>> If we're only going to read one Archer,
I'd
>> recommend
>> THE NAME IS ARCHER/LEW ARCHER - P.I., one of
the
>> best
>> private eye short story collections ever. If it
has
>> to be a novel, why not the first, THE MOVING
TARGET,
>> which was the basis for the biggest PI film of
the
>> '60's, HARPER? If it has to be post-GALTON,
I'd
>> personally choose THE ZEBRA-STRIPED HEARSE, but
I've
>> heard that Macdonald himself once said that
he
>> regarded BLACK MONEY as his best
effort.
>>
>
> I'd personally go with THE CHILL, which I think is
a
> nice working out of the MacDonald formula,
although
> ZEBRA is good, as is BLACK MONEY. They're all
pretty
> decent -- yet strangely hard to distinguish.
Although
> people overstate it, in a way it's true what they
say,
> if you've read one post GALTON you really have
read
> them all.
>
> That doesn't mean they're bad, at all, but they
are
> very highbrow-formulaic.
>
> MOVING TARGET is a fun book but reads like what it
is,
> a Chandler imitation, and doesn't really have much
to
> do with MacDonald as a fully developed
writer.
I'd like to chime in and add my vote for BLACK MONEY, for
three reasons. First, I've read all of the others you mention
above. I agree that (in my opinion) THE CHILL is the best, or
at least my favorite. Second, I've got a copy of BLACK MONEY,
so no need to hunt for one. Third, this conversation nudged
me to get it off the bookshelf and start it. I'm on page 22
and it's terrific, so I'm thinking I won't be putting it down
any time soon. So for me, that's a perfect storm of reasons
to vote for it!
All the Best-
Brian Thornton
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