Joni's Reviews > The Zebra-Striped Hearse

Really enjoyed the 2 books I've read by him. Sue Grafton said he influenced her writng, so I checked him out. Set in southern CA, it's fun to learn about my adopted home during that time. I enjoy his thought process, and the dialogue as he interviews witnesses and suspects.
MacDonald's books have helped inspire new generations of writers -- from Robert B. Parker and Sue Grafton, to Roger Simon, Jonathan Kellerman, S.J. Rozan, James Ellroy, and Richard Barre.

"Macdonald's writing added psychological depth and insights into the motivations of his characters. Macdonald's plots were complicated, and often turned on Archer's unearthing family secrets of his clients and of the criminals who victimized them. Lost or wayward sons and daughters were a theme common to many of the novels. Combined the "whodunit" and the psychological thriller. Even his regular readers seldom saw a Macdonald denouement coming."