The Ross MacDonald Blog

                                                                                                       Spoiler Alert                           LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING               I borrow this title from a short memoir about a woman who...

                                                                                                         Spoiler Alert                                                                                                                                                ...

                               CHRISTMAS MEMORIES OF 1936                                     The Police Lend a Hand—Reluctantly                Archer stops by the sheriff’s substation; the deputy handling the Galton case is a tough sell, but by using...

                      SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING OLD                                                       Follow That Car!               Archer telephones the sheriff in Santa Teresa, where Archer’s car was stolen.  Not that it is strictly Archer’s business,...

                         FILL HER UP AND CHECK THE OIL                                A Gas Station--The Quintessential California Venue                The boy pumping gas can’t find the dipstick for the oil, which gives Archer a chance to get out and...

                              “IT’S ALL ONE CASE”       This quote from Macdonald reminds us of how he viewed his mature fiction.  It was more than a matter of economy.  In his best work, everything is related.  Diversions and dead ends are not what...

                       SHIFTING INTO HIGH GEAR—LITERALLY     The first five chapters have moved along briskly, and in a relatively few pages Macdonald has laid out the mystery.  But it’s been relatively static.  The plot has been advanced by a series of...