Ask for Me Tomorrow

Tom Aragon #1

by Margaret Millar

Introducing Tom Aragon, a fast-talking Mexican-American attorney turned private investigator, who is sent by his boss to track down a wealthy client’s philandering ex-husband in Mexico. His boss’ good idea of sending a Mexican to Mexico soon proves less than a sure thing as Aragon encounters crooked expats, land scams, and dead-end after dead-end in this quixotic and very entertaining homage to Chandler and Hammett. Gilda Decker needs a new bag, what with her second husband being suddenly crippled and her ex-husband hiding himself and his money somewhere in the hinterlands of Mexico. Gilda's recently retained lawyer, Tom Aragon, Mexican himself, is the best man for the job. But the deeper Aragon digs into her ex-husband's past the more dangerous his job becomes. One of Millar’s few reoccurring characters and her only foray into the tradition of Chandler and Hammett, Tom Aragon, ranks among her best creations. A sarcastic but talented young lawyer with a few rough edges, Aragon finds himself navigating one entitled nest of vipers after another, not to mention racial prejudice.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, American, 20th Century, Canada

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Margaret Ellis Millar (née Sturm) was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she was educated there and in Toronto. She moved to the United States after marrying Kenneth Millar (better known under the pen name Ross Macdonald). They resided for decades in the city of Santa Barbara, which was often utilized as a locale in her later novels under the pseudonyms of San Felice or Santa Felicia.

Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.

Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.

Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.

While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.

In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.

Reviews

[Carla Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/2018

I loved this, it is really good. The young lawyer Aragon, who I liked in The Murder of Miranda (follow up book to this, involving him), goes to Mexico here. I enjoyed it more than any Millar I read before. From 1976

[Susan Lundy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a reason Kenneth Millar had to change his name to Ross MacDonald...his wife had published before him, and her books sold better than his at the time! Margaret Millar may be somewhat of a footnote now, but having just finished "Ask For Me Tomorrow", I finally realize why she was so successful, and the Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. Previously I had read "Fiend" and "The Listening Walls" but finally, when reading this book, the beauty of her structure, her descriptions, and her character development appeared. Her book built to an ending not foreshadowed (which RARELY happens in mystery stories), yet perfectly logical. I won't spoil it, but I must say if you can find this book somewhere...anywhere (I found it in a used bookstore called Ballards in Saratoga Springs NY...worth a visit...)...do so and read it. Maybe I can just end by quoting part of the foreward she wrote in 1984 (first published in 1976): "I knit my books. ... I unravel, change yarns, drop a few stiches here and there, until the garment is finished. ASK FOR ME TOMORROW is the only book of mine that was truly made of whole cloth. The plot came to mind in its entirety. ...Sticking to one's knitting can be tedious. The writer presented with a whole piece of cloth is lucky indeed. So is the reader." She did not exaggerate..I was lucky to read this book

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somebody really ought to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Margaret Millar. At one point, she was a more successful and celebrated author than her husband, Kenneth Millar, aka Ross MacDonald. That's correct - he chose a pseudonym to avoid being confused with and overshadowed by her. Now, her books are mostly out of print, and very few but the most diehard mystery/suspense/crime fiction readers are familiar with her work.

That's a shame, because in many respects Millar's work stands toe-to-toe, and at times seems to surpass her husband's. Like MacDonald, Millar excels at painting psychologically complex portraits of her characters. Unlike MacDonald, Millar tends to write in the third person, and varies her point of view, allowing us to get inside of her characters' twisted motivations. It seems unfair to continually compare her work to her husband's. But having read both of their works, one can tell they had a tremendous influence on one another.

And the most obvious comparison between this work and his is with The Fergusson Affair; both feature somewhat idealistic young lawyers from a medium-sized Southern California city (a stand-in for the Millars' home of Santa Barbara) who end up shedding light on the soured relationships and hidden misdeeds of the towns' upper crust. Although I felt both were good, rather than great books, I'll give a slight leg-up on Ask for Me Tomorrow. Though both feel necessary to saddle their protagonist with a spouse to make him appear more "well rounded", at least Aragon's wife doesn't develop into a full-fledged unnecessary subplot, as Bill Gunnarson's in Ferguson.

In fact, one of my favorite aspects of Millar's style is that there is very little unnecessary anything. She's capable of effectively moving the plot along in a chapter that's one or two pages long, yet none of it ever feels rushed or perfunctory. Again, this is a trait she shared with her husband, but her skill in this area exceeds even his. Again, this book is not a true masterpiece, but it's definitely worth seeking-out.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably a four star novel but I've given it five because Millar should be a lot better known than she is. This is vividly imagined, gripping and humane, with fully realised characters and a final twist that had me reading the last chapter twice, just to make sure. Highly recommended if you like the idea of something that nods briefly at Chandler in terms of wit and plot, but has an extra bit of heart.

[E.G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read several of her other works, I was disappointed in this one. Part of what I like about her writing is an acute focus on character. It feels like a book that was never really finished -- it does not have the level of detail I expected from her. It reads like she didn't go back in and fatten up the skeleton of the story and it was easy to see where the action was headed before I got too far into it.

[Le Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,7*
Tựa tiếng Việt : Mang xuống tuyền đài
In 1000 cuốn khổ 13*19cm, năm 2002
NXB Lao động
Nội dung ( có spoil)
Gilly là một người phụ nữ khoảng 50 tuổi, giàu có, đang chăm sóc người chồng sống thực vật sau cơn đột quỵ trước đó. Marco hiện tại là người chồng thứ hai của Gilly và ông yếu đến nỗi có thể chết bất cứ khi nào. Trước tình cảnh trở thành bà góa, Gilly bỗng nhiên nhớ về người chồng đầu tiên là B.J, người chồng đã bỏ mình theo tiếng gọi tình yêu với cô gái trẻ Tula. Bà có ý định muốn gặp lại chồng cũ nên mướn luật sư Tom Aragon tìm xem B.J đang ở đâu và làm gì ở đất nước Mexico xa xôi. Tuy nhiên khi Aragon đến nơi thì biết được B.J bị bắt vào tù vì tội lừa đảo kinh doanh bất động sản cùng người bạn Harry Jenkins. Tula thì trở thành gái điếm, đứa bé tật nguyền của B.J và Tula được gửi cho Nhà thờ chăm sóc. Aragon hẹn gặp Jenkins để kiếm thông tin về B.J nhưng bỗng nhiên Jenkins bị tai nạn nhảy cầu chết. Rồi tiếp theo là cái chết của thẩm phán Hernandez- người đã cho B.J ra tù, tiếp đến là cô vợ Tula. 3 cái chết sau khi gặp Aragon khiến anh luật sư bị nghi ngờ có động cơ giết người nên anh ngay lập tức trở về Mỹ. Và khi gặp Gilly, bà đã nói hết sự thật...
Sự thật là
...Bà lợi dụng Aragon để tìm ra và nhờ người giết 3 kẻ đã gây ra nỗi thống khổ cho người chồng đầu tiên của bà. Và hiện tại người chồng thứ hai sắp chết chẳng ai khác cũng chính là người chồng đầu tiên. Marco chính là B.J và B.J cũng chính là Marco.
Truyện có nội dung khá hay, cách viết khơi gợi sự tò mò của độc giả. Dù trong truyện không có cảnh hành động nào, chỉ đa phần là trò chuyện nhưng những bí ẩn trong câu chuyện khiến người đọc không thể ngừng được. Và có những phân cảnh mình thấy rất hay, nhiều cảm xúc khi thể hiện tâm trạng thái độ, cách cư xử, hành động, lời nói của Gilly khi đọc được bức thư B.J gửi cho Ethel nhờ cứu mình ra khỏi tù. Có lẽ bà đau đớn khi đọc những dòng chữ ấy, dòng chữ chứa đựng sự coi thường của B.J dành cho bà " Anh không hiểu chuyện của anh và Gilly đã xảy ra như thế nào. Gilly khá ngộ nghĩnh và tụi anh đã có những lúc tuyệt vời bên nhau. Thế rồi bỗng dưng Gilly muốn anh cưới cô ta. Cô ta ngỏ lời cầu hôn anh..." Rõ ràng dù B.J đang trong tình trạng ngặt nghèo muốn Ethel giúp đỡ thì cũng không nên nói vậy. Đúng là tội nghiệp cho Gilly vì bà quá yêu thương ông, đã làm tất cả vì ông nhưng lại chỉ nhận được những lời cay đắng!

