With the Aloysius Archer thrillers, not only has David Baldacci given us a series written in the old crime noir style, he has introduced us to a lead character with a name practically ripped from the pages of a Ross Macdonald novel. In this latest entry, DREAM TOWN, Archer finds himself stepping out of his friendly hometown confines and visiting his old friend, aspiring actress Liberty Callahan, in Los Angeles to ring in 1953.

Archer may be only 30 years old, but it seems as if he has lived a lifetime, having fought in World War II and now working under his mentor, Willie Dash, as a private eye. It’s enough to make him feel like all the terrible things he has seen in the world has made him wise well beyond his years. To begin with, he’s happy to see Liberty, but he knows he’ll be running up against the LAPD, who he views as one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world. They also don’t look too kindly on PIs, especially those from out of town.

"Baldacci has produced another story that is so easy to fall into and get lost in, to the point where it becomes more about the journey than the destination."

Archer and Liberty attend a big New Year’s Eve party, which is like a who’s who of Hollywood at the time. There they run into Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter and a friend of Liberty’s. Since this is an Archer novel, we know this won’t be a normal introduction. Sure enough, shortly after meeting each other, Eleanor asks for Archer’s help as she thinks someone is trying to kill her.

Of course, Archer takes the case. To save on Eleanor’s fees, he stays in a spare room at Liberty’s place. On a whim, he decides to contact Eleanor after the party. A man answers the phone wanting to know who is calling at such a late hour. He promptly hangs up on Archer without ever putting him through to her. This rouses enough suspicion for Archer to jump in his car, grab a map and head over to Eleanor’s place to see what’s going on. What he finds, once he wakes up after being knocked out by an unseen perp, is the body of a dead man and no sign of Eleanor.

Now Archer begins doing what he does best, albeit in unfamiliar territory --- find clues by talking to as many people as possible. His investigation takes him from Hollywood to Chinatown to some of the seedier places and neighborhoods around the LA area. He also meets quite a number of shady characters and earns a few more scars in the process.

When Archer reconnects with Willie, he learns that the dead man was fellow PI Cedric Bender. Eventually Archer crosses paths with Darren Paley, who turns out to be a major player. Willie knows him well and would love to bring him down. This will send Archer and Willie to Las Vegas, where Paley also has some big dealings that could tie into some of the less upstanding ventures Archer had turned up in LA. The bottom line is that Eleanor is still missing, possibly dead, and Archer has no idea if she has any connection to these bad men or why she would be a target of their wrath.

DREAM TOWN is a great depiction of the dark side of Hollywood as seen through the eyes of a world-weary PI with a heart who always wants to finish the job and do right by his client. Baldacci has produced another story that is so easy to fall into and get lost in, to the point where it becomes more about the journey than the destination.