Black Money

A Lew Archer Novel

By: Ross Macdonald

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Lew Archer is hired to get the goods on the suspiciously suave Frenchman who's run off with his client's girlfriend, it looks like a simple case of alienated affections. Things look different when the mysterious foreigner turns out to be connected to a seven-year-old suicide and a mountain of gambling debts.

Black Money is Ross Macdonald at his finest, baring the skull beneath the suntanned skin of Southern California's high society.

More mayhem? Try our other Lew Archer mysteries.

©1993 Margaret Millar (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The finest series of detective novels ever written by an American." ( The New York Times)
"A beautiful job...rich in plot and character....The denouement is both surprising and shocking and the whole is up to Mr. Macdonald's extraordinarily high standards." ( New York Times Book Review)

Good book, great reader

Ross Macdonald is a personal favourite of mine and I am happy his novels are available as audiobooks. Black Money is not one of the greatest Lew Archer novels but it is interesting enough, especially when you are interested in private-eye tales of the Golden Era. Grover Gardner is a perfect reader for this genre, hearing his voice, Lew Archer comes to live right before your eyes. And since these books are full of dialogue, Gardner masters all characters and accents, social classes and etnic accents. I was very pleased with this book and only hope Audible gives access to more of the Ross Macdonald/Lew Archer novels; There are sixteen but only eight are available for members from Europe. A shame!

Love and Money

Another great Archer story with fallen women, sleazy men, and lots of money. Dreams, or fantasies, of money and the good life drive all the parties in this story. One murder leads to many others in the pursuit of love with a dollar sign attached.

Superb.

One of the best novels ever written in any country and in any century. I've read the novel a couple of times before and this is the first time I listen to the audiobook. Excellent performance.

Marvelous, old school detective novel!

Lew Archer is a detective who has a keen insight into human nature and human behavior.

Ugh: bland, tedious untrue to the genre

I've read this clunker twice over the years, tempted by the cover, a sucker for a good noire story, and wanting to give RM one more chance. This one is so tedious, awash in uninteresting characters, virtually no action, and a convoluted story. It almost seems like it was written by a computer algorithm. It just goes on and on without spice or dramatic punctuation. Really truly don't bother.

Solid Mystery

Decent flow and build up of characters. The twist/solution was pretty good.

I'd listen to almost anything Grover Gardner narrates.

Good but not great

Some critics say this is the best of the Archer books. I don't see it. I have enjoyed others more than this one and see more literary skill in them. This book may be admired by academic critics since it involves professors, literature, and philosophical ideas.

Good as always. Macdonald as in all the books delivers a taut and engrossing story that speaks volumes about the California of the 50s and 60s.

Sanguine '60s Noire

Ross Mac was a pretty decent storyteller. His plot line unravels well, the characters are chiseled out like stone monuments, and there's just enough sex and death to keep even James Ellroy fans intrigued.