book data
108 ratings,
3.98
average rating, 10 reviews
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published
July 10th 2007
by Vintage
(first published 1953)
details
Paperback, 256 pages
characters
isbn
0307278999
(isbn13: 9780307278999)
description
A hard-faced woman clad in a blue mink stole and dripping with diamonds hires Lew Archer to track down her former maid, who she claims has stolen her …more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 149)
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avg 3.98
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Ross Macdonald was nothing if not a gifted stylist when it came to writing prose. THE IVORY GRIN starts off with a tension-filled meeting between the protagonist, private eye Lew Archer, and an unpleasant (in attitude and looks), but well-dressed, woman who wants to hire him.
You know the kind of person Archer's dealing with when he says that she "looked up at me with the air of an early bird surveying an outsize worm," then goes on to state that after giving him a handshake...more
You know the kind of person Archer's dealing with when he says that she "looked up at me with the air of an early bird surveying an outsize worm," then goes on to state that after giving him a handshake...more
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A lesser Archer. Both more complex and tighter than The Moving Target, but not yet quite meaningful in its complexity. Macdonald was still working out his formula, his Gestalt mystery.
It is, at least, scoured of obvious Chandler/Hammett thefts.
It is, at least, scoured of obvious Chandler/Hammett thefts.
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Lew Archer, CA private eye, runs again.
CA is a hotbed of sin and corruption.
And murder.
Great, simple detective procedural, uncomplicated by the private agonies and spouses and significant others of most detective stories.
CA is a hotbed of sin and corruption.
And murder.
Great, simple detective procedural, uncomplicated by the private agonies and spouses and significant others of most detective stories.
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Read in December, 2009
One of the best hardboiled crime novels I've ever read. "Her cut throat gaped like the mouth of an unspeakable grief.” Wow.
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The brashness of Hammett but with depth of character, the panache of Chandler without the slick Hollywood style, Macdonald's writing is free and flowing, not suffering the choppy one-liners of the genre. It relies more on wit and craft than tough-guy cliches without sacrificing the characteristics of pulp I enjoy: the circuitous mystery development; the shades of gray ethics and morality; the calling of all spades spades. Breezy summertime reading, breezy wintertime reading.
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Read in July, 2008
Ross Macdonald's The Ivory Grin is taut and barrels along at a good enough pace to keep the reader gripped to finish the book as franticly as the events in the novel unfold. The only issue I have is that I knew who the killer was early on, and had the majority of the mystery solved to soon for me to fully enjoy the book. That's the only reason it didn't receive a five star
Read in June, 1982
An early entry in the Lew Archer series. This was also published under the title "Marked for Murder." It was a very enjoyable read. At this time, Macdonald's plots had more variation but his rhetorical genius hadn't quite peaked.
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Read in January, 2008
Wow, this is a downer even by Ross MacDonald standards. Gripping, nonetheless, and a twist to the ending right out of EC Horror comics.
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I had forgotten all about this series! Ross rocks. Also the new covers are su-poib.
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Read in July, 2008
There are some seriously nasty people in this book, which is awesome.
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Read in April, 1974
