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In The Chill a distraught young man hires private investigator Lew 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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Jonathan_M
Right up there with the best of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Actually, Ross Macdonald was a better plotter than either of them, and the details of his complex storyline for The Chill interlock as magnificently as the stones of an Incan wall. If I have anything even remotely resembling a
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complaint, it's the fact that I would have enjoyed seeing Lew Archer, Macdonald's private eye, become a little more personally involved in the story; in sharp contrast to Chandler's Philip Marlowe (who invariably wound up throwing his heart and soul into the case he was working, whether he wanted to or not), Archer seemed to stand at an ironic distance, psychoanalyzing the other characters. But it's hard to find fault with such a dark, haunting tale so beautifully told, and The Chill may be recommended without reservation--not only to fans of crime fiction, but to fans of intelligent writing in general. I consider it one of the three essential hardboiled novels, along with Hammett's The Glass Key and Chandler's The Long Goodbye. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinoReader
Ross Macdonald pulled it all together for this one. It has plot, character, scene and dialogue. For each of these elements, he does it but doesn't overdo it.
I don't know whether it is the best noir novel since Chandler et al. but it would be on a very short list for consideration. I had read some
My favorite quote, near the beginning of Chapter 14: "Kincaid was a frightened man who valued his status the way some previous generations valued their souls."
Also, regarding the same person: "The mark of organization was on him, like an invisible harness worn under his conservative gray suit."
About the Sheriff: "His voice had an administrative ring, and his manner had the heavy ease of a politician, poised between bullying and flattery."
There are about two of these to each chapter and also very good scene descriptions.
Lew Archer isn't Philip Marlowe and he doesn't need to be.
I don't know whether it is the best noir novel since Chandler et al. but it would be on a very short list for consideration. I had read some
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Macdonald before this and had a good opinion of him but this steps everything up several notches.My favorite quote, near the beginning of Chapter 14: "Kincaid was a frightened man who valued his status the way some previous generations valued their souls."
Also, regarding the same person: "The mark of organization was on him, like an invisible harness worn under his conservative gray suit."
About the Sheriff: "His voice had an administrative ring, and his manner had the heavy ease of a politician, poised between bullying and flattery."
There are about two of these to each chapter and also very good scene descriptions.
Lew Archer isn't Philip Marlowe and he doesn't need to be.
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LibraryThing member wdwilson3
When I raced through all of Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer mysteries in the 1970’s I was just mesmerized – I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out who did it and how. This is the first book of his that I’ve reread since then, and now I appreciate his talent even more. Archer is a
I’ve read a lot of mysteries in my time, but I had no idea what strung the three murders in this book together until the final chapters. A terrific book.
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consummate detective, single-mindedly ferreting out the information he needs to solve the crime(s). Macdonald is such a master of pacing that the reader is propelled along with Archer as he does his legwork interviewing unlikely characters who have a piece or two of the puzzle. The dialogue is real, not stilted or artificial. Archer isn’t a wise-cracking tough guy like so many other PI’s of the time -- he’s human and humane. The other characters have their own voices and all seem to have secrets not easily uncovered. I’ve read a lot of mysteries in my time, but I had no idea what strung the three murders in this book together until the final chapters. A terrific book.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
Excellent example of the gumshoe style of mystery. One aspect that I particularly like is the fact that the book is focused entirely on the mystery - no long passages about the detective's personal problems. I don't mean to imply that Lew Archer is one-dimensional but that he is a man who focuses
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on the job. This had plenty of twists and surprises but none that the author 'cheats' with - the reader learns about them when Archer does. Show Less
LibraryThing member eviexeris
Best Macdonald novel, characters and plot jell, labyrinthian without becoming tedious.
LibraryThing member mahallett
i was surprised at who done it. i read all of macdonalds 25 years ago . i loved him then. this one i listened to which is harder. i got a bit lost in the middle. i still think the thread with the police chief and his daughter could have been left out. it didn't add much. just a way for the girl to
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be in trouble in the present. i got mighty tired of the drunk police chief. the reader was excellent Show Less
LibraryThing member jastbrown
Boy!, you get your money's worth with this one.. twisting and turning from beginning to end. By this one Macdonald seems to have come completely out from under Chandler's shadow and is his own, highly readable, self!
LibraryThing member wildbill
This is my favorite Ross MacDonald/ Lew Archer book to date. I read it twice to get all of the details of the convoluted plot lines that begin with Archer being hired to locate the wife of Alex Kincaid who disappeared on the second day of their marriage. Archer locates Mrs. Kincaid quickly but then
In his investigation Archer encounters a college president whose healthy libido has created a trail of romances, marriages and divorces that are intertwined with the murders past and present. Mrs. Kincaid's aunt is a hard nosed, self righteous person who ruined several lives in a crusade to make sure that her idea of right triumphed. There is a well-meaning psychiatrist whose knowledge of events remains hidden behind his professional privilege. These are just few of the characters that are part of the multiple plot lines in the story.
Archer goes from one to another and the answers to his questions weave a plot that shows how basic human needs lead to bizarre situations. MacDonald's mysteries are written in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler which can sometimes turn into a formula with inherent limitations. We never learn anything of a personal nature about Lew Archer. The characters begin and end with their short parts in the story. It is the story that shines as the star of the show. The story told in this book is a fascinating tale that encourages the reader to go non-stop to the conclusion. All of the plot lines literally meet in a surprise ending. Beginning with the search for a lost wife MacDonald has artfully crafted an entertaining story that tells something larger about the human condition.
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there is a murder which creates another mystery for Archer to solve. Two murders from the past add more and more questions which send Archer to Brighton and Reno as the net of witnesses and suspects widen.In his investigation Archer encounters a college president whose healthy libido has created a trail of romances, marriages and divorces that are intertwined with the murders past and present. Mrs. Kincaid's aunt is a hard nosed, self righteous person who ruined several lives in a crusade to make sure that her idea of right triumphed. There is a well-meaning psychiatrist whose knowledge of events remains hidden behind his professional privilege. These are just few of the characters that are part of the multiple plot lines in the story.
Archer goes from one to another and the answers to his questions weave a plot that shows how basic human needs lead to bizarre situations. MacDonald's mysteries are written in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler which can sometimes turn into a formula with inherent limitations. We never learn anything of a personal nature about Lew Archer. The characters begin and end with their short parts in the story. It is the story that shines as the star of the show. The story told in this book is a fascinating tale that encourages the reader to go non-stop to the conclusion. All of the plot lines literally meet in a surprise ending. Beginning with the search for a lost wife MacDonald has artfully crafted an entertaining story that tells something larger about the human condition.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Ross MacDonald breathes life into another adventure of his detective, Lew Archer! Archer is hired to find out why a young newlywed leaves her husband and that leads him from one murder, to another, to a third! And Archer must discover how these three murders, some 22 years apart, are connected and
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he must find out before a fourth murder is committed! And let me tell you what, I did NOT see that ending coming, not by a long shot! So, for me, I did not know "who done it" until literally the second to last page of the book! And that's the way I like it!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
An excellent mystery, disturbing in its psychological implementations. Lots of red herrings. I only figured out the murderer because I'd read it before. Very well-rounded complex characterizations that rang true.
LibraryThing member sleahey
A hard-boiled detective story, another in the series about Lew Archer, this convoluted murder mystery is full of characters, connections, and red herrings. I confess both to being somewhat confused by the number of characters and also to being delightfully surprised by the ending, which I didn't
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see coming. Show Less