Oh, I don't know. It dragged on for me. It felt a little like imitation Hammett or Chandler. It seemed concocted. I can't decide if I liked the ending. I guess I prefer just rereading old Maigret stories. ( )

Start the year off with a bang! I had picked this up in a bookshop on a whim last month. I had never heard of the author nor the book, but the tagline referencing Hammett and Chandler meant I could not pass it up.

Fast-paced and well-plotted, with a resolution that had me yelping out loud in disbelief (in a good way!) I foresee more MacDonald in my future. And maybe more hardboiled private eyes too. I shall have to browse the Edgar list more carefully.

Aside 1: Has the golden age of hardboiled detectives passed already or are there some great modern ones? Did they just evolve into something new, like Scandinoir, which are much darker and intentionally uglier? Is it even possible in the internet age to have these sorts of gritty yet light, bantery run-arounds?

Aside 2: whilst I was reading this, my partner had been in the middle of his first Sue Grafton. Since it's been a couple of years since I wiki'd Grafton, I thought I'd brush up. And lo and behold in the opening paragraph: "she said the strongest influence on her crime novels was author Ross Macdonald." What synchronicity. ( )

One of the best of Macdonald's Lew Archer novels. My only complaint is that the characters became a little difficult to keep track of late in the book, but that may have been more due to my reading habits than to Macdonald. In any event, a wonderful entry in the series. ( )

El escalofrío nos trae nuevamente las aventuras del detective Lew Archer, en una novela donde la intriga y la tensión se resuelven con una verosimilitud pasmosa. La violencia se encuentra, para Ross Macdonald, entre los fundamentos de nuestra vida, y sus auténticas causas no pueden extirparse sin sacrificios.

Good Lew Archer story. Ultimately a convoluted tale of complex set of 3 murders 10 years apart. who is killing these people and how does it tie together? in the end through a remarkable plot twist, it all makes sense. However, remarkable plot twists are not really my thing, so while it is good- it didn't really do that much for me. The milieu was pacific point (California beach area) 1950s, though there are sidetrips to Reno and Chicago. ( )