Ross MacDonald- The Moving Target (1949)
This is the first of the Lew Archer books—-a detective series that eventually stretched to 18 novels and 3 short story collections. The series was popular during its run (from 1946, when the character first appeared in the story “Find the Woman,” to 1976, when the final installment “The Blue Hammer” was published) and inspired two movies starring Paul Newman, who had Archer’s name changed to Harper for some superstitious voodoo attachment to the letter H. The series seemingly did not benefit from the pulp revival of the 90s, perhaps because the books are not as shocking or as seemingly amphetamine fueled as some of the other 40s and 50s crime fiction unearthed by the Black Lizard imprint (by writers such as David Goodis and Jim Thompson.) However, there are now Black Lizard Quality Paperback editions available for most of the series.
I first heard of Ross MacDonald (pseudonym of Kenneth Millar) when reading either an essay or interview with Joan Didion, who praised the Archer books. I can see why Didion responded to the writing—-its moody evocation of the Southern California desert is quite similar to what can be found in her early work.
MacDonald was an heir to Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled, simile-heavy style, though his characters feel more organic and believable, though “The Moving Target” at times feels cluttered with characters—-so many low-lives, bookies, failed actresses and religious charlatans blew through I felt like I’d picked up a James Ellroy book by mistake.
The case concerns a kidnapped millionaire of questionable morality. Strike breaking and voyeurism are among his vices. His damaged family doesn’t seem as concerned as they should be, and go through the expected motions, moving large sums of money around without care. We get glimpses of Archer’s moral code, though not a complete look at the character.
A fine start to the series, which would surely have propelled me on to the second book “The Drowning Pool” had I not already read it a few years ago.