THE CHILL (1963) ****
by Ross Macdonald
This paperback edition published by Penguin Modern Classics, 2012, 344pp
© Ross Macdonald, 1963; copyright renewed © Margaret Millar, 1991
ISBN: 978-0-141-19661-9
Blurb: Private detective Lew Archer has better things to do than take on an investigation for Alex Kincaid, a young man claiming that his new bride, Dolly, has gone missing. Snapped by a hotel photographer on the day of their wedding, the beautiful girl vanished only hours after and Alex has heard nothing since. But when Archer begins digging, he finds evidence that links Dolly to brutal murders that span two decades, and a terrible secret. In this byzantine and compelling tale, Ross Macdonald explores the darkest experiences that can bind a family together – and tear it apart.
Comment: There are three recognised masters of the private eye thriller who have influenced future generations of writers – Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald. Macdonald’s early Lew Archer books stuck close to the template set down by his two illustrious predecessors but as the series grew and with the onset of the 1960s, he began to move into the area of psychological character studies. The mysteries would have Archer interacting with a disparate cast – each seemingly with their own character flaws, hidden secrets and individual psychosis. Archer the sleuth is now also Archer the observer, commentator and sometimes healer. As such the books carry a significant depth that sets them apart from the more traditional thick-ear mysteries of most of his peers. Chandler’s The Long Goodbye (1953), demonstrated the full maturity of his talents and Macdonald takes that approach and explores it further through a series of novels that transcend pulp fiction to cross into more serious literature. The Chill sees Macdonald in mid-career – this is the eleventh of his eighteen Archer novels – honing his craft as he explores the themes of family conflict and disturbed minds he had begun with The Galton Case (1959). Archer moves between the troubled characters, unravelling a mystery linked to murders committed twenty years apart, acting as the window into Macdonald’s world. The plot is convoluted and the twisting mystery elements keep the reader guessing right through to the finale. The Chill is one of Macdonald’s strongest books which finds him tinkering with the formula he would persevere with, and continue to perfect, through the remainder of the series.
