Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Drowning Pool (Lew Archer Series Book 2)

Top positive review

Good book, but for a couple of things.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 29, 2017

I came to Lew Archer via the Kindle Daily Deal. They had The Galton Case up for about $2.99. For those new to the series it's the 8th book in the series. I was seriously WOWED by that book and so much so that I wanted to start the Lew Archer series, from the beginning. Despite what others have said about the first and previous novel to this one (The Moving Target, I loved it! Many believe he just wasn't up to his later excellence but if that's considered one of the worst, along with this one, then I cannot imagine how incredible the others are.

Compared to the first book, this one is even better, stylistically. You can actually see the improvement in his descriptive writing. Yes, he appears to be influenced by Chandler/Hammett, but the style is definitely his own. I thoroughly enjoy his approach to humor. It is quite subtle, and it's very dry. His vocabulary is what I really like. Much of his words are, according to Kindle's on-board dictionary, "archaic" but that is what makes it fun. Learning what these things are. I say: let's bring 'em back!

The only real problem I have is in his characterization. You can see that MacDonald doesn't really understand women, very well. The ending is deflating and unrealistic. Naturally this is fiction, so of course it's unrealistic, but what I mean is there is something one does in the book that characteristically speaking, would never would ever have done. That bothers me. I would love to discuss this and see what others think. If you know of a place online where we can do this, please let me know in the comments.

Also, a previous review mentions the harshness of Archer's treatment of his client, in the beginning. I was disappointed as well. Perhaps though that is a demonstration of his growth by the end of the novel. Whatever it was, it was a bit off putting but not a serious problem for me.

Is it worth the read? I think so. Just be prepared for a bizarre ending that seems wrong. It's not a bad ending, mind you. There are other things that are rather fascinating. It's just the one thing that bothers me and I refuse to spoil it for anyone. For this reason, that being that the ending is entertaining on the detecting side.

7 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Arnhout Zwingley

Chandler is better at writing Chandler

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 8, 2016

my first ross macdonald novel. pretty racy stuff for the early fifties. dialog and description clearly influenced by Raymond Chandler.

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From the United States

MagnoliaSouth

Good book, but for a couple of things.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 29, 2017

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I came to Lew Archer via the Kindle Daily Deal. They had The Galton Case up for about $2.99. For those new to the series it's the 8th book in the series. I was seriously WOWED by that book and so much so that I wanted to start the Lew Archer series, from the beginning. Despite what others have said about the first and previous novel to this one ( The Moving Target , I loved it! Many believe he just wasn't up to his later excellence but if that's considered one of the worst, along with this one, then I cannot imagine how incredible the others are.

Compared to the first book, this one is even better, stylistically. You can actually see the improvement in his descriptive writing. Yes, he appears to be influenced by Chandler/Hammett, but the style is definitely his own. I thoroughly enjoy his approach to humor. It is quite subtle, and it's very dry. His vocabulary is what I really like. Much of his words are, according to Kindle's on-board dictionary, "archaic" but that is what makes it fun. Learning what these things are. I say: let's bring 'em back!

The only real problem I have is in his characterization. You can see that MacDonald doesn't really understand women, very well. The ending is deflating and unrealistic. Naturally this is fiction, so of course it's unrealistic, but what I mean is there is something one does in the book that characteristically speaking, would never would ever have done. That bothers me. I would love to discuss this and see what others think. If you know of a place online where we can do this, please let me know in the comments.

Also, a previous review mentions the harshness of Archer's treatment of his client, in the beginning. I was disappointed as well. Perhaps though that is a demonstration of his growth by the end of the novel. Whatever it was, it was a bit off putting but not a serious problem for me.

Is it worth the read? I think so. Just be prepared for a bizarre ending that seems wrong. It's not a bad ending, mind you. There are other things that are rather fascinating. It's just the one thing that bothers me and I refuse to spoil it for anyone. For this reason, that being that the ending is entertaining on the detecting side.

7 people found this helpful

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SW Book Worm

Great Read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

I ordered this book after watching the movie of the same name, which starred Paul Newman. In the credits it stated it was based on Ross MacDonald"s book, and I was curious enough about the story to want to read it. While parts of the book differ from the movie, the general plot is the same, and I found it an engrossing story that is worth reading for anyone who likes mystery and suspense.

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C. M Mills

The Drowning Pool is the eighth novel in the Ross Macdonald series on detective Lew Archer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 31, 2020

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Ross Macdonald along with his older mentors Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Travel are the trinity of stars in the hardboiled school of American detective fiction. Macdonald was a native Californian though he spent his younger years in Canada. Lew Archer is his most famous character and is in the tradition of Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe.
The Drowning Pool takes place in a tony suburb of Los Angeles It concerns the murder of an older matriarch named Olive Slocum. Several other victims are murdered during the course of Archer's investigation. The case began when he was contacted by Olive's sexy daughter-in-law Maude who had been receiving blackmail notes,. The daughter of Maude is Cathy. Maude's husband James is an effete intellectual who likes to act in amateur plays and is friendly with Francis Marvell a British gay friend who has written the play being acted in by James. The case delves into the corrupt world of an evil rich man who runs an oil company. The plot is complicated but understandable and plausible,. One of the best in the series. Recommended.

