The Moving Target Audiobook By Ross Macdonald cover art

The Moving Target

A Lew Archer Novel

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Moving Target

By: Ross Macdonald
Narrated by: Tom Parker
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.58

Buy for $14.58

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshiping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain, and the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now, one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping.

As private eye Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints where you can get beaten up between sets, The Moving Target blends sex, greed, misdirected love, and family hatred into an explosive crime novel.

More mayhem? Try our other Lew Archer mysteries.

©1977 John Ross Macdonald (P)2001 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Hard-Boiled Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Crime
Excellent Noir Writing • Descriptive Scenes • Flawless Narration • Iconic Detective • Engaging Dialogue • Vivid Imagery
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
The narrator was great but the I found myself daydreaming while listening and forgetting what was happening. The story had a few twists but overall didn’t have much depth. I know the later novels in the series are more highly regarded so I’m going to stick to it.

An okay who done it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
and I love listening to Tom Parker reading! the only challenge is that the plot has a lot of intertwining lines and characters that can be a little hard to follow in the audio format.

I loved reading Ross MacDonald

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am a huge fan of Raymond Chandler’s noir. This is even better if that is possible – fascinating characterization, picture of settings, and superb writing. Enjoy!

Amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
US 1 is not on the west coast! As stated in the first 30 seconds of the book

Started with an error.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book overall wasn't bad. The narrator did a great job portraying characters and keeping true to that oldschool detective vibe. I like the era the story takes place. however I personally found the story in and of itself not too interesting. I wasn't captivated by it but that was more because I personally was looking for something more sinister or gritty in a detective novel. Still I believe many will still like this, but it's a one and done for me.

Wish for a more captivating story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Noir at it's best. Archer is hired to find a missing man, a man who is very wealthy. A man who is also a depressed alcoholic. Did he wander off or was he kidnapped? Like always, Archer has a multitude of suspects to wade through.

Missing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent descriptions of surroundings and characters. Concise dialogue. Free lance investigator Archer delves deeply into the actions and thoughts of characters to take readers on a ride that may have them comparing people they know to those they meet on these pages.


Suspense wonderful use of language

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Moving Target is a really good American Noir Crime Mystery from 1949. It is set in California. The audiobook is very well read by Tom Parker. There are many very detailed descriptions of scenery which I had to either re listen to or reread on Kindle to gain the full appreciation of the writing. I have had some reader / listeners tell me they do not care about scenery. That might cause one to enjoy this audiobook less than me. I really took my time with it and really enjoyed it.

Some American Noir writers of the past use racial and gender vernacular that is now considered unacceptable. I found that most recently in a otherwise well written story by Raymond Chandler. This story under review by Ross McDonald contains less of that sort of language which also added to my personal reading pleasure.

I have been doing a wide ranging review of American Crime Noir from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. I feel this is my favorite that I have thus far read from this period. Thank You...

My Favorite American Noir Mystery Thus Far

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Clearly this is the basis for the screen play for the 70s movie - Harper —staring Paul Newman. Good story - very enjoyable.

Basis for the movie - Harper

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kept me guessing, and there was compassion down to everyone, even the bad guys.

Good story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews