Just Finished Reading: The Goodbye Look by Ross Macdonald (FP: 1969) [192pp] 

PI Lew Archer knew that the case didn’t feel right from the start. For one thing he’d been hired by the family lawyer rather than the family themselves. The husband didn’t even know he’d been called in to investigate things and the wife lied about why he was there. It wasn’t exactly the best way to build any kind of case. Then there was the ‘crime’ itself. A gold jewelry box had been ‘stolen’ while they were out of town. No break in and the safe had been opened with a key. The box had, according to the wife, purely sentimental value, despite being both old and gold. So, why all the fuss? Anyway, he was being paid to do a job and do it he would. But when almost everyone he talked to started lying to him he knew he’d have his work cut out. The most obvious ‘thief’ was the family's wayward son who had all too recently disappeared with an older woman, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend who just happened to be the lawyer's daughter. With those kinds of tangles right from the get-go Lew would need a sharp mind to cut through the lies and piles of BS coming his way. 

I’ve read a few Archer novels over the years, and they’ve always been fun. This was no exception. The writing style was very reminiscent of Raymond Chandler with sparse prose, a laconic detective who has seen it all and is only just on the right side of burn out. The situation he finds himself in is complex to say the least. There are around 6-8 main players he’s having to deal with as well as two separate mysteries from the past. All but one, as far as I can remember, of these players are lying to him to one extent or another mostly to hide their past. Uncovering these lies is how Lew opens the case interview by interview. As with the Chandler case style, Lew drives all over southern California tracking down leads and interviewing those involved whilst weighing up their stories against each other. It was interesting, to say the least, to watch Archer fit the case together. You could tell that something was ‘off’ but it wasn’t exactly easy to put your finger on what exactly that was. The suspect was almost revealed from minute one, but the mystery that drove the plot was WHY the box was stolen, who wanted it (and why) and what exactly was in it. Following that line (or lines) of inquiry is where the clues, red herrings, lies and revelations kept me guessing exactly what was going on right up to the final few pages. A mystery to savour for all detective fiction fans. Recommended if you can find a copy.