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The Galton Case: A Lew Archer Novel Audiobook
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(4.00) - 916 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Almost twenty years have passed since Anthony Galton disappeared, along with a suspiciously streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of his family’s fortune. Now Anthony’s aging and very rich mother wants him back and has hired Lew Archer to find him. What turns up is a headless skeleton, a boy who claims to be Galton’s son, and a con game whose stakes are so high that someone is still willing to kill for them.
In the character of Lew Archer, Ross Macdonald redefined the private eye as a roving conscience who walks the treacherous frontier between criminal guilt and human sin—and in so doing, gave the American crime novel a psychological depth and moral complexity that his predecessors had only hinted at. Deliciously devious and tersely poetic, The Galton Case displays Ross Macdonald at the pinnacle of his form.
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"bourgeois fairy tale, mistaken identity, mistaken childhood, of being a prince or a pauper, this is my favorite feel-good archer investigation. deceptive, absurd, extensive, years conspiracy and then cynicism of all good detectives strained, broken, revealing the improbable final twist, a resolution more psychological than criminal."
— thegift (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“You can absolutely see his big-shouldered 1949 suit and his pencil mustache. Macdonald is at his best here; Gardner is even better. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“Exciting, beautifully plotted, and written with taste, perception and compassion.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“A model of intelligently engineered excitement.”
— New Yorker -
“One of his best…The Macdonald depth of understanding and dispassionate charity come out well, and the story…is richly plotted.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“A tightly written page-turner that also probes profound themes and frequently rises to something like poetry.”
— Amazon.com
Awards
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Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Los Angeles Times Pick of Best Mystery Series
The Galton Case Listener Reviews
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" This is the first great Lew Archer novel, and it has all the important Ross Macdonald elements: money, family betrayal, and a crime in the present with links to a crime committed a generation ago. This is a classic of the genre. "
— Bill, 12/9/2013 -
" ( O caso Galton ) "
— Babete, 12/8/2013 -
" Excellent Noir. While the ending wasn't quite original the authors telling of the story was great. "
— Boozy, 12/6/2013 -
" I love how Archer empathizes with the troubled ones--misfits and miscreants, too young to know the consequences but innocent enough to avoid the jaded values of their elders. And MacDonald is a real craftsman, with dense imagery and characterization "
— doug, 11/14/2013 -
" An enormously convoluted mystery packed into a very short book, with all the hallmarks of noir: two murders spaced twenty years apart, involving a very rich California family and a rich cast of gamblers, thieves, and gangsters. A few of the plot points rang a little hollow, but the general direction of the story was interesting. Even when he's falling short, MacDonald is still a better mystery writer than anyone except Chandler or Hammett. Good for a day at the beach. "
— Jake, 11/11/2013 -
" A cerebral private-eye novel. Lew Archer is hired to find a missing heir but is soon embroiled in a case of murder, dual identity and scandal. "
— Sidney, 10/21/2013 -
" Loved it. I know - the plot is crazy, the wrap-up insane, too many characters, it's the same book as all his others, but.....the prose is delightful. Every page or so there is a description or observation that is wonderful and beautifully written. "
— Tom, 7/21/2013 -
" Great pacing and an intricate plot that kept me guessing the entire way. I thought I had the "whodunit" part all figured, but boy, was I wrong! Wonderful mystery novel. Highly recommended. "
— Ryan, 6/11/2013 -
" When I first read this more than 25 years ago, I'd have given this five stars. Rereading it, I am struck at how arid and humorless The Galton Case is. Still a fine book but I found myself longing for Travis McGee's homespun philosophy or the simple smart-aleckiness of Marlowe or Spencer. "
— Paul, 5/18/2013 -
" I've learned from reading this book that I might really be into crime/mystery. Especially older stuff. "
— Henry, 4/21/2013 -
" I can see why Macdonald is considered to be the master. One of the most elaborate (but flawlessly constructed) mysteries I have read. "
— Nelson, 8/27/2012 -
" flat and one dimensional. none of the comic relief or pathos of good detective fiction. decent plot but... the author sounds bored and slightly angry with the world. "
— James, 8/8/2012 -
" Outstanding Archer. "
— Margaret, 7/13/2012 -
" Part of my quick but thorough immersion in the hard-boiled detective genre. Hammett, Chandler, Ross Macdonald . . . read nine books by them and EC Bentley in nine days. This is one of the best (well, almost all Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer books are the best. "
— David, 5/30/2012 -
" Why, after reading all of Hammett and James Cain, have I never heard of Ross MacDonald? I'm sure glad I finally did, though, as his work is right up there with the best of them. If you're in the mood for some great noir-ish detective writing, look no further. "
— Thom, 3/1/2012 -
" Very good. I read most of this book on the plane. It had a lot of twists. MacDonald is definitely the heir of Raymond Chandler. Very "noir" and well written. I will def. read more by him. "
— Lynn, 2/8/2012 -
" I've re-read this. It's that good. The lines don't change and they continue to impress me, teach me, inspire me. "
— Mike, 12/17/2011 -
" I really liked this book. Wanted to love it, but felt it ended too abruptly. *Loved* his writing though...I will be reading many more Archer books. "
— Daphne, 10/29/2011 -
" Beautiful, gripping descriptions. Excellent plot twists! "
— Cori, 7/27/2011 -
" I love Ross Macdonald. "
— Remy, 5/19/2011 -
" sehr fein! "
— Claudia, 3/27/2011 -
" ( O caso Galton ) "
— Babete, 3/7/2011 -
" Very good. I read most of this book on the plane. It had a lot of twists. MacDonald is definitely the heir of Raymond Chandler. Very "noir" and well written. I will def. read more by him. "
— Lynn, 7/20/2010 -
" flat and one dimensional. none of the comic relief or pathos of good detective fiction. decent plot but... the author sounds bored and slightly angry with the world. "
— James, 12/4/2009 -
" Great pacing and an intricate plot that kept me guessing the entire way. I thought I had the "whodunit" part all figured, but boy, was I wrong! Wonderful mystery novel. Highly recommended. "
— Ryan, 11/19/2009 -
" This is one of the best plotted mysteries in detective fiction I have ever read! The writing is very clean and elegant to with some excellent turns of phrase for genre fiction! "
— Greg, 9/24/2009 -
" I've learned from reading this book that I might really be into crime/mystery. Especially older stuff. "
— Henry, 8/6/2009 -
" A cerebral private-eye novel. Lew Archer is hired to find a missing heir but is soon embroiled in a case of murder, dual identity and scandal. "
— Sidney, 12/29/2008 -
" Vintage crime. Not quite enough action and violence to keep me engrossed. Written in black and white, a little too Leave it to Beaver for me. "
— David, 5/5/2008
About Ross Macdonald
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 Grover Gardner
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.