Don’t take my word as gospel (in this or any other situation), but it sort of feels like studios are putting more and more of their efforts into novel adaptations over the past month, give or take whatever unit of time feels right to you. Ten years ago — a very different time for Hollywood, admittedly — this wouldn’t be any big deal; actually, it would be the order of the day. In a town choked by comic books, toys, and board games, though, a nice page-turner being committed to digital hard drives is almost a breath of fresh air. (We can get into why this is also a pretty bad thing at some other point.)

Next in line is The Galton Case, Warners’ developing adaptation of Ross Macdonald‘s eighth novel to follow his signature Lew Archer character. (Someone that would go on to be played twice by Paul Newman.) Tonight, the studio has pulled in New York Times Magazine foreign correspondent Peter Landesman — who’s already written The Mission for David O. Russell — to take the material and shape it for producer Joel Silver. All too unsurprisingly, Silver Pictures is hoping to make a franchise out of this. [Deadline]

You can read a synopsis of the book, thanks to Amazon:

“The tale opens with detective Lew Archer visiting the swanky offices of a lawyer acquaintance, who engages him to hunt for a long-missing scion of the rich Galton family. Though the case seems fruitless, Archer begins digging. Soon a seemingly unrelated crime intrudes–but Archer tells us, ‘I hate coincidences.’ As he roams California (and, briefly, Nevada) following leads and hunches, he gradually uncovers a long-buried tale of deception, hatred, and the power of illusion.”

Any schmoe can glean that some big things are lying under the surface — things that regular viewers, like you or I, would prefer to wait and hear about — so I’ll rest on the solid reputation of the book and its author in the meantime; barring yours truly deciding to pick up the book and give it a whirl, things will just have to wait.

Have you read The Galton Case? Is there something in there for a movie?