Ross MacDonald is a mystery author who specialized in the private-eye novel. His series character (18 books) is the low-key Lew Archer (Archer from Hammet's Maltese Falcon). He began writing in the late forties and gradually his books became more popular until eventually in the seventies he became a best-selling author. Hollywood adapted two of his books into movies featuring Paul Newman. Initially, Millar began writing in the style of Raymond Chandler - short, snappy prose with quick violence and starkly realized characters. But over the years (and after much psychotherapy) he developed his own, low-key style which emphasized empathy (on Lew Archer's part) for the characters and the terrible things they do. It's not about vengeance or justice with Archer, but humanity. Themes of identity, family dissolution and money are common in the second half of his career. He also used events in his life as elements of his plots. He transposed events and re-imagined them. You could s...
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