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lgpiper's review
4.0
I really need to write down my thoughts and impressions about a book sooner than two months after having read the book. Whatever, this is pretty much classic noir, private-eye fiction. Ross Macdonald is a worth successor to Raymond Chandler.
So, Lew Archer is hired by John Truttwell, a lawyer, to help find a missing gold box that belonged to Truttwell's neighbors and friends, Larry and Irene Chalmers. It also appears that the Chalmers' son, Nick, is missing, and perhaps the gold box with him. There's much that the Chalmers don't want Archer to know, which, of course, hinders his investigation.
As Archer investigates, he untangles various weird relations from the past, a previous trauma Nick suffered as a child, which may impact the present, and so forth. Very tangled, very convoluted, and very engaging.
So, Lew Archer is hired by John Truttwell, a lawyer, to help find a missing gold box that belonged to Truttwell's neighbors and friends, Larry and Irene Chalmers. It also appears that the Chalmers' son, Nick, is missing, and perhaps the gold box with him. There's much that the Chalmers don't want Archer to know, which, of course, hinders his investigation.
As Archer investigates, he untangles various weird relations from the past, a previous trauma Nick suffered as a child, which may impact the present, and so forth. Very tangled, very convoluted, and very engaging.
demetra_'s review against another edition
3.0
"Το βλέμμα του αποχαιρετισμού" είναι ένα βιβλίο γεμάτο δράση, μυστήριο και αναπάντητα ερωτήματα. Ο συγγραφέας έχει καταφέρει να δημιουργήσει ήρωες με ψυχολογικό βάθος. Οι διάλογοι και οι σκηνές που εκτυλίσσονται τα γεγονότα έχουν θεατρικότητα που προσδίδουν ένα ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα στο μυθιστόρημα.
Το πρώτο μισό του βιβλίου το χαρακτηρίζω χαοτικό λόγω του πλήθους των προσώπων και των στοιχείων, όμως στο δεύτερο μισό η πλοκή σταδιακά οργανώνεται, έτσι ώστε να λυθεί το μυστήριο.
Το πρώτο μισό του βιβλίου το χαρακτηρίζω χαοτικό λόγω του πλήθους των προσώπων και των στοιχείων, όμως στο δεύτερο μισό η πλοκή σταδιακά οργανώνεται, έτσι ώστε να λυθεί το μυστήριο.
thatredyouknow's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
johnnyb1954's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Some of the main plot points here seemed exactly like something I’d read before - either a Perry Mason story or an earlier Lew Archer.
The story is very complex with several sets of parents, children and grandparents that are inter mixed. Names change and secrets abound. It’s fairly confusing.
The story is very complex with several sets of parents, children and grandparents that are inter mixed. Names change and secrets abound. It’s fairly confusing.
testpattern's review against another edition
4.0
Ross MacDonald weaves plot-line baroquery into something staggeringly gorgeous. Not one character is ever introduced who is ever what they seem, no one is not connected. Lew Archer is a unique PI character--hard-boiled, yes, and ready with a dry quip, of course, but sensitive, bleeding for the pain of the world.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It's rare for me to rate an Archer book below 4-stars but this one felt too familiar. It ticked off a lot of boxes on the Macdonald checklist but also relied too much on exposition to advance its convoluted plot. It's still an Archer book so the mystery is worth it but this is definitely one of Macdonald's lesser works.
markk's review
5.0
This was my first Ross Macdonald novel, and it's definitely not going to be my last. The plot was amazing, with Macdonald's merciful detective Lew Archer called in to investigate the theft of a gold box and the letters contained. What followed was an intricate tale of decades-old crimes, long-buried secrets, and innocent people caught in between. I finished the book with an appreciation for Macdonald's under-appreciated talent, one that deserves as wide an audience today as it had back in his own life.
raehink's review
3.0
A Lew Archer hard-boiled escapade set in southern California. Archer gets involved with the Chalmers family, ostensibly to investigate a theft, but in reality to solve a murder.