Ross Macdonald Books

Come and join Bucket Boy and the whole Twistwood gang as they live their lives in the forest. Travel through a magical land and meet an enchanting cast of smart, snarky, and sweet characters from the popular webcomic, Twistwood Tales.

With its roots in the American private-detective fiction of the 1920s but traceable back as far as Sherlock Holmes, the private-eye story remains as popular as ever. Here are thirty of the finest short novels and stories from the hardboiled world of the private eye. The characters in this collection range from the tough, cynical, hard-drinking Philip Marlowe type to hard-hitting female sleuths and the one-armed intellectual Dan Fortune. This collection features old favorites and new contributions from masters of the genre, past and present, including Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, Michael Collins, Ed McBain, William Campbell Gault, and many more.

MYSTERY Includes the following stories: Find the woman Gone girl The bearded lady The suicide Guilt-edged blonde The sinister habit Wild goose chase Midnight blue Sleeping dog

In The Chill a distraught young man hires Archer to track down his runaway bride. But no sooner has he found Dolly Kincaid than Archer finds himself entangled in two murders, one twenty years old, the other so recent that the blood is still wet. What ensues is a detective novel of nerve-racking suspense, desperately believable characters, and one of the most intricate plots ever spun by an American crime writer. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

As a mysterious fire rages through an affluent community in Southern California, Lew Archer tracks a missing--and possibly kidnapped--child and uncovers and entire secret history of wayward parents, wounded offspring, and murder. Along with its merciless suspense, The Underground Man possesses a moral vision as complex as that of a classic Greek tragedy.

When Lew Archer is hired to find Phoebe Wycherly, he uncovers plenty of suspects, from a blackmailing realtor to Phoebe's mother, an eerily unmaternal blonde who keeps too many residences, has too many secrets, and leaves too many corpses in her wake. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

In The Goodbye Look, Lew Archer is hired to investigate a burglary at the mission-style mansion of Irene and Larry Chalmers. The prime suspect, their son Nick, has a talent for disappearing, and the Chalmerses are a family with money and memories to burn. As Archer zeros in on Nick, he discovers a troubled blonde, a stash of wartime letters, a mysterious hobo. Then a stiff turns up in a car on an empty beach. And Nick turns up with a Colt .45. In The Goodbye Look, Ross Macdonald delves into the world of the rich and the troubled and reveals that the past has a deadly way of catching up to the present. If any writer can be said to have inherited the mantle of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, it is Ross Macdonald. Between the late 1940s and his death in 1983, he gave the American crime novel a psychological depth and moral complexity that his pre-decessors had only hinted at. And in the character of Lew Archer, Macdonald redefined the private eye as a roving conscience who walks the treacherous frontier between criminal guilt and human sin.

No matter what cases private eye Lew Archer takes on—a burglary, a runaway, or a disappeared person—the trail always leads to tangled family secrets and murder. Widely considered the heir to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Archer dug up secrets and bodies in and around Los Angeles. Here, The Archer Files collects all the Lew Archer short stories ever published, along with thirteen unpublished “case notes” and a fascinating biographical profile of Archer by Edgar Award finalist Tom Nolan. Ross Macdonald’s signature staccato prose is the real star throughout this collection, which is both a perfect introduction for the newcomer and a must-have for the Macdonald aficionado.

In Sleeping Beauty, Lew Archer finds himself the confidant of a wealthy, violent family with a load of trouble on their hands--including an oil spill, a missing girl, a lethal dose of Nembutal, a six-figure ransom, and a stranger afloat, face down, off a private beach. Here is Ross Macdonald's masterful tale of buried memories, the consequences of arrogance, and the anguished relations between parents and their children. Riveting, gritty, tautly written, Sleeping Beauty is crime fiction at its best. If any writer can be said to have inherited the mantle of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, it is Ross Macdonald. Between the late 1940s and his death in 1983, he gave the American crime novel a psychological depth and moral complexity that his pre-decessors had only hinted at. And in the character of Lew Archer, Macdonald redefined the private eye as a roving conscience who walks the treacherous frontier between criminal guilt and human sin.

