Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
42nd out of 308 books
—
203 voters
The Moving Target (Lew Archer #1)
Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshipping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain; the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping.
As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints wh...more
As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints wh...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
March 3rd 1998
by Vintage
(first published 1949)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,331)
Apr 08, 2011
Dan Schwent
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
crime-and-mystery,
2010
Millionaire Ralph Sampson has been kidnapped and it's up to Lew Archer to find him. But what does the kidnapping have to do with an aging astrologer-actress, a piano player, and a holy man Sampson once gave a mountain to?
The Moving Target was a fast-paced noir thriller. Archer kept getting deeper and deeper into trouble. The love triangle between Miranda Sampson, Albert Graves, and Allen Taggart seemed to be needless at first but proved to be a very important plot element. One thing I really lik...more
The Moving Target was a fast-paced noir thriller. Archer kept getting deeper and deeper into trouble. The love triangle between Miranda Sampson, Albert Graves, and Allen Taggart seemed to be needless at first but proved to be a very important plot element. One thing I really lik...more
12 likes · like · see review
view all 5 comments
I read all of the Archer books some thirty-five years ago, and since then I have been under the impression that none of the books until "The Galton Case" was worthy of attention. I was wrong. True, "The Moving Target" (Archer #1) lacks a family tragedy with haunted children that is the hallmark of later Archer, and it also lacks a disciplined series of images--both in metaphor and in the visuals evoked by the narrative--that carry us to the heart of the classic Archer tale. Still, there's enough...more
This is the first of the Lew Archer books, but the second I've read. For fans of the genre, there's nothing particularly new or surprising about the caper that Archer finds himself caught up in--there are dangerous women, double crosses, murders aplenty, and, of course, the hard-headed, a little tarnished, plenty jaded private dick.
And that's not a bad thing.
There's something pleasingly familiar about the whole thing. Digging into The Moving Target was a little bit like stopping by a diner on y...more
And that's not a bad thing.
There's something pleasingly familiar about the whole thing. Digging into The Moving Target was a little bit like stopping by a diner on y...more
This was my first Lew Archer book, as it was its author's. MacDonald is considered the heir of hard-boiled detective novels after Hammet and Chandler. Perhaps because this one was written in 1949, it seems especially close to its predecessors. Southern California. Wealthy people. Creepy people. Beautiful people. Corruptible people. Losers from the word go. They are all here and they all play their roles.
MacDonald is credited with bringing more psychological depth to the genre, I didn't see a lot...more
MacDonald is credited with bringing more psychological depth to the genre, I didn't see a lot...more
The Moving Target is the second Ross Macdonald book I’ve read this summer (Instant Enemy was the other). I still don’t know much of Mr. Macdonald outside of his brief bio and cool, lean cop-meets-journalist-meets insurance salesman jacket picture, but I want to learn more. His The Moving Target is the rare book that both validates and transcends its genre.
Macdonald’s (anti)hero, Lew Archer, is a private detective with all the expected private detective characteristics (few friends, shady history...more
Macdonald’s (anti)hero, Lew Archer, is a private detective with all the expected private detective characteristics (few friends, shady history...more
4 likes · like · see review
I've been eager to take Ross Macdonald for a spin. It's part of my ongoing flirtation with detective stories of the 30s-50s, which is itself part of my larger (newfound) fascination with the elements of noir fiction. Macdonald's Lew Archer novels came highly recommended to me by folks who are both better read and more knowledgeable than I. (Not exactly a rare combination, I admit.)
The story here is straightforward. Plotwise, it didn't throw any surprises to me, particularly after reading up on C...more
The story here is straightforward. Plotwise, it didn't throw any surprises to me, particularly after reading up on C...more
This is a terrific book, terrific writing, and has sold me on MacDonald. This is the first of the Lew Archer books, and so was the obvioius place to start. One can see that the writing is still dependent on Chandler, the hard-boiled private-eye -- though actually better and more authentic, in my view, than Chandler.
By his own reckoning, MacDonald didn't break out of the mold for another decade, till he wrote the Doomsters.
