Scan barcode
800slim's review against another edition
3.0
a typical Chandler but not his best work
short plot description: Philip Marlowe is hired by Derace Kingsley to find his wife Crystal. She has left him four weeks ago and send him a telegram that she will divorce him and marry her boyfriend Chris Lavery. But Lavery denies any knowledge of this when he meets Derace Kingsley by chance and now it is up to Marlowe to find out what really happened to Crystal Kingsley. And when he starts his investigation at the last place where Crystal was seen, a mountain resort called Little Fawn Lake where Kingsley has a house, and finds another woman drowned in the lake who had disappeared at the same time as Crystal things are getting complicated...
my thoughts: a typical work for Chandler's style, noir and cynical in tone and none of the characters has clean hands. This book felt "talky" in places, Marlowe explains several times at which point in the investigation (and in the plot) he currently stands which doesn't feel right and forced.
Otherwise a good novel by Chandler.
my advice: can be read stand alone but I suggest reading Chandler's novels chronologically.
short plot description: Philip Marlowe is hired by Derace Kingsley to find his wife Crystal. She has left him four weeks ago and send him a telegram that she will divorce him and marry her boyfriend Chris Lavery. But Lavery denies any knowledge of this when he meets Derace Kingsley by chance and now it is up to Marlowe to find out what really happened to Crystal Kingsley. And when he starts his investigation at the last place where Crystal was seen, a mountain resort called Little Fawn Lake where Kingsley has a house, and finds another woman drowned in the lake who had disappeared at the same time as Crystal things are getting complicated...
my thoughts: a typical work for Chandler's style, noir and cynical in tone and none of the characters has clean hands. This book felt "talky" in places, Marlowe explains several times at which point in the investigation (and in the plot) he currently stands which doesn't feel right and forced.
Otherwise a good novel by Chandler.
my advice: can be read stand alone but I suggest reading Chandler's novels chronologically.
bobbo49's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I continue to thoroughly enjoy Chandler's murder mysteries (this is my 4th). Marlowe is both a humorous and quick-witted private detective, and this story - like the others - winds around a host of characters and down a series of alleys until it all comes together at the end. Fun read.
hthacher's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
angelineonvicodins's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
not a favourite
indigooryx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
spadeano's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
LA private investigator Philip Marlowe is back again to find bodies, get messed around by the police, drag up stories, drink, and usual hard-boiled detective things in this enjoyable novel.
locke_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tittypete's review
5.0
Pretty sick. For whatever reason this one was easier to track than the last one I read (I think it was the High Window.) Classic whodunnit. Dope, whores, murders and getting hit with a blackjack by shitty cops. Fun read. Stoked for another.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
A rich man hires Phillip Marlowe to find his wife. The trail leads to a resort town and another dead woman. Where is Crystal Kingsley? And who killed Muriel Chess? And what did Chris Lavery or Dr. Almore have to do with it?
The Lady in the Lake is a tale of lies, double crosses, cheating woman, murder, and a shop-soiled Galahad named Phillip Marlowe caught in the middle of it. Chander and Marlowe set the standards for slick-talking detectives for generations to come and Marlowe is in fine form in this outing, following the serpentine twists of the plot as best he can. Chandler's similes are in fine form, as is Marlowe's banter.
Since Raymond Chandler is my favorite of the noir pioneers, I feel guilty for saying this but this thing is so convoluted I stopped caring about the plot about a third of the way in and just stuck around for the Scotch-smooth prose. Seriously, this has to be the most convoluted plot from the master of overly convoluted plots. I had an idea of the connection between the two women but it took forever for everything to come together. Marlowe couldn't be blamed for not cracking the case early on since it read like Raymond Chandler was making it up as he went in between weekend-long benders.
To sum it up, the prose is up to par but the plot is a meandering mess. It's barely a 3 and my least favorite Chandler book I've read so far.
The Lady in the Lake is a tale of lies, double crosses, cheating woman, murder, and a shop-soiled Galahad named Phillip Marlowe caught in the middle of it. Chander and Marlowe set the standards for slick-talking detectives for generations to come and Marlowe is in fine form in this outing, following the serpentine twists of the plot as best he can. Chandler's similes are in fine form, as is Marlowe's banter.
Since Raymond Chandler is my favorite of the noir pioneers, I feel guilty for saying this but this thing is so convoluted I stopped caring about the plot about a third of the way in and just stuck around for the Scotch-smooth prose. Seriously, this has to be the most convoluted plot from the master of overly convoluted plots. I had an idea of the connection between the two women but it took forever for everything to come together. Marlowe couldn't be blamed for not cracking the case early on since it read like Raymond Chandler was making it up as he went in between weekend-long benders.
To sum it up, the prose is up to par but the plot is a meandering mess. It's barely a 3 and my least favorite Chandler book I've read so far.