Access is the most complex and intimidating application in Microsoft Office. This book helps you learn how to design complete databases, maintain them, search for valuable nuggets of information, and build attractive forms for quick-and-easy data entry. It lets you discover the pre-built databases which can be customized to fit your needs.

The plot follows private investigator Lew Archer as he searches for Galatea, the daughter of Mrs. Samuel Lawrence, who has disappeared with a violent gangster. As Archer navigates through the gritty underbelly of California, from San Francisco to Palm Springs, he uncovers a world filled with drugs, crime, and deception. The story explores themes of hidden darkness behind seemingly innocent facades, revealing that appearances can be deceiving. This gripping tale is a standout entry in the Lew Archer series, showcasing classic noir elements.

Lawrence Block offers a comprehensive exploration of the craft of writing fiction through a collection of insightful essays. Drawing from his extensive experience as a four-time Edgar Award winner, he delves into various aspects of storytelling, character development, and the writing process. This collection serves as both a guide for aspiring writers and a reflection on the nuances of creating compelling narratives, making it an essential read for anyone interested in the art of fiction.

'The new crime and espionage series from Penguin Classics makes for a mouth-watering prospect' Daily Telegraph Maude Slocum is in trouble. But luckily trouble is Investigator Lew Archer's business. A well-dressed, wealthy woman has arrived at Archer's L.A. office, having intercepted a poison pen letter accusing her of adultery. Reluctantly agreeing to help her find the culprit, he dives into the Slocums' moneyed, oil-rich California world. But when Maude's mother-in-law is found dead in the swimming pool, secrets come to the surface too. For the urbane, world-weary Archer, a case of blackmail soon becomes murder.

Private detective Lew Archer is hired by a mysterious woman to locate her former housekeeper and recover pieces of stolen jewelry

Silken skin pale against dark hair, red lips provocatively smiling at him—that’s how Lieutenant Bret Taylor remembered Lorraine. He was drunk when he married her, stone cold sober when he found her dead. Out on the sunlit streets of L.A. walked the man—her lover, her killer—who had been with her that fatal night. Taylor intended to find him. And when he did, the gun in his pocket would provide the quickest kind of justice. But first Taylor had to find something else: an elusive memory so powerful it drove him down three terrifying roads toward self-destruction—grief, ecstasty, and death.

Crime fiction master Raymond Chandler's final novel featuring Philip Marlowe, the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times). In noir master Raymond Chandler's Playback, Philip Marlowe is hired by an influential lawyer he's never heard of to tail a gorgeous redhead, but then decides he'd rather help out the redhead. She's been acquitted of her alcoholic husband's murder, but her father-in-law prefers not to take the court's word for it. "Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence:" -- Ross Macdonald

Almost twenty years have passed since Anthony Galton disappeared, along with a suspiciously streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of his family's fortune. Now Anthony's mother wants him back and has hired Lew Archer to find him. What turns up is a headless skeleton, a boy who claims to be Galton's son, and a con game whose stakes are so high that someone is still willing to kill for them. Devious and poetic, The Galton Case displays MacDonald at the pinnacle of his form.

Over 30 merry pompom designs inside to decorate your home, adorn your gifts and give as presents to loved ones on the special day

"Set in Southern California, [this novel] takes Lew Archer in search of a girl who jackknifed too suddenly from high diving to high living, and leads him to an ex-fighter with an unexplained movie contract, a big-time gambler with a producer for a cover, the ghost of an eighteen-year-old girl whose murder was never solved, and finally to an answer he would rather not have known." -- From dust jacket

He was a son who hadn't known his father very well. It was a town shaken by a grisly murder--his father's murder. Johnny Weatherly was home from a war and wandering. When he found out that his father had been assassinated on a street corner and that his father's seductive young wife had inherited a fortune, he started knocking on doors. The doors came open, and Johnny stepped into a world of gamblers, whores, drug-dealers, and blackmailers, a place in which his father had once moved freely. Now Johnny Weatherly was going to solve this murder--by pitting his rage, his courage, and his lost illusions against the brutal underworld that has overtaken his hometown.

