The Way Some People Die

Middle-aged Mrs. Samuel Lawrence gives Lew Archer 50 dollars for one day of his time to find her daughter Galatea (a.k.a. Galley) who has been missing since just before Christmas. Archer soon discovers she was married to a small-time mobster named Joe Tarantine. Starting the investigation in the most likely place, with Tarantine's brother, Mario, Lew finds the man in the hospital after a severe beating that has left him almost unrecognizable. And shortly after that, a big-time mobster offers him five thousand to find Tarantine. The investigation quickly gains a body count and Lew is constantly drawn from Los Angeles to Pacific Point (most likely a fictionalized and geographically transposed version of Santa Barbara which it resembles in many respects. The notion that it might be La Jolla is belied by the fact that La Jolla lacks the boat harbor and many other features that match or approximate those of Santa Barbara.) La Jolla[1] ), Palm Springs, San Francisco, and back again, trying to tie together details that seem as random as they are violent. As the bodies pile up, so does Archer's confusion, but he remains undeterred by the situation, relying on his well-honed instinct for deviant behavior and the venal intentions of others. Still, the bodies accumulate at an alarming rate, a handsome part-time actor found dead in his apartment, a newlywed husband on the lam, a boat piled on the rocks, fast-talking women, everybody with a handout or hidden agenda.[2]

This book introduces the second of two cities Ross invented and was to use commonly in his work, Pacific Point, located south of Los Angeles.[1]

Anthony Boucher described it as: "The best novel in the tough tradition I've read since Farewell, My Lovely and possibly since The Maltese Falcon."[3]

Dick Lochte wrote: "I'm not sure why I prefer The Way Some People Die to The Moving Target, the first book in the series, or The Galton Case, in which Macdonald distances himself from the influence of Chandler. I just like the nastiness of the plot and the sharpness of the dialogue."[4]