The Wyckerly Woman [Mass Market Paperback]

Ross Macdonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1984

Phoebe Wycherly was missing two months before her wealthy father hired Archer to find her. That was plenty of time for a young girl who wanted to disappear to do so thoroughly--or for someone to make her disappear. Before he can find the Wycherly girl, Archer has to deal with the Wycherly woman, Phoebe's mother, an eerily unmaternal blonde who keeps too many residences, has too many secrets, and leaves too many corpses in her wake.

--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.

Review

It s not just that Ross Macdonald taught us how to write; he did something much more, he taught us how to read, and how to think about life, and maybe in some small but mattering way, how to live. --Robert B. Parker

Macdonald is one of a handful of writers in the [mystery] genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form. --Los Angeles Times --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (January 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553238558
• ISBN-13: 978-0553238556
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,940,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well done, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wycherly Woman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (Paperback)

This is only the second book I have read by MacDonald but it certainly won't be the last. The plot and characterizations were both very strong. From what I have read so far, MacDonald compares very favorably with Hammett and Chandler. The thing that I probably like best about MacDonald is that his detective, Lew Archer, seems more like a real person than most of the detectives in this genre. He is tough, but he also shows some sensitivity and human emotion.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his very best efforts., March 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wycherly Woman (Paperback)

This novel includes everything MacDonald is best known for: far-flung sagas of wealthy families, gritty portrayals of California's marginal sectors, memorable characters, moral dilemmas, and a twist-filled plot leading to an irresistable climax. Worth a try even if you don't like mysteries or detective novels

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad story...sad people...don't know why it works so well..., October 18, 2008

By 

Mark Town "realoldmusicman" (Pittsburgh USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Wycherly Woman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (Paperback)

I enjoy Ross Macdonald. I have probably read all the Archer books over the last twenty years. They fit a certain mood. I cannot explain why I like him so much, mostly that melancholy mood that he creates, I think. Archer is a good man, but not too good. The other characters in the books are almost all screw-ups who make their own trouble or are victimized by the trouble created by others. The world they inhabit is vacuous and headed no where good. Although written long before American decline gained the unstoppable momentum of the current moment, these novels seem to anticipate that decline and chronicle it as well. Sad American stories of how money cures almost nothing, despite our lust for it, and how what might actually make us happy is all the more elusive because we do not value it sufficiently until it is too late. The Wycherly Woman is not the best of the lot but not the weakest either. Time with it is far better spent then 98% of the other "mysteries" out there.