Also, despite the great story, excellent pacing, terrific writing (or ha...more
By his own reckoning, MacDonald didn't break out of the mold for another decade, till he wrote the Doomsters.
Also, despite the great story, excellent pacing, terrific writing (or ha...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
1 like · like · see review
Although I've been aware of Ross Macdonald for much of my life - my mother was a mystery reader, and Macdonald's books were a familiar sight around our place, along with Christie, Stout, Gardner and others - I've never actually read one of his books. He's kind of been 'present' lately, as I just finished my third book by his wife, Margaret Millar, and had also been reading up on both of them. Then today at a used bookstore I chanced upon a 1949 hardcover copy of THE MOVING TARGET, the first Lew...more
Have you ever read a book with which you deliberately took your time so that it wouldn’t be over as quickly? Did you painstakingly read each word to make sure you had fully digested each and every literary morsel because you knew that you would never have a chance to read those words for the first time ever again?
I have. I blame it on an essay I had to read in college, something about the “original experience” of discovering a particular work of art. I can’t remember who wrote it—and I tried to...more
I have. I blame it on an essay I had to read in college, something about the “original experience” of discovering a particular work of art. I can’t remember who wrote it—and I tried to...more
The Steve McQueen movie Harper colored my perceptions of this as I reread, especially the Shelley Winters role, so I doubt I perceived it the way Macdonald wrote it. Miranda Sampson and the guru Claude especially are more interesting characters in the book. Miranda's father is missing and there's a letter demanding money, but anybody including Mr. Sampson could have written it. People keep surprising us because they have such depths.
In a way this is a period piece because Macdonald names sums of...more
In a way this is a period piece because Macdonald names sums of...more
The first Lew Archer novel.
Archer is hired by a woman to find her millionaire husband, who has been missing for a couple of days. He'd wandered off, drunk, when the chauffeur went to bring the limo around at the airport. He had a habit of doing such and the last time he'd given away a mountain with a hunting lodge to weird old religious freak. See, he was into astrology and such. The wife wanted him found before he did something else stupid.
Not having much luck, a letter arrives, in the milliona...more
Archer is hired by a woman to find her millionaire husband, who has been missing for a couple of days. He'd wandered off, drunk, when the chauffeur went to bring the limo around at the airport. He had a habit of doing such and the last time he'd given away a mountain with a hunting lodge to weird old religious freak. See, he was into astrology and such. The wife wanted him found before he did something else stupid.
Not having much luck, a letter arrives, in the milliona...more
6 likes · like · see review
I've often heard Ross MacDonald referred to as the third part of the holy trinity of American crime writers that includes Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. After finally reading one of MacDonald's Lew Archer offerings, I'm here to say that I think he's better than both, synthesizing Hammett's bleak psychological insight and Chandler's razor sharp prose into something that's deeper than the former and less glib than the latter. The plot is twisty and turny, but ultimately tight and well-wrou...more
I must confess to a soft spot for crime noir, where men are men, smoke cigarettes from the corner of their mouth's and all women are broads who are not to be trusted.
In this MacDonald's first Lew Archer story a P.I. in the same mold as Marlowe, we have all the usual ingredients wealthy clients, sleazy L.A. night time patrons and every body looking after number one.
Although there is nothing special in this his first book, it must be remembered, that compared to the vast majority of crime writers...more
In this MacDonald's first Lew Archer story a P.I. in the same mold as Marlowe, we have all the usual ingredients wealthy clients, sleazy L.A. night time patrons and every body looking after number one.
