Rating: 
Summary: Darker Than You Think
Review: "The Chill" was recommended to me as Ross MacDonald's darkest book, and after finishing it one can confidently say it's hard to imagine a story with a bleaker conclusion. The author springs a gothic surprise ending that owes as much to late Alfred Hitchcock as Raymond Chandler. It's still stunning, but it must have really been a shocker back in 1963 when the novel was first published. Once again detective Lew Archer delves into a case that involves public corruption and private family dysfunction by the wealthy. It was Faulkner who said "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." I suppose that is the motto of most noir, and especially this one. You should read this immediately.
Rating:
Summary: Will exercise your mind keeping the plot straight.
Review: A well-woven plot that ties the present to the past. Not as good as "The Underground Man," another MacDonald book, but similar and still very well done. The writing style is hard-boiled, but literate. It comes to something of an abrubt end, but the lead-up juggles enough suspects, witnesses, and victims across a twenty year time-span to keep you entertained.
Rating:
Summary: Deservedly a classic.
Review: Along with Hammett, Cain and Chandler, Ross Macdonald is a pioneer of the literate mystery novel. In "The Chill" (written in 1963), Lew Archer has a missing persons case that leads to three murders committed over a twenty year period that he must tie together. There is plenty of action, twists, reversals and suspense throughout...adultery, cons, frame-ups, blackmail. The plot is complicated and complex; filled with plentiful characters (many with aliases). You have to pay attention and keep score. The ending is a major surprise. It is easy to see why it is among the IMBA's "100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century." Well worth a second read.
Rating: 
Summary: Written in longhand in spiral notebook in Santa Barbara.
Review: For those of us who keep going back again and again to read
the novels of Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell
Hammett, Ernest Hemingway and Peter Matthiessen, this is
without question one of the greatest works of that group.
Once Ross Macdonald (Ken Millar) broke through with the Galton Case,
every novel from then on formed one of the great canons of
American literature. The N.Y. Times Book Review had
The Underground Man as its front page review in 1970.
Well-deserved recongnition for a writer at his zenith.
What Conan Doyle was to London in its era, so is Ross Macdonald to
California in its era. A great writer on the edge of a culture.
The Chill stands with the Zebra-Striped Hearse and The
Underground Man alongside The Long Goodbye and The Big
Sleep as American writing at its very best.
To be an American (and a Californian) is to read these
books.
So subtle, so psychological, so empathetic, so hard.
Modern noir --- the epitome of great craftsmanship.
At the top of 5 stars. The very top. One of the proud
novels on the Knopf list.
Rating:
Summary: Written in longhand in spiral notebook in Santa Barbara.
Review: For those of us who keep going back again and again to read
the novels of Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell
Hammett, Ernest Hemingway and Peter Matthiessen, this is
without question one of the greatest works of that group. Once Ross Macdonald (Ken Millar) broke through with the Galton Case, every novel from then on formed one of the great canons of
American literature. The N.Y. Times Book Review had
The Underground Man as its front page review in 1970.
Well-deserved recongnition for a writer at his zenith.
What Conan Doyle was to London in its era, so is Ross Macdonald to
California in its era. A great writer on the edge of a culture.
The Chill stands with the Zebra-Striped Hearse and The
Underground Man alongside The Long Goodbye and The Big
Sleep as American writing at its very best.
To be an American (and a Californian) is to read these
books.
So subtle, so psychological, so empathetic, so hard.
Modern noir --- the epitome of great craftsmanship.
At the top of 5 stars. The very top. One of the proud
novels on the Knopf list.
Rating:
Summary: You have to like the genre
Review: I guessed the ending about 3/4 way through. I didn't find it very shocking or plausible (no chills here), but the narrative was stylish and enjoyable. Don't speed through it (like I did), the journey is more interesting than the conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Three Murders, Beautifully Organized
Review: I just reread this book (after first reading it in 1982) to see if my recollection of it being one of the best detective novels I have ever read holds up. I still think it's great. Lew Archer discovers how three murders reaching from the present into the past tie together. The book illustrates Ross Macdonald's fascination with the idea that the past is never past and that guilt from the past stains the present in unexpected and insidious ways. Chapter 12 has a great extended scene of Archer questioning a suspect and examining the room where years ago a murder was witnessed. Every detail belongs: even the deep pink carpeting, the hidden copy of TRUE ROMANCE, and the trite mottos embroidered the the framed needlepoint reveal the personality of the house's owner who prefers to avoid the present and its many complexities. A sensitive, intelligent book
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I picked this book up from a friend. My edition was copyrighted in 1963. This is a great pure mystery. Pay close attention to the characters you will be surprised how this book ends. If you love to read a good mystery (who dun it) this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I picked this book up from a friend. My edition was copyrighted in 1963. This is a great pure mystery. Pay close attention to the characters you will be surprised how this book ends. If you love to read a good mystery (who dun it) this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Sensational, intricately plotted thriller!
Review: I've been catching up on crime and mystery masters recently (Cain, Thompson, Chandler, John D. MacDonald, etc.). This is the first Ross MacDonald novel I've read and it certainly won't be the last. I can't remember reading a better, more satisfying mystery. MacDonald ties together numerous,seemingly disparate threads from across generations and geographic distances in a startling and ultimately believable way. Wonderfully written, richly nuanced.
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