The Way Some People Die
Ross Macdonald
 Mrs. Samuel Lawrence gives Lew Archer 50 dollars for one day of his time to find her daughter Galatea (a.k.a. Galley). Archer soon discovers she was married to a small-time mobster named Joe Tarantine. 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, Palm Springs, San Francisco, and back again, trying to tie together details that seem as random as they are violent.