The Big Sleep by Raymond ChandlerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The first of the series of books by Raymond Chandler starring Philip Marlowe, a private investigator in 1930s LA which is portrayed by Chandler not as the expected sunny and shiny place you might expect, but a dark, grimy and seedy place where everyone is out to make a quick buck however they can. Through Chandler's knack for descriptive writing, my minds eye pictured a city such like the underworld in Bladerunner, only of course not futuristic.
It's Chandler's knack for description that make the story so gripping, even if sometimes it becomes confusing through interweaving plots, the characters, locations and crime scenes are always really easy to clearly imagine.
One enlisted by wealthy and dilapidated General Sternwood to investigate a blackmail attempt, Marlowe's own desire to tie up the loose ends see him going of on tangents to try and garner a complete picture of events that have lead to this point, often getting involved in nail-biting scenarios when he could just back off.
Despite the sometimes confusing nature of the granular story, the voice of Marlowe and the accomplished writing style mean it's still a joy to read from beginning to end and I would sincerely recommend to anyone who might like detective fiction and want to experience a true Sleuth in the world of LA Noir.
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