Ross Mcdonald's Lew Archer

Lew Archer is a fictional character created by Ross Macdonald. Archer was similar to Philip Marlowe. However, he eventually broke from that mold, Archer's principal difference is that he is much more openly sensitive and empathetic than the tough Marlowe. He also serves a different function from Marlowe. Raymond Chandler's books were studies of Marlowe's character and code of honor. Another small difference was that Marlowe prowled the city of Los Angeles during the 1940s, while Lew Archer primarily worked the suburbs in the 1950s. Like Marlowe, Archer observes growing dichotomies in the American society with visual snapshots. Archer's name pays homage to Dashiell Hammett. Miles Archer was the name of Sam Spade's murdered partner in The Maltese Falcon. 

The 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)

The Films

The Moving Target (filmed with Paul Newman as Harper, 1966)
The Drowning Pool (also filmed with Paul Newman as "Lew Harper", 1975)

TV

The Underground Man (1974, dir Paul Wendkos, TV movie starring Peter Graves).

Archer, (1975 NBC TV series starring Brian Keith)

 

Ross Mcdonald

Kenneth Millar (December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983)