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A review by iteechesinglish
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
mysterious
4.0
Continuing my read through of the Philip Marlowe series. I originally read this is college. I had forgotten how much racist language there was in this book, that was an unfortunate rediscovery. The use of racist stereotypes is also problematic. If you can get past that, it's an entertaining read with plenty of adventure.
The plot starts with Marlowe following a suspicious man into a bar. The man claims to be looking for a woman named Velma. He's not in the mood to take no for an answer and kills someone when they don't have the information he's looking for. The man turns out to be "Moose" Mallow, an ex-con just released from prison. Marlowe decides the best way to find Moose is to look for Velma, but before he can get far he gets tangled up in another murder. Wealthy playboy Lindsay Marriott calls Marlowe asking for protection while paying ransom for some stolen jewels. The night goes badly and, Marlowe is taken from behind and when he comes to he finds Marriott has been killed. Fortunately the spunky and resourceful Anne Riordan stops to help. And so Marlowe begins to untangle two seemingly unrelated deaths and a fair amount of police corruption besides.
The mystery was okay, but not a jaw-dropping surprise. The portrayal of an honest private eye trying to make a living in a corrupt city is the main draw of these novels, and Philip Marlowe is definitely a fun character to read about.
The plot starts with Marlowe following a suspicious man into a bar. The man claims to be looking for a woman named Velma. He's not in the mood to take no for an answer and kills someone when they don't have the information he's looking for. The man turns out to be "Moose" Mallow, an ex-con just released from prison. Marlowe decides the best way to find Moose is to look for Velma, but before he can get far he gets tangled up in another murder. Wealthy playboy Lindsay Marriott calls Marlowe asking for protection while paying ransom for some stolen jewels. The night goes badly and, Marlowe is taken from behind and when he comes to he finds Marriott has been killed. Fortunately the spunky and resourceful Anne Riordan stops to help. And so Marlowe begins to untangle two seemingly unrelated deaths and a fair amount of police corruption besides.
The mystery was okay, but not a jaw-dropping surprise. The portrayal of an honest private eye trying to make a living in a corrupt city is the main draw of these novels, and Philip Marlowe is definitely a fun character to read about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism