Raymond Chandler

An essay on detective fiction accompanies eight stories about a politician's murder, a hotel detective, missing pearls, and gangsters

The Simple Art of Murder

Emmett

Came for the name on the cover, a love for hard-boiled fiction and a soft spot for Philip Marlowe, and curiosity. Stayed for all of that. Even without Marlowe, the ride is still pretty good with Chandler. His short stories leave savory hints of the characters he may have worked with (mostly gritty types with reluctant but good hearts) if he had explored his options a bit more and not stopped at writing full-length novels of just Marlowe. The characters are quite indistinguishable (their names are easily forgotten, but there are many stories) but the style was familiar - and therefore, fun. Some evidence of Chandler's critical smarts available in the essay that shares the book's title. It is impressive to watch him poke holes into classic English detective stories from A.A. Milne and Dorothy Sayers.

The Simple Art of Murder

Reviews