The desert air is hot with sex and betrayal, death and madness and only Archer can make sense of a killer who makes murder a work of art. Finding a purloined portrait of a leggy blonde was supposed to be an easy paycheck for Detective Lew Archer, but that was before the bodies began piling up. Suddenly, Archer find himself smack in the middle of a decades-long mystery of a brilliant artist who walked into the desert and simply disappeared. He left behind a bevy of muses, molls, dolls, and dames-each one scrambling for what they thought was rightfully theirs. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

Shrouded in mystery and rich with history, Alcatraz draws over a million visitors each year. This enlightening volume provides the first complete history of Alcatraz told through its architecture. In friendly illustrations and accessible text, authors Donald MacDonald and Ira Nadel reveal the design decisions that have shaped the island from its first brick and masonry fortress to the infamous concrete cellblock, to the landscape design of its contemporary gardens and bird sanctuaries. Packed with intriguing facts throughout, this little treasure allows an unprecedented glimpse into the life of the island. In a lovely cloth-bound package, this is an eminently giftable book and an entertaining look at one of the nation's most visited destinations

Erin lives an idyllic life by the seaside with her baby boy and Australian fiancé. She's upbeat and happy - a natural mum. At least that's what her thousands of followers on Instagram think. In reality, Erin is struggling with anxiety and finding it difficult to connect with her screaming son. So, when an agent offers to make her the biggest Instamum out there, she can't refuse. And when Amanda, a family friend who's visiting from Australia, says she'll move in and babysit to help make it happen, it seems like the stars have finally aligned for Erin's exciting new career. But there's something Amanda isn't telling her. Something that will destroy Erin's carefully curated persona online.

Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshipping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain; the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping. As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints where you get beaten up between sets, The Moving Target blends sex, greed, and family hatred into an explosively readable crime novel.

This book explores the varied and unusual prop work of movie and TV graphic prop designer Ross MacDonald. MacDonald's prop work for film and TV is explored through an interview by Steven Heller, a photographic essay on his work on National Treasure, and a collection of his work (building and designing the physical pieces as well as the graphic ones) divided into categories including books, cards and letters, and documents, such as maps and legal papers. This book includes many of his most popular props for movies and shows such as Silver Linings Playbook, National Treasure, Baby's Day Out, Boardwalk, The Knick, Parks and Rec, and many, many more.

It's 1945. Ensign Sam Drake attends a party on his last night stationed in Hawaii and meets the woman of his dreams. But before the night is out, her best friend is dead in an upstairs room at the party. It appears to be suicide.The next day Sam starts his leave before receiving a new post. He returns to his home town of Detroit, and decides to check into a connection there between the dead woman and a radical group of black activists. Another death quickly follows and Sam finds himself on a cross-country adventure, haunted by dangerous characters everywhere he turns.

The team behind Disney-Hyperion backlist favorites 7 Ate 9 and The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City is back with a race to find all the missing clocks in town!

When rich boy Peter Jamieson's fiancee suddenly breaks their engagement, Peter hires private detective Lew Archer to investigate the woman's mysterious French lover

Naomi seems to have everything. A beautiful daughter, a gorgeous house, a perfect life. Behind the scenes, though, she and her husband are drifting from one another and struggling to conceive their second child. Then Naomi meets a parent at her daughter's nursery. Sean understands her, or so she thinks. Looking for a connection, for a friend, Naomi makes a terrible mistake. Weeks later, when Naomi attempts to contact Sean, he has disappeared without a trace. But it becomes clear that someone else knows her secret. Someone who wants to make sure she never forgets what she did. A twisting, addictive thriller about desire and deceit, perfect for fans of Apple Tree Yard, Blood Orange and Our House

Kabul 2005: the body of Waheed, a UN agency driver, is found in a vehicle riddled with bullet holes. Gil Moncrief searches for Waheed's killer in a city of intrigue and insecurity. In the centre of it all is a small plastic figure of Elvis that dangles from the windscreen; the key to unmasking the killer.

Four complete novels (Dick Francis' Enquiry, Agatha Christie's What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!, Kenneth Fearing's The Big Clock, and Ross Mcdonald's The Far Side of the Dollar), eleven stories, and a novella.

