story of private investigator Lew Archer trying to unravel the apparen......more

I wonder if the big American cities of the 1940s and 1950s were really like that. If everyone knew everyone because that's sure the impression I'm getting from Ross Macdonald stories. But that's not something I dislike, just an observation. So onto the proper review. Did I mention how I missed readin......more