[Joe Nicholl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ask For Me Tomorrow by Margaret Millar (1976) started off really good...It had shades of her husbands writing (Ross Macdonald), that being a young lawyer playing the role of a P.I., the LA wealthy, and travel up and down the Pacific Coast (CA & Mexico). But the second half of the the book lost it's punch and the who dun-it & mystery was so obvious that is was a laugh...Not a big deal, it was a short book and reading any Margaret Millar is always time well spent....2.5 outta 5.0 but I'll bump it up to a 3.0...

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel begins with intrigue and ends with something almost Hitchcockian. It's subtle, twisted, and unsettling. The impact isn’t the same at the close as it is in the opening chapters, but that’s a strength, not a negative. It shifts expectations until you realise you’ve been misdirected all along.

The real triumph is in the characters. They are written vividly and economically, with protagonist Tom’s bewilderment striking on the page. His gradual realisation of the truth is handled with patience. He doesn’t leap ahead with unnatural intuition but discovers the truth piece by piece, which makes the story feel grounded and real.

If the ending doesn’t land with the same spark as the beginning, it’s because the spark has transformed into a complex and slow burn web. That’s the author's bread and butter, effortless misdirection.

This author deserves a resurgence in readers.

[Ilka · Rating 4 out of 5]

In erster Linie sehr unterhaltend und lustig. Kein typischer, düsterer Kriminalroman und auch keine tiefe Story. Stattedessen viele unterschiedliche charakterstarke Figuren und eine spannende Storyline mit interesanntem Twist. Der Roman liest sich leicht und schnell. Vor allem die trockene, stumpfe und ironische Sprache hat es mir angetan und mich oft zum lachen gebracht.

[Lisa Brantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! My first Millar - I hope to read the next one straight through in one or two sittings (instead of slowly over several weeks).

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written mystery. Witty, noir banter that is not forced. An investigation that seems straight-forward, but with an unexpected twist. My only reservation is that it wraps up quite suddenly.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilly's husband, Marco, had a stroke on their honeymoon. His health is deteriorating and his death is coming soon. Gilly hires a young Spanish-speaking lawyer to go to Mexico and track down her ex-husband. B.J. left her with a young Mexican woman who was pregnant with her child. Tomas goes to Mexico to try to locate B.J. but his trail is hard to find. Soon people related to the search end up dead. Tomas returns home and learns the real truth from Gilly.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few women of noir, and she can write a good dark story...I was liking it much more, with a few quibbles on the purported Mexican dialogue, until I hit the end and then you realize it's all a bit contrived. That always annoys me a bit, but worth a read.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

yay for freaky twists!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her mysteries are good, but somehow very depressing.

[Carla]

Not as compelling as the other Margaret Millar mysteries I have read. The central character of Gilly never quite jells, and her search for BJ seems equally uninvolving. But ending is great.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely twists and turns. Millar never disappoints.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although her books are beginning to come back into print at last, and most (if not all) of her oeuvre is available for digital download, Margaret Millar is a name sadly lost to the annals of history. She was actually a successful writer for a long time who won an Edgar Award in 1956 for Beast In View. Had she lived today, she’d be right up there with women such as Megan Abbott and Laura Lippman who dominate bestseller lists with their exciting blend of thriller and noir. But because because her thrillers don’t fit the charming, cozy style of Agatha Christie and her many imitators, Millar has been remembered for decades as “Ross Macdonald’s wife who also was a decent writer.”

