The first Lew Archer novel I ever read was the first Lew
Archer novel
Macdonal ever wrote, *The Moving Target*. It's always held a
place in
my heart, particularly since the film version, *Harper*
("Lew Harper"
is "Lew Archer" spelled sideways) is one of my favorite PI
pictures.
I also like *The Zebra-Striped Hearse* (which reminds me,
there is a
Macdonald parody entitled "The Peppermint-Striped Goodbye,"
but I
can't remember the author's name). I think the Archer short
story
collection. *The Name is Archer*, and its expanded hardcover
edition
*Lew Archer - Private Investigator*, one of the best single
author
collections of PI short fiction ever assembled. Just as an
aside, the
very first Archer story in any medium, "Find the Woman," was
first
published in *EQMM* under Macdonald's real name, Kenneth
Millar. At
that time the character had a different name. Years later,
when it
was reprinted in the Archer collection, Macdonald changed
the
character's name to "Lew Archer," recalling Chandler's name
change of
his magazine characters, Carmady and Dalmas, to Marlowe in
*TSAM*.
Assuming you put any credence in awards, *The Wycherly
Woman*, *The
Zebra-Striped Hearse*, *The Chill*, and *The Far Side of the
Dollar*
were all Edgar nominees (and in my opinion, *Hearse* was far
superior
to the book that won that year, Ellis Peters's *Death &
the Joyful
Woman*). *Dollar* won the British Crime Writers Golden
Dagger for
Best Novel. - Jim Doherty
--UNS_gsauns2_3075085015--
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