Millionaire Ralph Sampson has been kidnapped and it's up to Lew Archer to find him. But what does the kidnapping have to do with an aging astrologer-actress, a piano player, and a holy man Sampson once gave a mountain to?The Moving Target was a fast-paced noir thriller. Archer kept getting deeper and deeper into trouble. The love triangle between Miranda Sampson, Albert Graves, and Allen Taggart seemed to be needless at first but proved to be a very important plot element. One thing I really liked was that Archer wasn't a super-hero. He got his ass handed to him but kept on coming. Most of the killing was done by other people.
Things I didn't like? Archer gets knocked out way too many times. You'd think he'd be more careful after the first time. He's also kind of a stereotype noir detective. From what I hear, he breaks away from the Phillip Marlowe role in later books but I kept thinking of Marlowe while I was reading this.
The Moving Target is a good noir read. Just don't expect it to bring anything new to the table.