THE BARBAROUS COAST

N.Y.: Alfred A Knopf Inc, 1956. First edition, so stated. June 18, 1956. Original strong reddish orange (#35) and pale yellowish pink (#31) paper -covered decorative boards. Spine lettering in black on white panels. Back has black borzoi device on pale yellowish pink rectangle. White endpapers. Top and bottom edges trimmed. Top edge stained greenish blue.[ Ross Macdonald / Kenneth Millar: A Descriptive Bibliography; University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983 by Matthew Bruccoli] Tiny stain at spine else about fine in original unclipped dust jacket ($2.95 price], lightly soiled, tiny chippings at ends, some surface dust soiling to rear panel. The first appearance of Millar's penname "Ross Macdoald". The sixth book in the Lew Archer Series. The beautiful, high-diving blonde had Hollywood dreams and stars in her eyes but now she seems to have disappeared without a trace. Hired by her hotheaded husband and her rummy "uncle," Lew Archer sniffs around Malibu and finds the stink of blackmail, blood-money, and murder on every pricey silk shirt. Beset by dirty cops, a bumptious boxer turned silver screen pretty boy and a Hollywood mogul with a dark past, Archer discovers the secret of a grisly murder that just won't stay hidden.Lew Archer navigates through the watery, violent world of wealth and privilege, in this electrifying story of obsession gone mad. This copy, although not marked as such, comes from the auction of the Ronald K. Siegel Collection. . First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Illus. by Carlu, Jean. Book.