Journalist Nolan examines in intimate, almost obsessive detail the contradictory life of Kenneth Millar, a troubled, book-stealing ruffian who grew up to become Ross Macdonald, the crime writer known for his Lew Archer series (and, incidentally, one of Eudora Welty's closest friends). Macdonald was so beset by woes, including an extremely competitive marriage to rival mystery scribe Margaret Millar, that it's something of a miracle he ever succeeded at all, let alone became known as the heir to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. His life comes off as a series of chancy starts and thrilling stops that, in this case, amounted to a great career. B
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