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Audiobooks > Mystery & Detective >  General Mystery & Detective > The Blue Hammer: A Lew Archer Novel
The Blue Hammer: A Lew Archer Novel Audiobook, by Ross Macdonald Play Audiobook Sample

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4.00186567164179 out of 54.00186567164179 out of 54.00186567164179 out of 54.00186567164179 out of 54.00186567164179 out of 5 (4.00) - 536 customer ratings
The Blue Hammer: A Lew Archer Novel Audiobook, by Ross Macdonald Play Audiobook Sample
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Author: Ross Macdonald Narrator: Grover Gardner Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Audio Length: Series:The Lew Archer Series Release Date: January 2006 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download ISBN: 9781481558396
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Publisher Description

In this masterful Macdonald mystery, the desert air is hot with sex and betrayal, death and madness, and only Archer can make sense of a killer who makes murder a work of art.

The era is the 1970s; the setting, Southern California. Lew Archer has been hired to retrieve a stolen canvas reputed to be the work of the celebrated Richard Chantry, who vanished in 1950 from his home in Santa Teresa. It is the portrait of an unknown woman.

Suddenly, Archer finds himself drawn into a web of family complications and masked brutalities stretching back fifty years, through a world where money both talks or buys silence; where social prominence is a murderous weapon; where, behind the plausible facades of homes not quite broken but badly bent, a heritage of lies and evasions pushes troubled men and women deeper into trouble. And as he pursues the Chantry portrait and the larger mystery of Richard Chantry, Archer himself is shaken as never before—by a woman.

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Quotes

  • “[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, [is] brought to its zenith by Macdonald.”

    - New York Times Book Review

  • “[Grover Gardner] shows his talent as he captures the emotions of Archer, as well as the secondary characters, while maintaining the tempo of the story.”

    - AudioFile

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Customer Reviews

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  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I read this because of Andrew's review. Interesting and entertaining. I have read few mysteries so I don't have anything to compare it to. I didn't figure out who the murderer was until Archer spelled out the crime. "

    - Drew, 12/27/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " If you like Chandler, you'll like Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer books; I'd recommend the whole series. "

    - Kira, 10/8/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Lots of twists and turns in this yarn! And it is just over 200 pages, so it goes quickly! Maybe too quickly, as I got confused a few times over who done what to whom! But well worth the time! "

    - Donald, 6/2/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Page turning read. Really well done. Sort of falls apart in the end with maybe one twist too many. "

    - William, 4/2/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Lew Archer finds more creative ways to describe things than Guy Vanderhaeghe, which is saying a lot. "

    - Mike, 2/23/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Fairly good LA-noir type mystery, but definately not one of his better ones. Still, great plot twists at the end. "

    - Alan, 2/18/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Can people really kill someone and assume their identity without no one catching on? In Ross MacDonald's world it seems to happen all the time. I love Archer, but this one was not one of my favorites. "

    - David, 1/28/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " An enjoyable read, and it definitely took me a while to spot the twist, it's a good one! "

    - Andrea, 1/11/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Really like the series "

    - Marla, 7/27/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Complex plot and tight writing. Very enjoyable RossMc. "

    - Ram, 4/23/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Pretty good, complex mystery with a likeable hero. Archer gets kind of annoying sometimes. "

    - Roshni, 3/11/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " A few murders, blunt object not mentioned, blue or otherwise. "

    - Kirk, 1/11/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The most complicated Lew Archer I've yet read. Some fiendish twists, the impact of which is lessened somewhat by two chapters of exposition before the conclusion. "

    - Keith, 10/28/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Lots of twists and turns in this yarn! And it is just over 200 pages, so it goes quickly! Maybe too quickly, as I got confused a few times over who done what to whom! But well worth the time! "

    - Donald, 10/11/2010
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Can people really kill someone and assume their identity without no one catching on? In Ross MacDonald's world it seems to happen all the time. I love Archer, but this one was not one of my favorites. "

    - David, 1/8/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " The most complicated Lew Archer I've yet read. Some fiendish twists, the impact of which is lessened somewhat by two chapters of exposition before the conclusion. "

    - Keith, 12/13/2009
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Fairly good LA-noir type mystery, but definately not one of his better ones. Still, great plot twists at the end. "

    - Alan, 5/11/2009

About the Author

Ross Macdonald (1915–1983) was the pen name of Kenneth Millar. For over twenty years he lived in Santa Barbara and wrote mystery novels about the fascinating and changing society of his native state. He is widely credited with elevating the detective novel to the level of literature with his compactly written tales of murder and despair. His works have received awards from the Mystery Writers of America and of Great Britain, and his book The Moving Target was made into the movie Harper in 1966. In 1982 he was awarded the Eye Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Private Eye Writers of America.

About the Narrator

Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.