THE UNDERGROUND MAN (1971) ****
by Ross Macdonald
This hardback edition published by Book Club Associates, 1972, 255pp
© Ross Macdonald, 1971
ISBN: 978-0-002-31848-8
Blurb: A forest fire has mysteriously broken out in the hills above southern California. Meanwhile, Lew Archer has been asked by a desperate mother to find her six-year-old son. Instead, he discovers the boy’s wealthy father, murdered, and buried in a hole in the ground. The mystery will lead Archer to unearth a tragic, years-old history of abandonment, obsession and illusion, where the past won’t let go of the present – and everything is connected.
Comment: This is the 16th of 18 Lew Archer novels Ross Macdonald wrote between 1949 and 1976. Being one of the latter books, it falls less into the sub-Chandler school of writing and more into the character-driven mystery style Macdonald had evolved the series into. Archer here becomes a vehicle for the reader to drift between a large cast of flawed characters, each with something to hide, and some with emotional scarring that goes back fifteen years. Archer’s investigation unravels both the mysteries behind these characters and the murders that form the plot’s centre. Adultery and jealousy lead to blackmail, rape and murder as Archer digs deeper into the various characters’ personal lives, the story taking twist after twist… with the finale containing even more twists. Whilst Archer himself is little more than a cypher with a strong moral compass, the integral characters are involving and very well-drawn, resulting in a highly satisfying mystery and a strong late effort for the author. A TV movie adaptation was released in 1974, with Peter Graves playing Lew Archer.
