- Paperback: 183 pages
- Publisher: Bantam (1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553242687
- ISBN-13: 978-0553242683
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.7 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
The Barbarous Coast
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
the lew archer series of private eyes with a conscience continues with this excellent example of the genre. his recurring themes of loss, tristesse, past dark deeds catching up with the present, murderous innocents & innocent murderers, are all present & correct here. unhappy fortunes, disturbed youth & corruption in high social places are well mixed with some graphic casual violence & his trademark concern for the underdog. if you are already a fan of archer, you will not be disappointed, if you are not, why not?!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ross Macdonald once said that; "While I am not Lew Archer, Lew Archer is me". Macdonald went down to Santa Barbara's beach club most days, so it is hardly surprising that many of his complex plots begin in a beach or tennis club cabana, as does this absorbing tale of a missing wife, an unsolved murder and a crooked movie mogul. Macdonald's convincing narratives, resonant imagery, sparing use of language and pithy dialogue elevate the PI mystery to a high literary art, yet to be matched.
Format:Paperback
One of a series of crime stories based in and around Los Angeles featuring the private detective Lew Archer. A murder on the fringes of gangland leads to blackmail, intrigue and further deaths. The themes are all very adult, gory and risque for the 1950's but without being explicit.
The style is strongly verbal from the author with dialogue used as the driving force for plot development. The story unfolds over a very short time frame to the point that it sometimes felt both reader and characters were progressing in 'real' time.
My main reservation about this novel was Lew Archer as a hero because to me he was a blank canvas. Maybe this is down to the perennial problem of joining a series half way through but sadly I felt no empathy and no desire to read other novels by Mr Macdonald.
Overall it is a good, light, interesting read. Mr Macdonald writes about a very dirty world with dirty people doing dirty things but it all felt sanitised or censored in some way. It is a good crime story rather than a thriller and worth a positive three stars, bordering on four. The Vintage Crime/Black Lizard edition has excellent typeset, backing and cover design; would make quite a nice collectible series.
The style is strongly verbal from the author with dialogue used as the driving force for plot development. The story unfolds over a very short time frame to the point that it sometimes felt both reader and characters were progressing in 'real' time.
My main reservation about this novel was Lew Archer as a hero because to me he was a blank canvas. Maybe this is down to the perennial problem of joining a series half way through but sadly I felt no empathy and no desire to read other novels by Mr Macdonald.
Overall it is a good, light, interesting read. Mr Macdonald writes about a very dirty world with dirty people doing dirty things but it all felt sanitised or censored in some way. It is a good crime story rather than a thriller and worth a positive three stars, bordering on four. The Vintage Crime/Black Lizard edition has excellent typeset, backing and cover design; would make quite a nice collectible series.
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