Customer Reviews

The Ferguson Affair

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.