The iconic first novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, featuring Philip Marlowe, the “quintessential urban private eye” (Los Angeles Times). A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of … murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.
more
Great gumshoe detective mystery.
This book certainly reflects the time in which it was written. Men are manly and women are cunning/stupid/you name it. But the story was fun and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Great classic.
This is the second time I have read this book and it is just as good the second time around. You can see how it must have impacted Robert Parker’s style.
One of the great hard-boiled novels, distinguished by Chandler’s use of metaphor, first-person narration and his sun-drenched descriptions of Los Angeles.
I say action packed but of an era where innuendo satisfied the prurient nature of every person’s beast. No doubt about where the story is going but the ride is still thrilling and satisfying.
A disappointment
Chandler wrote the prototype hard-boiled detective novel that ALL other private eye mysteries used as a template. His hero is smart, tough and a real wise-ass who refuses to quit until the case is solved.
Stunning epic. What can I say that has not been said. Will always be a classic.
It’s a classic so i wanted to read it. Maybe it’s a sign of changing times, but a lot of the slang Marlowe uses was not familiar to me, so it was almost trying to read in another language. The plot was very convoluted.
I’d never read this classic until now, and I’m so glad I did! Classic Chandler: guns, gals and whiskey.
All of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe detective novels are awesome. He took pulp fiction and elevated it into high art.
Let’s be clear: This is not a work of detective fiction. Anyone trying to follow the case will get lost. This is a polished example of the hard-boiled school of fiction where main characters were flawed but noble and the grittier aspects of life were imbued with a kind of poetry.
Between Chandler and Hammett, a new truly American literature was …
One of the great works in modern literature. Wholly original, strange in the best sense of the word, a vision of radical aloneness, but also quite funny. Great writing, with some of the best-constructed sentences you will ever read.