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David Fulmer

Great Private Eye Novel

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 15, 2021

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This is a great private eye novel about Lew Archer, a detective who’s hired by a woman facing a blackmail threat. She won’t let him know what scandalous background she might have that she could be blackmailed over, just that she’s received a vaguely threatening letter and fears more, so he has to just start hanging out around her family to learn more. From there it gets violent and soap operative as a bunch of family secrets emerge and mix with an oil company’s efforts to drill on the family land. Archer is a cynical and witty detective whose voice and style is one of the major assets of this novel. It’s an entertaining thriller full of plot twists set in mid-century Los Angeles and its environs.

One person found this helpful

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Customer

A hard novel to care about

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 3, 2013

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The Drowning Pool is a difficult novel for me to recommend. From the first scene between Archer and his client RMcD lays a heavy hand on his usually much more deft touch. Detective and client, the true innocents in the book, engage in the usual hard-boiled banter but it's very strained and a almost cruel on Archer's part. The rest of the novel follows this trend through stranger and stranger twists and turns--none of these plot elements making any more sense than the initial verbal combat at the novel's start.

There are a lot of good things about the book--it is RMcD, after all--but this book carries weight and losses that ultimately don't really add up. MacDonald writes with a thesaurus not a dictionary at hand (for example, how many ways do you want to learn to describe erectile dysfunction, including Latin, and ED doesn't really play that much of a role in the story or character motivation).

This is the last realistic of the Archer novel's I've read so far. That doesn't make it bad, and it's exponentially better than 99.9 percent of our contemporary detective fiction, it just doesn't make it the best Ross MacDonald.

6 people found this helpful

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evil concarne

Great books, but the Kindle editions contain too many typos.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have been a fan of Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer series for decades and have re-read all the books in the series many times. I have been working my way through them again, in publication order, this time on my Kindle. The novels are as great as ever and I still enjoy them. But the Kindle editions are full of typographical errors. Some are random (e.g., he/she confusion), some are repetitive - not just within a books - from book to book (e.g., a car referred to as a "Chewy" rather than "Chevy". This is a minor annoyance and does not significantly detract from these great novels. But it does seem to imply that the publisher considers them "pulp" rather than serious novels. That strikes me as disrespectful to both the author (who is a recognized master) and the reader (who paid full price for these books).

I've put this review under this book because it is the first in the series. But my comments apply to all the books in the Lew Archer series. The books are all very good. But the Kindle editions all contain typos.

5 people found this helpful

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Bonnie B.

Macdonald's effortless ability to turn perfect observation

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2018

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Have rediscovered Ross Macdonald's tough-minded detective, Lew Archer, in the last six months or so. I started with short stories--an odd decision since normally I prefer full-length hard-boiled novels to short stories. But, Macdonald's shorties in "The Archer Files" were terrific.
If for no other reason than Macdonald's effortless ability to turn a perfect first-person observation, "The Drowning Pool" is excellent. This review ought to be 4-and-3/4 stars. My only reservation was getting lost as a reader occasionally and having to turn back to get matters straight: more the product of my late-night reading than the author's thread.
Can't wait for more.

2 people found this helpful

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Muti1971

Great Hard-boiled fiction...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

I read all of Raymond Chandler's "Philip Marlowe" books, and loved the cynical, world-weary knight errant of the hard-boiled genre. I also read Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon", as well as a number of more recent novels inspired by these early gumshoes: a number of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels, Robert Crais's Elvis Cole novels and Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels.
In looking for more of these hard-boiled novels, I came across Ross MacDonald's name, and man, am I happy I did. This was a beauty. Set in post WW-II west coast US, Lew Archer is an ex-military intelligence man and former policeman now turned gumshow. It's classic noir-ish mystery at its best, with great writing and seedy characters. And Archer is a great protagonist. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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Beverly Collins

One of the best crime authors ever - his description of 'everyday' items ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 11, 2018

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One of the best crime authors ever - his description of 'everyday' items is beautifully expressed..and the bits of humor interjected make his collection one of my favorites - EVERYONE should at least check him out.

2 people found this helpful

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D. P. Lyle

Another excellent shorty from a classic noir author

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 14, 2017

Verified Purchase

Another excellent shorty from a classic noir author. Love all his stories and this one has all the usual twists and turns and family intrigues.

DP Lyle, Award-winning author of the Jake Longly, Dub Walker, and Samantha Cody thriller series.

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