The Ferguson Affair [Mass Market Paperback]

Ross MacDonald (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (1963)
• ASIN: B000TYWJ4M
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,638,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intricately plotted., March 16, 2005

By 

Michael G. "mikefromrochester" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ferguson Affair (Paperback)

Lew Archer is nowhere to be found in this Ross Macdonald mystery from 1960. Instead, a very conscientious lawyer by the name of Bill Gunnarson serves the dual role of narrator and crime solver.

What starts out as a rather mundane case involving serial burglaries becomes increasingly complex and engaging as murder and kidnapping are added into the mix.

As in all Ross Macdonald novels, The Ferguson Affair is steeped in human tragedy stemming from the effects of ill-fated relationships and family dysfunction years in the making. Macdonald's grand theme seems to be that the past will dictate the future and that an individual's ability to alter his pre-determined destiny is extremely limited.

The Ferguson Affair gets 5 stars from me because of its intricately constructed and engaging plot, its highly descriptive and imaginative prose and its very compelling and moving character sketches.

Ross Macdonald took his craft quite seriously and the results of that are apparent in the pages of this remarkable book. Do yourself a favor and read it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Non Lew Archer Mystery Still Entertains, May 2, 2001

By 

Christopher Fama (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ferguson Affair (Paperback)

Originally published in 1960, the Ferguson Affair was released more or less in the middle of the Lew Archer series. Lawyer Bill Gunnarson substitutes for Archer, the most pronounced difference being he is married. It's of little consequence, because MacDonald keeps her appearances to a minimum. If you did a word search and substituted Bill with Lew and Ginnarson with Archer, no one would notice this wasn't an Archer mystery.

All of the Ross MacDonald trade marks are here; double identities, crokked cops, etc. The Ferguson Affair is thoroughly enjoyable, and hopefully Black Lizard will release it soon!

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pygmalion, August 7, 2004

By 

Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ferguson Affair (Paperback)

William Gunnarson is an attorney. His client, Ella Barker, is a nurse. She possesses a diamond ring taken in a burglary. She has been threatened. In nine out of seventeen burglaries the victim was in the hospital.

Broadman, a pawnbroker, dies from an assault. He is suspected of being a fence. Gunnarson's client gives him a lead to a friend of hers, a lifeguard who, it seems, has recently run off with a movie star. Later Gunnarson learns the movie star has been kidnapped and the chief suspect, at least for an earlier crime, has been shot by a police officer. Gunnarson's wife Sally is upset he does not spend more time with her.

More deaths and confusion ensue in the sordid and convoluted plot. It is possible the movie star is a willing participant in her own disappearance. It is also possible she has a double.