Black Money (1966) a very belated book review

Fashioning myself something of a writer, there are several authors out there whose work I greatly admire and keep circling back to in awe and for inspiration.  A partial list of some of the best of the best, IMHO of course, include Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Joseph Conrad, Isaac Asimov, and Raymond Chandler.  This is but the tip of the iceberg.

Without getting too far afield, I also really, really like the Lew Archer novels by Ross Macdonald. (pen name for Kenneth Millar, 1915-1983).  The 18 Lew Archer novels (there were also a handful of short stories) appeared between 1949 (The Moving Target) and 1976 (The Blue Hammer).  While the first few novels were decent enough, Mr. Macdonald/Millar really hit his stride quickly, soon producing one excellent novel after another (the only one that disappointed me was the very last Archer novel, The Blue Hammer.  Mr. Millar would ultimately succumb to Alzheimer’s disease and I suspect that this last published novel was marred to some degree by the early stages of that terrible disease).

As damn good as the Lew Archer series is, I suspect today’s audiences don’t know all that much about these books.  If they do, it may be because of two Paul Newman films, 1966’s Harper (The Lew Archer character name was changed to Lew Harper for the screen but the film was indeed based on the first Archer novel, The Moving Target) and 1975’s The Drowning Pool (based on the second Lew Archer novel of the same name).

While Harper is considered something of a classic (you can read my belated review of that film here), The Drowning Pool isn’t quite as good, IMHO.

The character of Lew Archer would also appear in television shows and on the radio yet, as mentioned above, I suspect not all that many people today know about the books.

Why is that?

Perhaps one of the reasons is because the Lew Archer character and the stories he is in are so very, very derivative of Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe books.  If one is less kind, one would say Mr. Macdonald/Miller were straight out simply trying to make more Phillip Marlowe books.  Derivative or not, if one can put that aside you’re in for a treat as the Lew Archer novels are incredibly rich works of detective fiction.

The reason I mention all this is because the Coen Brothers (FargoThe Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, etc. etc.) recently announced that one of their next projects is a film adaptation of the 13th, and what many, including author Macdonald/Millar, feels is the best of the Lew Archer novels, Black Money. (for the record, my favorite Archer novel is the book that preceded Black Money by a couple of years, 1964’s The Chill).

When I heard the Coens were interested in making Black Money, I tried to recall the novel but given all the years since I read it I couldn’t.  Luckily, I have almost every one of the Archer novels so I headed to one of my bookshelves, picked the book up, and gave it a spin.

And what an enjoyable experience it was.

While The Chill still remains my favorite Archer novel, Black Money proved yet another well written work of detective fiction complete with well defined characters, tragedy, murder, and more than a few red herrings.  Macdonald/Millar had a knack for writing works that appeared deceptively spare yet had a great depth to them.  The novel is indeed short and consists mostly of dialogue between characters yet is packed with interesting scenarios and events.  Some are quite humorous while others are very dark.

The plot, briefly, involves Lew Archer being hired to check up on a supposed ex-pat in hiding Frenchman temporarily residing at an exclusive Californian Tennis Club and romancing a young woman who also resides there.  The man hiring Archer loves and wants to marry this woman and feels, as do several others at the club, that the Frenchman is a fraud.

To reveal much more than this would be a crime (pun slightly intended), but suffice it to say that things get very twisty from here on out and the past and present collide alongside characters who have hidden agendas.

As enjoyable as the novel was, and I certainly recommend it along with the other Archer books to anyone who likes the works of Raymond Chandler, I admit to being a little worried as to how/if it can be successfully adapted into a movie.

Again, this novel consists mostly of dialogue (which is more than fine) between Archer and the various people he encounters but, frankly, there is little actual action to be found.  Obviously the film will be promoted as a work of detective fiction, but I worry people may find the lack of said action a detriment.  And adding -or expanding- on whatever action there is for the sake of creating some exciting scenes may alter, perhaps for the worse, the film/book’s story.

Having said that and given their success rate, if there’s anyone that can make this work it would be the Coens.

So, if you’re a fan of the Coen brothers and want to get a jump on one of their next projects or if you’re a fan of good detective novels, give Black Money a try.  Just be warned: You may be tempted to look up all the other Archer books afterwards.