The Underground Man

A Lew Archer Novel

As a mysterious fire rages through the hills above a privileged town in Southern California, Lew Archer tracks a missing child who may be the pawn in a marital struggle or the victim of a bizarre kidnapping. What he uncovers amid the ashes is murder - and a trail of motives as combustible as gasoline.

The Underground Man is a detective novel of merciless suspense and tragic depth, with an unfaltering insight into the moral ambiguities at the heart of California's version of the American dream.

More mayhem? Try our other Lew Archer mysteries.

©1998 Norman J Colavincenzo (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Macdonalds best

My favorite of his books, red excellently by Gardener. Excellent classic hard-boiled stuff. Even better than the Blue Hammer.

love this series

I feel like I'm getting a bit of Americana mixed with a bit of the old style wisecracking private dick. I wish there were a dozen more!

Hard-boiled classic

One of Ross McDonald's best, this tightly plotted mystery takes place during a wildfire that is both integral to the plot and essential to the mood. Think of the ally pervading smoky fog of Dickens' Bleak House ... Classic hard-boiled thriller, a la Raymond Chandler or Hammet.

I enjoy the Archer series

I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve listened to from the Archer series. The narrator is fantastic and really adds to the hard boiled detective aesthetic.

Long Dead

Another great Archer mystery. The kidnapping of a child leads to the discovery of multiple murders done to cover-up one that happened 15 years before. Lots of possible killers, but the one that did it is the one no one suspected.