The Far Side of the Dollar by Ross Macdonald
Review by Matt (BuffaloSavage)
Predictably enough, the plot of the 11th Lew Archer novel revolves around the elements that we expect in Macdonald’s mysteries.
Troubled youth.
Clueless parents.
Uncertain paternity.
Secrets.
Archer, a former troubled teen himself before the crucible of Okinawa, rather shows his middle-age by counseling tolerance and patience when dealing with seemingly bizarre teenage behavior. The middle class adults with the blues are entirely plausible but so are the crooks in Macdonald’s.
In this one the crook is sadistic creep that was made that way by his father, a nut who did not spare the rod and thus created a thug.
Macdonald is at the top his game here. His ability to create characters is awesome, as his returning to theme of fathers and how much suffering they create when they fail their sons.