Eigentlich hatte man Lew Archer nur auf Colonel Blackwells ungeliebten Schwiegersohn in spe angesetzt. Doch kaum beginnt er zu ermitteln, stößt er auf eine heiße Spur, welche über verschiedene Leichen bis nach Mexiko und zurück nach Malibu führt. Dabei kreuzt ein als Fun Car genutzter Leichenwagen immer wieder Archers Weg. Sixties, Surfkultur und Generationenkonflikt sorgen für Spannungen und für Spannung.

Die junge Phoebe Wycherly verschwindet spurlos. Ist es Mord? Selbstmord? Oder ist sie nur untergetaucht? Lew Archer wird beauftragt, sie zu suchen. Doch wie immer macht er sich unbeliebt. Denn er stochert da herum, wo er nicht sollte: in Phoebes Familie. Und jemand versucht mit allen Mitteln zu verhindern, dass Archer fündig wird.

Eine sonderbare Frau bittet Privatdetektiv Lew Archer überstürzt um Hilfe. Der Detektiv soll einen Gerichtsprozeß mitverfogen, in dem Glenway Cave Mord an seiner Ehefrau vorgeworfen wird. Vieles bleibt undurchsichtig: Warum rückt der Angeklagte Cave nicht mit seinem Alibi heraus? Warum möchte die mysteriöse Frau nicht als Zeugin auftreten? Drei spannende Krimis um den berühmten Privatdetektiv Lew Archer.

Ralph Sampson, un ricco petroliere che si è fatto da solo, come molti milionari californiani ama frequentare personaggi stravaganti. Per esempio Claude, santone alla guida di una setta di adoratori del sole, a cui Sampson ha regalato un'intera montagna. Oppure Fay Estabrook, una ex stella del cinema in declino, che si diletta di astrologia. E quando Sampson sparisce e si sospetta un rapimento, a sua moglie Elaine non rimane altro che assumere un investigatare privato: Lew Archer. Ma la ricerca dell'uomo, apparentemente svanito nel nulla, costringerà Archer a fare la conoscenza della famiglia Sampson e del suo entourage.

Jamie Johnson, vier Jahre alt, wird vermisst, nachdem er mit dem Chauffeur Fred Miner gesehen wurde, der wegen seiner Vergangenheit verdächtig ist. Ein Erpresserbrief fordert 50.000 Dollar für das Kind. Während Freds Frau an seine Unschuld glaubt, hat Howard Cross, der Bewährungshelfer, Zweifel und entdeckt Hinweise, die zu einem Toten führen.

Zeugin auf der Flucht (Gone Girl) Spiel auf dem Floß (Find the Woman) Die Nackte mit dem Vollbart (The Bearded Lady) Einer lügt immer (The Suicide)

Kurz nachdem Lew Archer den Auftrag angenommen hat, den verschwundenen Tom Hillman ins Internat zurückzubringen, erscheint Toms Vater verstört auf dem Schulgelände. Er sei gerade erpreßt worden. Bei der Suche nach dem Jungen und den Ermittlungen gegen dessen Entführer erweisen sich die wohlhabenden Eltern eigenartigerweise nicht als besonders kooperativ.

Ein Anhalter stirbt im Krankenhaus, ohne das Bewusstsein wiederzuerlangen. Die Toten und Zeugen schweigen, und die Spuren führen ins Nichts. Nur einer, der nicht betroffen ist, stellt die längst überfälligen Fragen.

Eines Nachts taucht Carl Hallman bei Detektiv Lew Archer auf: Er ist aus einer Irrenanstalt ausgebrochen und erklärt, er sei überhaupt nicht verrückt. Als Archer ihn überreden will, zunächst dorthin zurückzukehren, schlägt Hallman ihn nieder und verschwindet mit seinem Auto. Lew Archer geht der Geschichte nach und entdeckt allmählich mehr und mehr Ungereimtheiten in der Hallman-Familie.

