Ross Macdonald: Three Novels of the Early 1960s：The Zebra-Striped Hearse / The Chill / The Far Side of the Dollar

ThethreenovelscollectedinthissecondvolumeintheLibraryofAmericaRossMacdonaldeditionrepresentformanyreadersthesummitofAmericancrimewriting.Theyremainthrillingfortheirsearingpsychologicaltruth-telling，daringflightsofnarrativeinvention，andtheirkeenlyobservedpictureofthemannersandmoralsofaparticulartimeandplace(SouthernCaliforniaintheearly1960s).EachreflectsMacdonald’senduringconcernwiththehiddencrimesandagonizingdysfunctionsthathauntfamiliesfromonegenerationtothenext.InTheZebra-StripedHearse，afather’sattempttoprotecthisdaughterfrom“thecompleteandutterpersonaldisaster”ofmarriagetoatroubleddriftersendsprivatedetectiveLewArcheronaperplexingandincreasinglybloodytrailthatleadshimfromMexicotoLakeTahoeandfinallyintothemazeofatragicallysplinteredidentity.InTheChill，thesearchforayoungbridegonemissinguncoversasuccessionofseeminglyunrelatedcrimescommittedoveraperiodofdecades，asArcherfindshimself“aghostfromthepresenthauntingabloodymomentinthepast.”Anotherhuntforamissingperson—thistimeayoungmanescapedfromanelitereformschool—providestheimpetusforTheFarSideoftheDollar，whichMacdonald’sfriendEudoraWeltyconsidered“securelyamongyourstrongestandbest...abeautythatjustgetsbetter.”