Our first attempt at a noir mystery. The plot was confusing, but the setting and characters were outstanding. We were glad we read it. ( )

I picked this up after a semester in a film noir class. Though it wasn't required reading, it certainly should have been, because Chandler is the master of the hard-boiled detective genre. Film noir takes so much from his writing, clear in classics like Chandler's own Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, or Strangers on a Train (which he also wrote the script for) - through to neo-noir revival flicks like Chinatown, and even Hollywood Confidential. If you like tough dames, slick suits, monsterous thugs and clever dialouge, then take this book out for a spin. ( )

Another classic hardboiled detective story. I like Philip Marlowe almost as much as I like Sam Spade -- and there are a few things about him I like a little more, actually -- but I almost never like first-person narration as much as I like third. Surprises are less surprising, somehow; the POV character can't get away with anything, and when he does, it feels a little cheap. Although, really, I might have given this one five stars if I hadn't read it immediately after The Maltese Falcon, which is a pretty hard act to follow. The plot was twisty and interesting, but there were definitely places where I did some skimming, and I'm still kind of chewing on the ending. ( )

The prose is lively and original - very spare, and yet full of vivid and unusual metaphors and description, and Chandler has a fantastic turn of phrase - the plot was very entertaining, and Philip Marlowe is an intriguing and sympathetic character. I was rather bothered by the depiction of women, and by the apparent homophobia, but I'm certainly going to be reading more of these. ( )