The Doomsters Summary
Ross Macdonald

The Doomsters Summary

The Doomsters contains the first extensive use of the exploration of the family saga as a plot device. All of Macdonald's novels deal with the importance of the family in one way or another, but with The Doomsters the history of the family integrates with the psychological makeup of the individual characters and the fledgling society of California to create the interconnected world of the Archer series.

The dissection of the family begins with the search for a runaway member of the clan, usually one of the children, and ends with the disclosure of the family's history, normally with disastrous results for individual family members.

The twin themes of love and hate, the lack of the former and superabundance of the latter, also surface as Archer delves into the case and uncovers secret affairs, unwanted and hidden pregnancies, strained marriages, characters coupled and bound by lust for sex...

(read more from the Short Guide)