A review by jwmcoaching
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler

4.0

This was a great reminder for me why Chandler is considered such a master; his writing is unparalleled when it comes to crime fiction. Ironically, Chandler is frequently crap when it comes to plot, but a wizard when it comes to description and characterization. The Little Sister is hardly ever mentioned among his more well-known works, but it's really, really good and very underrated. The descriptions of Marlowe's mental digressions are sublime, along with the always sparkling dialogue. The plot, of course, gets bogged down near the end and he keeps throwing in one too many red herrings and too many endings, but that's just Chandler for you. This was also a complete contrast to Trouble is My Business, which I read last month. This reminded me that the reason I was so disappointed with that is that it focused almost completely on plot, which is what Chandler is weakest at doing. This was much more about great dialogue and descriptions of a lost era.