Part of Lew Archer, book 18
First published 1976
Private investigator Lew Archer takes on what appears to be a straightforward case of stolen artwork when a valuable painting goes missing from a wealthy collector's home. The trail leads him through the art galleries and studios of Southern California, where he encounters dealers, artists, and collectors whose polished surfaces hide darker truths. As Archer digs deeper, the theft connects to a decades-old murder that someone desperately wants to keep buried. The detective must navigate family secrets, artistic rivalries, and personal vendettas while the body count rises around him. What began as a simple recovery job becomes a complex web of past crimes and present dangers. Archer discovers that the stolen painting holds the key to understanding both the original murder and the current violence plaguing everyone connected to it. The case forces him to confront how art, money, and human obsession create deadly combinations that span generations.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, family-drama
Setting: California, Southern California
Period: 20th-century
256 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: murder, violence