Dream Town (Private Investigator Archer Book 3)

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In addition to being a prolific writer, David is a devoted philanthropist, and his greatest efforts are dedicated to his family’s Wish You Well Foundation®. Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy programs in the United States.

Dream Town (2022) continues the journey of Baldacci's late 1940's/early 1950's hardboiled detective character Aloysius Archer who was introduced in One Good Deed (2019) with a follow-up in A Gambling Man (2021). Dream Town is the third installment in #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci’s Nero Award-winning series. Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018. [9] Bibliography [ edit ] Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series [ edit ] The book starts off slowly, and continues to build tension until the crazy end. The more Archer investigates, the more complicated the problem gets. Baldacci does a great job of snowballing Archer's situation, adding more and more nefarious villains as the book progresses. Most of the minor characters are your stereotypical bad guys, but I didn't mind, as it was still fun to read. The book shines a light on the darker side of Hollywood and fame during that time period, particularly the studio contracts that used to bind actors to studios and dictate pretty much their whole life, which I've read about in other books and was pretty awful to women.Gresham, Tom (December 11, 2019). "David Baldacci once wrote stories in secret at VCU. Now he has millions of readers around the world". Virginia Commonwealth University. I call this the "Full Marlowe" as this is very much Raymond Chandler territory in an old familiar setting and Baldacci is able to completely capture that ambiance. He even (perhaps intentionally?) mimics Chandler's sometimes confusing plotlines. The only thing keeping this out of 5 star territory is that Baldacci's similes and metaphors don't quite hit the peaks of Chandler's noir poetry, but then who will ever be able to do that? He’d met Callahan in Reno, where she was a dancer and hoofer at a dinner club. They’d traveled to Bay Town together and nearly gotten killed several times along the way. There was nothing like confronting death to cement a friendship. What I did, Archer, is between me, myself, and I.” She looked wistful, which she almost never did. “But I hear TV is really taking off,” she said. “Maybe I should think about trying that.” I can park it myself,” Archer said off this look. “Only questions are, how much do I charge, and are you a good tipper?”

After a series of increasingly chilling events—mysterious phone calls, the same blue car loitering outside her house, and a bloody knife left in her sink—Eleanor fears that her life is in danger, and she wants to hire Archer to look into the matter. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she’s saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home . . . and Eleanor herself disappears. It’s sort of a voyeuristic mystery story. Anyway, there’s a nifty female lead character, described as tall, blond, and assertive—you know, professional with her own career, but still looking for the right man to give her a ring and babies.” A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Hollywood is "Dream Town" filled with powerful people, money, sex, and schemers. Everyone lies and it is hard to find the truth but Archer is determined to find Lamb and a murderer. The story takes the reader from Hollywood to Las Vegas. From movie stars to the mob. Nothing is glamorous in Dream Town. The waitress presented Lamb with her glass of sherry and bitters with a curlicue orange peel apparently for window dressing. Archer didn’t know anyone who really drank sherry unless they had to, but he thought he might just be hanging out with the wrong crowd. Review of the Grand Central Publishing audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Grand Central Publishing hardcover (April 19, 2022) Archer’s investigation takes him from the rich, glamorous and glitzy LA to the seedy, dark side of the city, and onward to the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, just now hitting its stride as a hot spot for celebrities and a money-making machine for the mob. In a place where cops and crooks work hand in hand, Archer will cross paths with Hollywood stars, politicians and notorious criminals. He’ll almost die several times, and he’ll discover bodies and secrets from the canyons and beaches of Malibu and the luxurious mansions of Bel Air and Beverly Hills to the narcotics clubs of Chinatown.

In One Good Deed, bestselling and award-winning author David Baldacci introduced readers to Aloysius Archer, a World War II veteran who had just been released from prison for a crime he maintained he did not commit. He became embroiled in a murder mystery and helped solve the case. He so impressed the lead detective, Irving Shaw, that Shaw recommended Archer to his buddy, Willie Dash, who once worked with Eliot Ness. As A Gambling Man, the second book in the series, opened, Archer was on his way to Bay Town, California, to take advantage of Shaw’s generosity and convince Dash to give him a chance. Along the way, Archer found plenty of trouble, as well as Liberty Callahan, a Reno nightclub performer with dreams of making it big in Hollywood. Finally arriving in Bay Town, Archer became Dash’s apprentice and his relationship with Liberty grew closer. When they got inside he watched as Callahan looked around at all the legendary stars partying there. Her manner at first became subdued, as though she was as overwhelmed by this as any out-oftowner would have been. But then her expression changed to one of sheer excitement to be in their company. Archer is an old friend from Bay Town, just up the coast. He put his detective work aside for one night to ring in the new year with me.”

Dream Town

Well, they got that right, thought Archer. But for a private eye, LA could be a fascinating study of human beings, and all their many foibles. Archer does not trust the police. First of all, the local force has a terrible reputation and has been at the center of scandals. More importantly, Archer has learned over the years that “anybody can be bought,” so he does not provide information to the authorities as he gathers it. Archer has learned to rely only on himself and trust his investigative instincts. That wisdom is critical to the story because Baldacci reveals that money is at the root of several aspects of the plot. Which makes sense because, after all, Archer is operating in Hollywood with an eclectic cast of supporting characters who work at and operate big movie studios. There is a lot of money, along with reputations, at stake.

He had begun to feel things for her that every man hoped to feel about a woman one day. But maybe those feelings had been there for a long time, only their weight had compressed him into silence. He was thinking of maybe one day soon breaking that silence.

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Private investigator and World War II veteran Aloysius Archer heads to Los Angeles, the city where dreams are made and shattered, and is ensnared in a lethal case in this latest thriller in #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci’s Nero Award-winning series. Connie Morrison was Willie Dash’s ex-wife and current secretary. They needed each other far more now than when they were married. Willie was a first-rate investigator and had taught Archer more in three years than a man had any right to expect. Dinner at Chasen’s, then drinks at the Cocoanut Grove, then we head upstairs to the penthouse suite and ring in 1953 with the bubbly and some VIPs.” Baldacci always planned to have Archer work his way across the country from Oklahoma to California,and depict the character growing and maturing in each successive volume. Indeed, gone is the Archer who survived war only to find himself in prison and then, in One Good Deed, on parole. He had to operate carefully because an infraction — or violation staged by corrupt local officials — could result in further incarceration. In A Gambling Man, Archer had been released from parole and was free to begin his journey to California, but he had not established himself as a competent investigator. Three years later, he is confident and self-assured, but still gets aggravated when he feels he could have handled a situation better. Archer is a multi-layered, fully formed character and very much a man of the time in which he lives. He is masculine and protective of those he believes he needs to shield from harm. He is also capable of introspection and has maintained a close friendship with Liberty while she has found modest success in Hollywood, landing supporting roles that pay extremely well, as she continues striving for the big break that will put her name on a marquee. His feelings for Liberty have deepened with time. But Liberty fears for Archer as he careens from one near-miss to another. Can she tolerate the stressors of Archer’s profession? Or can she convince him to settle down and, perhaps, play a cop on a television show or in the movies? A number of mysterious and creepy events have taken place, leaving Eleanor feeling as though she is being targeted. She wants to hire Archer to look into the matter as soon as possible. Sure there is more to the story, Archer reluctantly agrees to poke around, making plans to come by her home the following day. When he does, Eleanor is nowhere to be found, but there’s a body in the house, leaving Archer to wonder if she might have been responsible.