Although there is nothing special in this his first book, it must be remembered, that compared to the vast majority of crime writers...more
This book reminds me of the writing of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, but I feel that MacDonald does a better job with the characters and the plot. I kept expecting to see Humphrey Bogart as Detective Lew Archer. The book was adapted into a movie, but Paul Newman filled the role of Detective Archer. The movie is Harper that also starred Lauren Bacall. As I read the book, many scenes of the movie emerged. Archer, as a detective, seems too trusting. His trust hinders his judgment. That hin...more
Lew Archer has at last toppled Phillip Marlowe from the throne of 'Most Awesomest Detective EVER'. How did he do it? It's not that Lew is a better detective (whatever that means) or even that he's cooler (which race is honestly too close to call). It's all staying power: Phillip Marlowe is forever trapped in six little books whereas there nearly 20 Lew Archer novels. It's the exact same phenomenon as that by which the American Office finally out outstripped the British; it's not that it's any be...more
Ross Macdonald is the unjustly under-rated third member of the holy trinity of hardboiled detective fiction--and at his best he's better than Hammett and Chandler. This first book in the Lew Archer series isn't his best by a long shot, but all the elements are in place that would make him great later on: well-drawn characters, crisp and competent prose, and the thing that sets him above his predecessors, a tightly plotted mystery. A worthwhile read if you're a genre completist, but if you want M...more
Ross Macdonald, where have you been all my life? This year I finally ran out of Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler novels to read so I had to strike off into the noir wilderness to find someone new. Well I didn't have to look long.
"The Moving Target" is superb. The dialogue is snappy, bitting and can pack a punch. A slightly less sad version of the world that Chandler created. And, I'll go ahead and say it, better than the majority of what Hammett wrote. Better characters, better settings, bet...more
"The Moving Target" is superb. The dialogue is snappy, bitting and can pack a punch. A slightly less sad version of the world that Chandler created. And, I'll go ahead and say it, better than the majority of what Hammett wrote. Better characters, better settings, bet...more
2 likes · like · see review
I love the mystery genre, best of all. And I must almost force myself to get out of my comfort zone and from time to time read a non-fiction; best seller; classic; anything other than a mystery.
With that said, reading the mysteries that I have, it occurred to me that I should do some backtracking and read from the masters of the genre; writers (who proudly claimed to be writers, not authors) and 'just one of the guys.' They thought nothing of 'popping off' with a serial in The Black Mask as an...more
With that said, reading the mysteries that I have, it occurred to me that I should do some backtracking and read from the masters of the genre; writers (who proudly claimed to be writers, not authors) and 'just one of the guys.' They thought nothing of 'popping off' with a serial in The Black Mask as an...more
I’d never read any Ross MacDonald, but a recent article in The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/01/ross-macdonald-crime-novelstext piqued my interest.
Once upon a time he was apparently ranked as part of ‘The Holy Trinity’ of crime writers alongside Hammett and Chandler. Having now read his first Lew Archer novel I’m not sure I’d place him as high as Chandler, but I was mightily impressed with what I found and wonder how I managed to miss him until now.
Archer is hired to find a...more
Once upon a time he was apparently ranked as part of ‘The Holy Trinity’ of crime writers alongside Hammett and Chandler. Having now read his first Lew Archer novel I’m not sure I’d place him as high as Chandler, but I was mightily impressed with what I found and wonder how I managed to miss him until now.
Archer is hired to find a...more
This novel was originally published in 1949. It is the story of Lew Archer, a private eye, hired to find a missing and wealthy millionaire, Ralph Sampson. The novel takes place in the Los Angeles, California area.
I enjoyed the plot. It was one that constantly kept you guessing. Archer is hired by Sampson's wife, who seems to be a bit indifferent to Sampson's disappearance, making her appear guilty. As characters are added to the plot, they all seem to have some characteristic that makes them a...more
I enjoyed the plot. It was one that constantly kept you guessing. Archer is hired by Sampson's wife, who seems to be a bit indifferent to Sampson's disappearance, making her appear guilty. As characters are added to the plot, they all seem to have some characteristic that makes them a...more
I honestly thought I would find the book to be a greater artistic achievement than its much more comic filmic adaptation. But I think the film might be the smarter, more effective work. Of course, that does not mean this first Lew Archer mystery isn't a great read, but from what I remember in Find a Victim and The Drowning Pool, MacDonald reaches higher heights later in the series. Still, this book deserves distinction for introducing the world to Lew Archer, a much more human and vulnerable det...more
1949, #1 Lew Archer, PI, LA and environs; classic PI. Hired to find a missing millionaire by a not very worried wife, Lew also finds extortion, drugs, and death. And even scarier, that he can’t trust a friend.
