The Moving Target (The Gregg Press Mystery Series) [Hardcover]

Ross MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1979 | Series: The Gregg Press Mystery Series

Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshipping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain; the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping.

As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints where you get beaten up between sets, The Moving Target blends sex, greed, and family hatred into an explosively readable crime novel.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published in 1949, 1961, and 1962, respectively, these three titles find gumshoe Lew Archer up to his neck in murder, kidnapping, and blackmailAjust another day at the office. This is hard-boiled detective writing at the top of its form.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshipping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain; the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping.

As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints where you get beaten up between sets, The Moving Target blends sex, greed, and family hatred into an explosively readable crime novel. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Gregg Pr (May 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0839825382
• ISBN-13: 978-0839825388
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,533,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It All Starts Here, May 3, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: The Moving Target (Paperback)

The Moving Target, originally published in 1949, is Ross MacDonald's first Lew Archer novel. While Archer's character has yet to fully blossom, most of MacDonald's typical story devices are represented; an interconnected trail of escalating violence, innocent youth, duel identities and a twist ending that makes you rethink the entire novel.

Who kidnapped wealthy alcoholic Ralph Samson? Was it the cult leader Samson mysteriously gifted his mountain reteat to? His bitter cripppled wife? Or perhaps his youthful pilot or aging lawyer trapped in a love triangle with Sampson's daughter. It's up to Archer to find out, and take a few beatings on the way.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Lew Archer, November 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Moving Target (Paperback)

The literary private detective novel reached its zenith with the creation of Lew Archer, the last legitimate heir to the Chandler/Marlowe tradition. This first novel in the series is still close enough to the 1940s roots of the genre to evoke the peak period of noir fiction, and introduces some of the best writing ever to grace a mystery story. Later novels in this series, which extended into the 1970s, variably fell victim to then-trendy ideas about psychiatry that mar their realism and temper the otherwise shrewd and sympathetic voice of Lew Archer. The early books still display all the virtuosity of good writing with tight plots and a believable narrator. Kenneth Millar, who wrote under the pseudonym Ross MacDonald, has produced some of the best similes in English, and they pop up like gems in the early books. In "The Moving Target", film fans will recognize the plot from "Harper", which cast Paul Newman in the starring role. (He insisted on changing the hero's name for the movie, apparently because he doesn't like to play characters whose names start with "A"). But the narrative voice is what makes these novels something special, and that just doesn't translate to the screen. This is a great novel masquerading as a mystery.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing!, September 3, 1999

By 

EarlRandy "earlrandy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moving Target (Paperback)

This book starts out like the typical mystery novel . . . with a mystery, a detective, and the hint of trouble. However, before long, you can't help but realize this book is no typical mystery.

This book is paced as furiously as any mystery, but it carries the depth of true literature. This is simply no mystery to be solved or adventure to be told. The Moving Target is the sordid tale of a sade family the growth of a young woman.

Who knew Ross MacDonald was so good? I guess I'll have to order more books by him. If Hammett gave birth to noir and Chandler taught it how to walk, then MacDonald provided the education. I'm very impressed!