Find A Victim [Mass Market Paperback]

Ross MacDonald (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam; 3rd THUS edition (1972)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000RTJH8A
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,800,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, murder, treachery., November 22, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Find a Victim: A Lew Archer Novel (Paperback)

Find a Victim is a classic example of California noir. While driving from L.A. to Sacramento, ace private eye Lew Archer stumbles upon a city known as Las Cruces where sordid secrets abound. Archer is a card carrying member of the hardboiled school of criminal investigation. He's a tough customer who can take a beating as well as render one if necessary.
Early in the narrative, a truck driver is murdered. As Archer seeks to solve this particular crime, he soon learns of a complex web of betrayal and deceit which binds together a number of Las Cruces' citizens.
This novel is about the seemier side of life. Illicit sex is a recurring theme, as are greed and jealousy.
MacDonald uses a highly descriptive type of prose, much of which is quite artfully written. And there are several distinct subplots which are all tied together at the story's dramatic conclusion. Though I found the narrative to be more convoluted than necessary, I have no trouble recommending Find a Victim to anyone who likes their mysteries hardboiled.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detective fiction at its finest, February 19, 2010

By 

Peter (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Find a Victim: A Lew Archer Novel (Paperback)

This book is regarded as one of MacDonald's lesser works as certain parts of the storyline appear contrived and a little in the pulp fiction territory of the day (eg the book starts off with Lew Archer driving along a highway and finding a man shot and needing help), I can understand this sentiment and in relation to MacDonald's other Archer books, this novel is weaker but it is still highly acceptable.

The Lew Archer series dealt with the sins of the past catching up on families and what could happen if people tried to eradicate those past sins.

It is not ultra-violent and there are no scenes in the books that make you wish you hadn't read them (unlike some crime books today). It is simply the best detective fiction ever written.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember the good Samaritan?, June 4, 2010

By 

John Gill (Wellington, New Zealand nz) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Find a Victim: A Lew Archer Novel (Paperback)

"He was the ghastliest hitchhiker who ever thumbed me." This is the opening sentence of Ross MacDonald's Find a Victim. The victim is the driver of a truck load of alcohol which has been hijacked, he doesn't make it to hospital and Lew Archer is off on another mission. Find a client, find a crook, seek justice. These goals and being beaten up are central to the normal Lew Archer mission. There is no shortage of damsels in distress. As things move along we begin to see that things are more complex than they seem, and Ross MacDonald generously lest us spot the real villains a bit before Lew works it out. 215 action packed pages. Will Lew find true love?