Philip Marlowe chances to meet a drunk guy outside of a bar and gets him home in a fit of sympathy. The two strike up a friendship where Marlowe finds out about his unhappy marriage. A few weeks later the guy shows up one morning. His wife is dead and he needs help getting to Tijuana. Soon after he's found dead.
This is how the story begins. A small time PI has trouble believing that a friend of his could have been a murderer. This embroils him in a far reaching web with unexpected connections and unknown dangers. A man who can't stop from knowing the big picture can cause a lot of trouble.
I loved this book. The story was interesting as it went in several unexpected directions. But the style was the thing. It's written in first person from Marlowe's viewpoint. He mixes short brutal statements with unexpected poetic insights. I couldn't get Humphrey Bogart's narration out of my head the whole time.
This was the first thing of Raymond Chandler's that I've read but it won't be the last. A great book.
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