RARA-AVIS: Re: Catching up... Macdonald

From: Kevin Burton Smith ( kvnsmith@thrillingdetective.com)
Date: 05 Nov 2003


Oh, yeah, Greenleaf would be a great choice. I knew I was forgetting an obvious choice.

Grafton might actually pull it off, but she's never gone that deep before. Then again, it's easier to see Tanner as Archer than Millhone as Archer, so I wonder if I'm confusing character with the author's voice? At least Grafton already knows the turf -- Kinsey lives in Archer's old neighbourhood of Santa Teresa.

As for James Reasoner, as much as I liked TEXAS WIND, and as much as I found echoes of Archer in his P.I., Cody, I'm not sure if the tone of the book was that reminiscent of Macdonald. And that's what I think would be the toughest to capture -- the tone of Macdonald's work. Which is why I thought of Cook and Atwood (and now Greenleaf).

Mario calls it depressing, I think of it more as brooding introspection, but there's definitely something dark and sad and fragile about Macdonald's best work.

-- 

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