La señora Galton, anciana, viuda y rica, necesita encontrar a su hijo desaparecido veinte años atrás. Al detective Lew Archer, el encargo le parece, en principio, un interesante asunto de familia, pero ciertas complicaciones, como un mayordomo asesinado, un esqueleto sin cabeza o, incluso, una disuasoria paliza sufrida en sus propias carnes, le llevan a pensar que la gran herencia de los Galton tiene demasiados aspirantes y que éstos no tienen escrúpulos.

A sus 60 años, el detective Lew Archer ya no es lo que se dice un hombre de acción. Sus armas son la escucha, la inteligencia y la sensibilidad. El caso que ha de resolver con tan sosegadas técnicas gira en torno a un cuadro robado –el retrato de una hermosa mujer–, pero lo que le interesa realmente es comprender la complejidad de los conflictos humanos.

El detective Lew Archer recibe el encargo de investigar el origen de una carta difamato-ria dirigida a una millonaria relacionada con el negocio del petróleo. Archer se desplaza hasta su mansión, al sur de California, para iniciar la investigación, pero pronto el rumbo de los acontecimientos empeora notablemente: la septuagenaria matriarca aparece flotando bocabajo en su piscina. Archer deberá dilucidar entonces no solo el motivo de la misteriosa carta, sino el móvil de un asesinato que podría involucrar a toda la familia de la víctima. Un enrarecido trasfondo de intereses económicos, envidias y oscuros secretos familiares hará que el detective deba implicarse al máximo para llegar al fondo del asunto sin dejarse la piel en el intento.

Auf dem Weg nach Sacramento findet Privatdetektiv Archer am Rand des Highways einen angeschossenen Anhalter, der kurz darauf tot zusammenbricht. Bis der Fall geklärt ist, hängt Archer in Las Cruces fest, wo jeder jeden kennt und niemand alles sagt, was er weiß. Alkohol und Drogenschmuggel, Gangs und Banküberfälle. Die Ereignisse überschlagen sich, und unter der Oberfläche schwelen alte Konflikte: In dieser Kleinstadt ist jeder ein Verdächtiger und jeder ein Opfer.

Selon une recette éprouvée et peut-être éprouvante pour ceux qui ont lu la plupart des aventures de Lew Archer, une singulière histoire qui plaira à ceux qui ne connaissent pas l'auteur.

Que fait un jeune marié dont la femme disparaît le lendemain de leurs noces ? Il s'affole, alerte la police - qui, naturellement, lui rit au nez - et finit par engager un détective. C'est ainsi qu'Alex Kincaid charge Lee Archer de retrouver sa jeune épouse. Une fois encore, Archer répond à la mission définie par son créateur : " Il incarne l'homme moderne dans la société technologique. Un homme sans foyer, virtuellement sans amis, qui essaie de se comporter comme si l'espoir était encore possible dans cette société. C'est une figure de transition entre un monde en décomposition et celui qui s'annonce. "

Dvě detektivky proslulého autora se odehrávají v prostředí kalifornských naftových magnátů a zbohatlíků. V prvním románu řeší soukromý detektiv Lew Archer případ záhadného zmizení dcery majitele naftových polí, ve druhém tentýž hrdina pátrá po minulosti mladého umělce, který má na svědomí nejméně jednu vraždu. Fakta, která v obou případech vyjdou najevo, jednoznačně obviňují lidi, kteří měli celý život dostatek peněz, ale málo lásky a pochopení pro vlastní děti.

Kniha obsahuje tři příběhy: Zamrazení – Rub dolaru – Pohřešovaný.

Povídková kniha: Hledejte ženu. Mizející Fern. Vousatá dáma. Potápěčův úlovek. Blondýna s leopardím pláštěm. Neblahý návyk. Na falešné stopě. Půlnoční modř. Ztracený pes. Z anglického originálu Lew Archer Private Investigator, vydaného nakladatelstvím Mysterious Press, New York, 1977 přeložil J. Z. Novák. Předmluvu napsal Ross Macdonald, Santa Barbara, 24.listopadu 1976. Vydání první. Edice Kobra, svazek 7 ( v knize uvedeno stejné pořadí 7 jako v knize "F jako finta" S.Graftonová).