The Far Side of the Dollar

By Ross Macdonald,

Book cover of The Far Side of the Dollar

Book description

In The Far Side of the Dollar, private investigator Lew Archer is looking for an unstable rich kid who has run away from an exclusive reform school—and into the arms of kidnappers. Why are his desperate parents so loath to give Archer the information he needs to find him? And…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Far Side of the Dollar as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Like other private detectives, LA-based Lew Archer sees too much—too much bad or at least questionable behavior. Here, it seems to take the form of a runaway—a rich kid who has “escaped” confinement from his exclusive 60’s reform school. Despite his lack of style and color, Archer acts confident he’ll find him. The only problem: The parents—his client—aren’t helping him very much.  

His disappearance case threatens to disappear, providing an especially clever irony and supporting what I believe is author Macdonald’s favorite insight: The problem begins and ends in the family. The only question is, with all the darkness the…

Want books like The Far Side of the Dollar?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 80 books like The Far Side of the Dollar.

Browse books like The Far Side of the Dollar

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in private investigators, California, and hard boiled?

California 397 books
Hard Boiled 281 books