Which is not fair. Millar’s writing floated her husband (real name Kenneth Millar) in his early days until he was able to sell books of his own. And her style of psychological mystery is timeless. It will not comfort. There’s nothing comfortable about reading a Margaret Millar book. Nor will it take you to the edge like Patricia Highsmith. Instead, Millar is able to get to the foundation of human behavior through her plots and characters to turn in something readable and compelling.

This one is, to my knowledge the first of the Tom Aragon books, her only series of novels. Aragon isn’t a Marlow or Spade type: he’s a guy who does his job. He’s good at it but not great. Think about a less-slimy Jake Gittes from Chinatown. This particular job has him going down to Mexico to track a woman’s ex-husband for personal and financial reasons. But as he delves further into the mystery, all is not as it seems.

The all is not as it seems part is not Millar’s strong suit. I had a good idea of what was going on halfway through. But its when she pulls back to reveal the characters motivations that the reader realizes how talented she is. Here are humans driven by desire, even if it is fleeting due to age and illness. And desire still demands a price. The price is the misery of the characters expressed in this book.


As she is becoming re-published once more, I hope more people check out Margaret Millar’s work. And if you’re looking for a place to start, this is as good as any.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cynical little delight this novel is. I'd never read anything by Margaret Millar, wife of better-known hardboiled detective writer Ross Macdonald (aka Kenneth Millar) but I'd heard good things about her work. Now I can see why.

Her husband's creation was cool and contemplative wise-acre Lew Archer, embodied on film by Paul Newman. Millar's detective, on the other hand, is fast-talking Mexican-American lawyer Tom Aragon, and he's actually a little more fun to hang around with than Archer.

Aragon's boss sends him to do a job for a wealthy near-widow named Gilly Decker, who devotes herself to caring for her stroke-victim husband, Marco. Gilly says she wants him to track down her first husband, last seen working a real estate scam in Mexico. She says she feels guilty turning down his request for a loan five years before. She wants an attorney who speaks the language, which is how Aragon gets the job of finding what became of B.J. Lockwood after he ran off with one of their servants in the fancy RV she bought.

Aragon's travels in Mexico turn into travails as he finds himself one step behind someone else who appears to be on the same trail. His calls back to Gilly and to his own wife are a highlight, as are his conversations with the various officials he encounters in Mexico. Aragon winds up a suspect in a murder and has to try to explain himself to a policeman who boasts that he doesn't take any bribes beyond a few cases of liquor, and who doesn't see a problem with drinking wine from a crime scene.

The final twist in the plot is one I didn't expect, and there's something downright evil that's strongly implied but never quite stated. My only complaint about the plot is that it ends too abruptly. It would have been nice to see how Aragon copes with his feelings when he at last figures out the truth about what's been going on. Perhaps that's in the second novel in the trilogy, which I really can't wait to read.

[Ugnė Butkutė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antroji Margaret Millar knyga, kurią perskaičiau savo pagrindiniais herojais bei vietomis buvo kur kas įdomesnė už pirmąją. Tiesa, kaip ir ,,Buvo ir nebėr" taip ir šitame detektyve greita atomazga šiek tiek sugadino taip nuosekliai auginamą įtampa.

50-ies metų moteris nusprendžia surasti savo pirmąjį vyrą, kad įsitikintų, jog jam viskas yra gerai. Šiam darbui pasamdo žavų, jauną advokatą Aragoną. Tomas leidžiasi į kelionę po beprotišką, skurdžia bei tuo pačiu visuomet žavingą Meksiką, kad suprastų ponios Deker pirmąjį vyrą. Tiesa, vaikinui ne itin sekasi. Visi asmenys turintys tam tikrų ryšių su ponu B.Dž. Lokvudu paslaptingomis aplinkybėmis miršta, o vietos policija nusitaiko į patį advokatą, kaip galimą šių nusikaltimų kaltininką.

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young lawyer Tom Aragon is sent to Mexico to seek out a client's missing ex-husband. Every step of the way leads to dead ends and sometimes even dead bodies.

