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This exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the art and design of graphic props for popular films and TV shows like Parks and Recreation, John Wick, Silver Linings Playbook, The Knick, and Boardwalk Empire is the perfect gift for movie buffs.In Prop Man, discover the secret history of the books, cards, letters, maps, and legal papers that play central and supporting roles in many of your favorite films and TV shows―from the diary Nicolas Cage's character discovers in National Treasure 2 to the Pawnee town charter in Parks and Recreation. The man responsible for their authentic look, Ross MacDonald, has led a double life as both an illustrator and writer, contributing to the New York Times, the New Yorker and Vanity Fair, among other national publications, and a designer and fabricator of iconic props for more than one hundred and twenty films and TV series.In this visual and informative collection, learn about the methods and artistry behind MacDonald's most recognizable props through an

The desert air is hot with sex and betrayal, death and madness and only Archer can make sense of a killer who makes murder a work of art. Finding a purloined portrait of a leggy blonde was supposed to

Henry is a monster whose body parts tend to fall off but his right hand helps keep everything together and is his best friend, until Henry becomes lazy and his hand decides to leave.

In a rundown house in Santa Monica, Mrs. Samuel Lawrence presses fifty crumpled bills into Lew Archer's hand and asks him to find her wandering daughter, Galatea. Described as ‘crazy for men’ and with

Generations of murder, greed and deception come home to roost in time for the most shocking conclusion ever in a Lew Archer novel.At first glance, it's an open-and-shut missing persons case: a headstr

The beautiful, high-diving blonde had Hollywood dreams and stars in her eyes but now she seems to have disappeared without a trace. Hired by her hotheaded husband and her rummy “uncle,” Lew Archer sni

It was a long way from the million-dollar Foothill Club to Pelly Street, where grudges were settled in blood and Spanish and a stolen diamond ring landed a girl in jail.? Defense lawyer Bill Gunnarson

In The Goodbye Look, Lew Archer is hired to investigate a burglary at the mission-style mansion of Irene and Larry Chalmers. The prime suspect, their son Nick, has a talent for disappearing, and the C

Almost twenty years have passed since Anthony Galton disappeared, along with a suspiciously streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of his family's fortune. Now Anthony's mother wants him back a

Hired by Carl Hallman, the desperate-eyed junkie scion of an obscenely wealthy political dynasty, detective Lew Archer investigates the suspicious deaths of his parents, Senator Hallman and his wife A

"[Macdonald] is one of a handful of writers in the genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form."---Los Angeles Times"[Ross Macdonald] gives to the detective story that accent of

When a millionaire matriarch is found floating face-down in the family pool, the prime suspects are her good-for-nothing son and his seductive teenage daughter. In The Drowning Pool, Lew Archer takes

Las Cruces wasn’t a place most travelers would think to stop. But after Lew Archer plays the good samaritan and picks up a bloodied hitchhiker, he finds himself in town for a few days awaiting a murde

Has Tom Hillman run away from his exclusive reform school, or has he been kidnapped? Are his wealthy parents protecting him or their own guilty secrets? And why does every clue lead Lew Archer to an a

In the last days of World War II, a sailor discovers a transcontinental conspiracyIt is February 1945, and the war in the Pacific is nearing its climax. In Hawaii on his way to a new post, US Navy e

He was a son who hadn’t known his father very well.? It was a town shaken by a grisly murder—his father’s murder.? Johnny Weatherly was home from a war and wandering.? When he found out that his fathe

A hard-faced woman clad in a blue mink stole and dripping with diamonds hires Lew Archer to track down her former maid, who she claims has stolen her jewelry. Archer can tell he's being fed a line, b

What Would Jesus Craft? is a hilarious take on a Sunday school's craft book. For fans of Amy Sedaris'sI Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence and Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, it features