This is a collection of four Chandler stories. Like most collections, it's a little uneven. I found the titular story, Trouble is My Business, to be rather slow. I wanted so very much to like it because it's a great catchphrase for Marlowe. Of the four, I liked Red Wind the best. ( )

A collection of longish stories, all structure with chapters. At a 3.42 average, a 3.75 type book. There are some Philip Marlowe tales in the latter part of the book. Plenty of private investigations.

Trouble Is My Business : Killer in the Rain - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : The Man Who Liked Dogs - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : The Curtain - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Try the Girl - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Mandarin's Jade - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Bay City Blues - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : The Lady in the Lake - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : No Crime in the Mountains - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Trouble is My Business - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Finger Man - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Goldfish - Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business : Red Wind - Raymond Chandler

"I sighed. "Gunfire," I said. "A dead man on the floor. A naked, doped girl in a chair not knowing what had happened. A killer I couldn't have caught and you couldn't have caught--then. Behind all this a poor old roughneck that was breaking his heart trying to do the right thing in a miserable spot. Go ahead--stick it into me. I'm not sorry."

3.5 out of 5

Saints and Snares.

4 out of 5

Silver-Wig gone.

3 out of 5

Bruising finish.

3 out of 5

Psychic strong-arm man.

3 out of 5

Big Chin slipper her, Shorty.

3.5 out of 5

Sloppy plant.

3.5 out of 5

Shoe money half coyote not quite out of Japanese gunmen, but out of nazis.

3.5 out of 5

"How else would I make a nickel?"

4 out of 5

Casino killing group.

3 out of 5

Double pearler deception.

3.5 out of 5

Some missing pearls, a dame, a dodgy cop, and a really good night for drinking.

3.5 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/01... ( )

Reading the Lost Stories: Trouble Is My Business, by Raymond Chandler

These four short stories were taken from the original book "The Simple Art of Murder". They are about his fictional private detective Phillip Marlowe who is from Los Angeles. The "Continental Op" was a hard-boiled gritty detective. Phillip Marlowe speaks in a witty manner that show the erudition of his author, and may explain his appeal in literary circle. Marlow drinks like a fish (to match the author?). The slang used has a short shelf life. You can decide if this is more realistic.

"Trouble Is My Business" tells of a job where Marlowe has to break up the romance between a wealthy heir and a showgirl. This ends in a tragedy for the powerful millionaire that hired Marlowe. (Why couldn't Marlowe notice the tail when he went to visit the Questioned Document Examiner?) Does this story echo some Shakespearean tragedy?
"Finger Man" tells how a crooked politician tries to get even with Marlowe for his testimony. A man hires Marlowe to act as his bodyguard when he visits a gambling house. The man is found dead, his winnings wind up in Marlowe's safe. This typical detective story ends with the guilty dead or in jail; except for the red-head.
"Goldfish" tells how Marlowe is hired to recover stolen property. The company that insured the pearls offers a reward. The man with the lead is found dead. More difficulties follow. Another pair try to find the pearls. Marlowe finds the paroled thief. (If someone lives in an area, do they need a map to find a house?) The evil pair are neutralized, and Marlowe finds the hidden pearls.
"Red Wind" begins with Marlowe drinking a beer at a bar, watching another man drink rye. A stranger walks in for a drink. The rye drinker suddenly shoots him, and walks out the door. Now the mystery begins: strangers pop up, then disappear. Coincidences that are part of the story appear. The ending has an "O. Henry" touch. Illusions fall, and reveal a sad reality. [This is the most dramatic story in this book.]

3607. Trouble Is My Business, by Raymond Chandler (read 28 Jul 2002) This book contains four stories by Chandler first published in pulp fiction magazines in the 1930s. The only other thing by him I have read is The Big Sleep (read 21 Apr 1995), which I did not like too much and found the plot hard to follow. The fourth story in this book, Red Wind, had an intricate and fast-moving plot, with lots of dead people (of course) and I thought it the best of
the four stories. Maybe by that time I had gotten re-acclimated to the style. ( )