Aragon is immensely likable and a nice change of pace for a noir hero. He's married and faithful to his wife. He loves her and she loves him, so the story skips the whole femme fatale cliche and just let the man wander the dusty, dirty backstreets of nowhere Mexico looking for crooks to bribe for info. He's also a man of few words, but they are always on point and sharp. In fact, everyone in this brisk book speaks with such shady wit that I almost wanted the whole story to be dialogue. The mystery and its resolution are fine, but the repartee was delightful.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, snappy and a little bit snarky, this quick read is a great hard boiled detective story. Our sharp talking four eyed detective Tom Aragon finds himself in a bit of a palaver down Mexico way. A dizzy broad hires him to find her disappeared first husband while her second husband sits stroke- bound in a wheelchair, observing all but responding to nothing. Millar gives us a seamy and greasy Baja, a nutbar Bible thumper, a pool boy who likes the boys. Oh, and many disreputable Mexicans. Murders and violence throughout. She evokes vividly locations in her fictional Rio Seco... I didn't figure it out until the last page, with Millar's quick and dirty wrap up. Overall, quite fun!

[Panu Mäkinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

»Kysykää minua huomenna, niin tapaatte minut haudanhiljaisena.»

Shakespeare on englanninkielisten kirjailijoiden ehtymätön innoituksen lähde. Margaret Millar leikittelee Romeosta ja Juliasta poimitulla lausahduksella kuin kissanpentu lankakerällä. Nuori juristi Tom Aragon saa tehtäväkseen etsiä Meksikoon vuosia sitten häipynyttä aviomiestä. Tehtävä osoittautuu kuitenkin odotettua mutkikkaammaksi, sillä aviomiehen jäljistä jotakin tietävillä tuntuu olevan ikävä tapa heittää henkensä, ennen kuin Tom Aragon pääsee heidän juttusilleen.

[Tina Tamman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite Margaret Millar. However, I like the fact that she is different in each book. This particular story is full of wisecracking men (and a few wisecracking women) who prevent the author from describing scenes in her usual amusing style - that's of course my view; I love her dry humour, if less her dialogue (which reminds me of Ross Macdonald for one). The final few pages when everything becomes clear do compensate for this in a big way though. Millar always leaves me something to think about and I like that.

[Maryanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was delightful, suspenseful and surprising. Margaret Millar wife of Kenneth Millar, who changed his name to Ross Macdonald because she was a more popular and well known author. The protagonist, Tom Aragon, a likable lawyer doing some investigation work for a wealthy client looking for her estranged ex-husband in Mexico. There are numerous murders of people related to the search that occur one step ahead of Tom Aragon's investigations. The story has well developed characters with witty, interesting dialogue and a well thought plot.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Margaret Millar’s The Listening Walls, so I jumped right into this one. How disappointing that this novel couldn’t measure up to the other one. Ask for Me Tomorrow read like a bad Raymond Chandler imitation, although with a few original aspects to it. I still gave this 4 stars, thinking I might actually re-read it one day. I liked the Baja California Sur setting, and some of the characters were really interesting.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd be very interested to know what research Millar did of Mexico for this book. It's painted with a vibrancy where the characters stand on their own and the story holds strong. Not that it's devoid of the white gaze or a racist view, but there is agency invested in the country and its people that's not always extended in books of the era (or now).

[Boweavil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this author from the literary map. What a delight! This is what I mean by suspense, not horror or excessive violence, but actual mystery and unknowns waiting to be found out. The first murder (that we know of) doesn't happen until halfway through. Mrs. Millar also has a great way with character development and dialogue.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think. I had an inkling by the end, but she was feeding the clues by then. A decent piece of writing. It took me a while and I kept falling asleep, so not the most gripping of mysteries for me. I checked out an anthology on a whim, so I'll read some other books and then try another in the series.

[William Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I love Margaret Millar’s work. J’adore. But this one was weak. The characters were terribly compelling, nor was the plot. The resolution was also weak for the distance traveled. Perhaps it was just too long to get to its conclusion. The detective character was also not engaging. A rare disappointment from Millar. Her other work, and I’ve read 8 or 9 so far, has been excellent.