The Chill (Paperback)

~ Ross Macdonald (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The surprise with which a detective novel concludes should set up tragic vibrations which run backward through the entire structure," wrote Ross Macdonald in his 1981 Self-Portrait. Nowhere in his work does he better demonstrate this principle than in The Chill, first published in 1964. The plot is one of Macdonald's most masterfully constructed. Private detective Lew Archer is engaged to trace a missing spouse, who has vanished--apparently of her own free will--only a day into her honeymoon. Archer begins pulling at the threads of the case, and by page 25 they're already starting to reveal a deeper, darker story involving two murders 20 years apart. As usual, Macdonald's economical prose propels the reader forward from one action-packed scene to another, while the scenes in turn pile up to paint a rich, complex picture of buried memories, anguished relations between parents and children, the arrogance of the rich, and the search for identity. Then, at the end, one of the author's best surprise reversals changes the picture's colors entirely. Even if you're one of those discerning readers who find Macdonald's lesser work superior to most other mystery writing (as does this reviewer), The Chill stands out among his books. --Nicholas H. Allison

From Library Journal

Published in 1965, 1963, and 1950, respectively, this trio feature Macdonald's hard-boiled private detective Lew Archer. The plots involve murder, deceit, blackmail, sex, and all those other goodies that make for great crime stories.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 3, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679768076
• ISBN-13: 978-0679768074
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66,120 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #2 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > Macdonald, Ross

• This is item 12 in The Lew Archer Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give this one an 11!, January 12, 1998

By	Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

MacDonald is rightfully considered one of the three great hardboiled detective novelists (along with Hammett and Chandler). Rereading this novel confirmed what I thought the first time I read it: this is the best detective novel that I have ever read.

It is also the most appropriately titled novel that I have ever encountered. The first time I read this I was lying in the sun beside the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. When I reached the moment when the mystery was solved, a chill literally ran up my spine. One of the truly creepy moments of my life. Hyperbole rules among reviewers here, but this one would get a higher rating if I were allowed.

I have read most of MacDonald novels, despite the fact that I really don't spend much time reading mystery or detective fiction. His earliest books are good, but not great. But about four or five novels into the Lew Archer series MacDonald (in real life Professor Kenneth Millar, and husband of fellow mystery writer Margaret Millar)found his voice and his theme. In all his best books the theme is: the sins of the father shall be visited upon the second and third generations (I didn't check my OT for a more precise quotation). A typical plot from his best novels is as follows: Archer is asked to look into this or that problem (a person has disappeared, has left, is being plagued by someone, etc., etc.). Gradually upon conducting his investigation his role shifts from detective to archaeologist, until he eventually discovers the troubles that he has been asked to look into have causes reaching back ten, twenty, or even fifty years. The seed planted by an act decades earlier has sprouted in the present, destroying those who are otherwise innocent. (MacDonald always reminds me of Yeats's "Leda and the Swan," where Zeus's rape of Leda will eventually result in the birth of Helen and all the tragedy of Troy: "A shudder in the loins engenders there/The broken wall, the burning roof and tower/And Agamemnon dead.")

All of MacDonald is more than readable, but someone wanting to proceed from THE CHILL (which really is his finest work) should look at THE DROWNING POOL or THE INSTANT ENEMY.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Darker Than You Think, January 4, 2005

By	R. W. Rasband (Heber City, UT) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Chill" was recommended to me as Ross MacDonald's darkest book, and after finishing it one can confidently say it's hard to imagine a story with a bleaker conclusion. The author springs a gothic surprise ending that owes as much to late Alfred Hitchcock as Raymond Chandler. It's still stunning, but it must have really been a shocker back in 1963 when the novel was first published. Once again detective Lew Archer delves into a case that involves public corruption and private family dysfunction by the wealthy. It was Faulkner who said "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." I suppose that is the motto of most noir, and especially this one. You should read this immediately.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deservedly a classic., March 15, 2003

By	nobizinfla "nobizinfla" (Windermere, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

Along with Hammett, Cain and Chandler, Ross Macdonald is a pioneer of the literate mystery novel.

In "The Chill" (written in 1963), Lew Archer has a missing persons case that leads to three murders committed over a twenty year period that he must tie together.

There is plenty of action, twists, reversals and suspense throughout...adultery, cons, frame-ups, blackmail.

The plot is complicated and complex; filled with plentiful characters (many with aliases). You have to pay attention and keep score.

The ending is a major surprise.

It is easy to see why it is among the IMBA's "100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century."

Well worth a second read.