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Lew Archer

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Ranked #1353 in Books, #251255 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

Lew Archer by Ross MacDonald

Author Kenneth Millar created the character Lew Archer in the same mold as Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe.

Archer was a returning war vet who was once part of the Police Department before becoming a Private Detective.

When it was time to present his first Archer novel to publishers, Millar decided to use the pseudonym John MacDonald, the first and middle name of his father. However John D. MacDonald was making a living writing similar types of stories and the first book in the series was under John Ross MacDonald. Within a few years it was simply Ross MacDonald.

Lew Archer's name came from the dead partner of Sam Spade, The Maltese Falcon, Miles Archer.

Two movies starring Paul Newman were made of the series although the name was changed from Lew Archer to Lew Harper. 1966 - Harper and 1975 - The Drowning Pool.

Brian Keith starred as Lew Archer in the TV series Archer which lasted for 6 episodes in the winter of 1975.

The Series 

Novels
The Moving Target (1949)
The Drowning Pool (1950)
The Way Some People Die (1951)
The Ivory Grin (1952; aka Marked for Murder)
Find a Victim (1954)
The Barbarous Coast (1956)
The Doomsters (1958)
The Galton Case (1959)
The Wycherly Woman (1961)
The Zebra-Striped Hearse (1962)
The Chill (1964)
The Far Side of the Dollar (1965)
Black Money (1966)
The Instant Enemy (1968)
The Goodbye Look (1969)
The Underground Man (1971)
Sleeping Beauty (1973)
The Blue Hammer (1976)

Short Stories
Find the Woman (June 1946, EQMM)
The Bearded Lady (American Magazine, October 1948)
The Imaginary Blonde (February 1953, Manhunt; AKA Gone Girl)
The Guilty Ones (May 1953, Manhunt; AKA The Sinister Habit)
The Beat-Up Sister (October 1953, Manhunt; AKA The Suicide)
Guilt-Edged Blonde ( January 1954, Manhunt)
Wild Goose Chase (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1954)
Midnight Blue (October 1960, Ed McBain's Mystery Magazine)
The Sleeping Dog (April 1965, Argosy)

Published in three collections: My Name is Archer, Lew Archer, Private Investigator, and Strangers in Town

Lew Archer Books on Amazon 

The Moving Target

Lew Archer's first appearance

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Drowning Pool

Lew Archer - 2nd

Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Way Some People Die (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 3rd

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Ivory Grin (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 4th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Find a Victim: A Lew Archer Novel

Lew Archer - 5th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Lew Archer Books on Amazon 

The Barbarous Coast (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 6th

Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Doomsters

Lew Archer - 7th

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Galton Case (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 8th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

the wycherly woman

Lew Archer - 9th

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Zebra-Striped Hearse (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 10

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Lew Archer Books on Amazon 

The Chill

Lew Archer - 11th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Far Side of the Dollar (Lew Archer)

Lew Archer - 12th

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Black Money (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 13th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Instant Enemy (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 14th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Goodbye Look

Lew Archer - 15th

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Lew Archer books on Amazon 

The Underground Man (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 16th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Sleeping Beauty

Lew Archer - 17th

Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Blue Hammer (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Lew Archer - 18th

Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

The Archer Files, The Complete Short Stories of Lew Archer, Private Investigator

Lew Archer - Short Stories

Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 12/02/2008) Buy Now

Lew Archer on eBay 

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