Rating: 
Summary: A terrific book
Review: This is my first Ross MacDonald, and it won't be my last. I found The Zebra Striped Hearse to be an insightful, intriguing, tightly written page-turner. This story could easily have been twice as long in the hands of a more recent author in the genre; instead it packs a complex study of both people and crime into a package you'll want to read in a single sitting. One of the best detective stories I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good book, not only a Chandler lookalike
Review: When I first started that book, I was glad to be able to read another Marlowe story even though I had read them all before. It was Chandler without its cold humour. But after some pages I realized it was a true original novel and not only a copy of the master. I eventually enjoyed it, with its own style. The scenario is good, the character is interesting etc. I would recommend it to anybody that would like to read classical black novels.
Rating:
Summary: Only in California...
Review: Yeah, only in California are you likely to see a zebra striped hearse full of surfing teens. Although one of the important clues comes from the hearse, it doesn't really play that important a part in the story, but it's a symbol of the California lifestyle, especially the lifestyle of the teens & young adults. And this symbol has a bearing on the character especially of the young woman whose boy friend and potential husband Lew Archer is hired to investigate.Of course, you know that what appears to be a simple case for Archer is going to develop into a complicated skein of emotions and events including murder. You can also guess that there will be tragic overtones in the matter. Ross MacDonald is deservedly recognized as one of the elite of the hard boiled school. While there are resembances to Hammett, Chandler and even Parker to an extent, he is unique. While he presents you with a puzzle, he also makes you care for his characters. He may have you disliking and distrusting some of the characters such as the father and the boy friend in this book, and then have you caring in one way or another for them. If you haven't discovered Ross MacDonald yet, it's time you did. And if you have, you don't even need to be reading this review. (Although I'm glad you are)
Rating:
Summary: Only in California...
Review: Yeah, only in California are you likely to see a zebra striped hearse full of surfing teens. Although one of the important clues comes from the hearse, it doesn't really play that important a part in the story, but it's a symbol of the California lifestyle, especially the lifestyle of the teens & young adults. And this symbol has a bearing on the character especially of the young woman whose boy friend and potential husband Lew Archer is hired to investigate. Of course, you know that what appears to be a simple case for Archer is going to develop into a complicated skein of emotions and events including murder. You can also guess that there will be tragic overtones in the matter. Ross MacDonald is deservedly recognized as one of the elite of the hard boiled school. While there are resembances to Hammett, Chandler and even Parker to an extent, he is unique. While he presents you with a puzzle, he also makes you care for his characters. He may have you disliking and distrusting some of the characters such as the father and the boy friend in this book, and then have you caring in one way or another for them. If you haven't discovered Ross MacDonald yet, it's time you did. And if you have, you don't even need to be reading this review. (Although I'm glad you are)
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