Wonderful first-in-series, with the almost laconic Archer a comfortable read now, but he must have seemed both familiar (to Chandler fans) and yet rather brash and modern, in 1949. There’s lots of social comment and a good deal of introspection about the way the world has changed post-war,...more
Wonderful first-in-series, with the almost laconic Archer a comfortable read now, but he must have seemed both familiar (to Chandler fans) and yet rather brash and modern, in 1949. There’s lots of social comment and a good deal of introspection about the way the world has changed post-war,...more
Nothing like an old noir detective story on a cold evening, to make you feel your watching a black & white classic on TCM. Not too many did it better than Mr. MacDonald."The Moving Target", in his classic series about PI Lew Archer started it all. You can just smell the cigarette smoke, taste the whiskey ( cold milk in Archer's case ), see the old streets of L.A. filled with cars of the 40's. Doesn't get much better than this.
This was a good story, as usual for Ross Macdonald. But, sorry, I have to downgrade it to 3 stars, due to: geez I got REAL tired of his too-frequent mentions of the daughter's breasts. It bordered on ridiculous. In his defense, this is one of the earlier books, and the later ones don't go there. Otherwise, a great Lew Archer book, any of which I would highly recommended for fans of the tough-guy detective stories.
May 09, 2010
Vicki Cline
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mystery lovers
Shelves:
other-mysteries
I read all of Ross MacDonald's books years ago and decided to reread the Lew Archer series. Even this first one is very good, although the story doesn't connect to events that happened years ago, like the later ones do, eg. The Zebra-Striped Hearse. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of the series.
The Moving Target is the first Ross Macdonald novel to feature Lew Archer, I'm not sure if it is the authors first novel,it is a solid crime novel; a substantial debut for any private eye. Although the novel lacks the poetry found in the works of Raymond Chandler, Ross makes up for it with colorful characters and a winding plot. The Moving Target was made into a sixties movie with Paul Newman playing the milk drinking PI, i'm yet to watch that though.
Wanting to read the Lew Archer series from the introduction of the characters, I started here.
Perhaps that was my mistake.
This was a book that actually let me use the dictionary function of Kindle, and I enjoyed the richness of the vocabulary, the complexity of the sentences. It was a pleasure to be treated as an intelligent reader.
On the other hand I found the language and the setup of the characters stilted and artificial, almost cartoonish. In the end, that did me in for completing the story....more
Perhaps that was my mistake.
This was a book that actually let me use the dictionary function of Kindle, and I enjoyed the richness of the vocabulary, the complexity of the sentences. It was a pleasure to be treated as an intelligent reader.
On the other hand I found the language and the setup of the characters stilted and artificial, almost cartoonish. In the end, that did me in for completing the story....more
The first Lew Archer book. It has Macdonald's patter, phrasing and standard plot of an effed-up waspy wealthy southern California family who screws up everyone and everything around them; It just doesn't have the depth of character or psychological insight that are found in his later Archer books.
I had higher expectations. I was bored most of the time. The end wasn't that surprising. I don't want to think that all his books are like this. This is the first in the Lew Archer series so Macdonald could easily find his stride a couple books down. I'll try again some other time. Maybe it was all me. Maybe I over did the mysteries.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Ross Macdonald is the pseudonym of the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar. He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in southern California and featuring private detective Lew Archer.
Millar was born in Los Gatos, California, and raised in his parents' native Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, where he started college. When his father abandoned his family unexpectedly,...more
More about Ross Macdonald...
Millar was born in Los Gatos, California, and raised in his parents' native Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, where he started college. When his father abandoned his family unexpectedly,...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“No one looks at the mountains. But they were there, making them all look silly.”
—
5 people liked it
“I used to think the world was divided into good people and bad people, that you could pin responsibility for evil on certain definite people and punish the guilty. I’m still going through the motions.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
