Fönstret (original 1942; edition 1989)

Had to laugh when I found reviews saying nobody ever reads Chandler for his plot. It's probably true, at least once you know what you're getting into. There are parts of the books where I have no idea what's going on but I'm still hanging on because the way he writes is so amazing. I think I say this in every review of his books, though. This one had some awesome phrases in it -- the description of Marlowe as a "shop-soiled Galahad" particularly struck me, and "women who should be young but have faces like stale beer".

I actually found the character of Merle one of the most interesting things about this novel, though -- the attention paid to carefully building up her backstory and character. Structurally, I think this book is better than The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely -- although in all of them I've been able to keep a better grip on the plot than I'd expected of myself.

I don't read Chandler to find out whodunnit, though. That's almost immaterial. ( )

Yet again, a troublesome client for Marlowe - this time leading him into a world of counterfeit coins, dodgy dealers, shady girls in shady bars and some pretty choice California real estate. So much, so par for the course. Slips down nicely, with a kick - just how it goes down in Raymond Chandler world

Not his strongest effort but necessary reading for fans of Chandler and the genre at-large. ( )

The High Window, The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister - I got hooked into the Big Sleep right at the end of March, then lashed out in Waterstones to buy a three-in-one compendium and whomped my way through it in a weekend. They aren't works of literary genius, but they are well-plotted and stylish who/why dunnits. And though I can't do accents in real life, inside my head I was reading in an American drawl, with pictures in stylish black-and-white and a sleazy sax in the background. I thought I'd grown out of detectives/crime but these are thoroughly good reads and I'd recommend them to anyone. ( )

A masterfully written detective story, with the smart language and dialogue more than compensating for a slightly dull mystery. Chandler's prose is, as always, a breeze to read and as soon as the final page was finished I just wanted to tear through the others. ( )