ISBN: 0140108920
A Philip Marlowe Mystery #1
Author: Raymond Chandler
DDC: 813.52
Opening line:
It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills.
Philip Marlowe is a private investigator, a cynical, hard-boiled tough guy. But he’s honest. He has some sort of honour. So when he is called to the Sternwood mansion he goes with every intention of doing the job. Do the job, get paid. Thats what he is looking for, but this is no straight forward blackmailing. Instead he is pulled into a case that involves pornography, murder, and gambling among other things.
There are so many double, even tripple-crosses going on here that it can be a little difficult to figure out what exactly is going on, still I had a vague idea of the ending before I got there. Very enjoyble reading, and I’m sure I’ll reread it at some stage.
I found that for real enjoyment the best way to read this was to have the cliched PI voice-over in my head. Seemed to make more sense that way too.
Tags: 8 Stars, detective, murder, mystery, Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler, series, The Big Sleep, voice-over
