'I can't make your girl come back if she doesn't want to. I told you that on the phone' But something changes... 'The finest series of detective novels ever written by an American' William Goldman 'A beautiful job, rich in plot and character...surprising and shocking' NEW YORK TIMES 'I love the Lew Archer books' James Ellroy When Lew Archer is hired to find out the truth about a suspiciously suave Frenchman who has run off with his client's girlfriend, it looks like a simple enough case. But things start to look very ... Read More
'I can't make your girl come back if she doesn't want to. I told you that on the phone' But something changes... 'The finest series of detective novels ever written by an American' William Goldman 'A beautiful job, rich in plot and character...surprising and shocking' NEW YORK TIMES 'I love the Lew Archer books' James Ellroy When Lew Archer is hired to find out the truth about a suspiciously suave Frenchman who has run off with his client's girlfriend, it looks like a simple enough case. But things start to look very different when Archer connects the elusive foreigner with a seven-year-old suicide and a mountain of gambling debts. BLACK MONEY is Ross Macdonald at his very finest, revealing the skull beneath the sun-kissed skin of Southern California. Read Less
Add this copy of Black Money (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) to cart. $1.63, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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Book is considered to be in good or better condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Hard cover books may show signs of wear on the spine cover or dust jacket. Paperback book may show signs of wear on spine or cover as well as having a slight bend curve or creasing to it. Book should have minimal to no writing inside and no highlighting. Pages should be free of tears or creasing. Stickers should not be present on cover or elsewhere and any CD or DVD expected with the book is included. Book is not a former library copy.
Add this copy of Black Money to cart. $2.49, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Black Money to cart. $2.49, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Add this copy of Black Money to cart. $2.49, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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Add this copy of Black Money (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) to cart. $3.75, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
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Add this copy of Black Money (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) to cart. $4.87, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
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The title of Ross MacDonald's 1966 novel, "Black Money" refers to money skimmed off the top from gambling winnings in Las Vegas and elsewhere to avoid reporting the gains to the Internal Revenue Service. Illicit black money and many other crimes of lust and greed are central to the novel which is narrated by Macdonald's redoubtable detective, Lew Archer, and is a late work in his Lew Archer series.
The story begins simply enough when a man in his 20s of wealthy background, Peter Jameson, hires Archer to investigate an apparent wealthy young Frenchman, Martel, who has stolen the affections of Peter's fiancee and long time sweetheart, Ginnie. The story gradually cascades into a series of shady dealings extending seven years into the past and ultimately resulting in three murders as Archer uncovers a web of lust and greed.
The story has a strong sense of place. It is largely set in a wealthy tennis club just south of Los Angeles. Archer brings to light the secret lives of many of the long-term patrons of this seemingly placid, well-to-do club. Several members of the club were involved with vicious Las Vegas gamblers and have become heavily in their debt. The story also has a setting in academia, particularly in the teaching of French. The story of the rich and their difficulties is juxtaposed against some poor individuals in the community. And there is an international element to the story as well.
The setting, characterizations, and language of Macdonald's novel are as important as the tangled mystery and make the book more than a clever who-done-it. There is a strong feeling of wasted lives in the book with little in the way of redemption. Macdonald tells a story of human frailty and greed. The novel shows the strong influence of Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby".
This was my first novel by Ross Macdonald and I hope to read more. The Library of America has published three volumes of Macdonald's novels, and "Black Money" is included in the third and final volume. To accompany the release of the volume, the LOA published an online essay by Tom Nolan, "Gatsby as noir: the genesis of Ross Macdonald's Black Money." The essay helped me in my reading. It showed the painstaking care Macdonald took with the novel which was his own favorite among his books. Nolan also developed useful background for the places in the novel which, until its late stages, had the title of this review as its working title. I enjoyed this book and learned as well from the comments of my fellow online reviewers.
