DVDVRBC THE LONG GOODBYE by Raymond Chandler COMPLETED

[S.K.o.S.]

Also wanted to mention that from the point of view of a reader trying to figure things out before Marlowe did, I liked how things were set up.  After Lennox's death and his wife's death, you would have no way of knowing what really happened - I don't think we'd even met the person responsible yet (could be wrong, I don't have the book here with me, and I'm thinking she might have been the woman with Lennox right at the start).  So you have to keep reading.  But then Roger Wade's death borders on a locked-room mystery, the number of suspects is very limited, and if you assume that his death is connected to Lennox in some way, you can go through the possibilities and see if they make sense. 

 

(Of course, I was also kind of thinking "Maybe we don't have enough information to figure out what happened with Roger yet, just like we didn't have enough information at the time to figure out what happened with Lennox's wife.")

[Jingus]

After Lennox's death and his wife's death, you would have no way of knowing what really happened - I don't think we'd even met the person responsible yet (could be wrong, I don't have the book here with me, and I'm thinking she might have been the woman with Lennox right at the start).    

Nah, that was his wife.  (Marlowe's reaction to the whole thing would've been VERY different if it had been someone else and he noticed it.)  

 

 

 

But then Roger Wade's death borders on a locked-room mystery, the number of suspects is very limited, and if you assume that his death is connected to Lennox in some way, you can go through the possibilities and see if they make sense. 

Yeah, that one was almost too obvious.  There's only four people it could've possibly been.  We already know it wasn't Marlowe; and hardly anyone commits suicide in a noir except the villains at the end, so we know it wasn't Wade himself.  Candy is an obvious red herring, but SO obvious that he's clearly nothing but a crimson fish.  Which pretty much just leaves the wife, and having her show up the way she did there (mere minutes after the gunshot which just-so-happened to be inaudible to Marlowe, claiming to have lost her keys, not remembering any other way to get into the house, as if she wanted to be CERTAIN she had a witness and an alibi) wasn't exactly a subtle hint.  

[Liam]

Typically, due to the lack of internet, I've forgotten a lot of what I might have had to say about the book (I've read 4 or 5 since). It was good - I like a crime thriller, and this was a lot more noir-y than what I would usually read. After settling into the style (which did take me a small while), I devoured the book.

 

By far and away, the best feature of the novel is the dialogue. Marlowe's character has this feeling that he can't help but respond or put someone in their place, almost in spite of himself.

 

The mastery of the plot was also something I enjoyed, as the disparate strings of the narrative really weren't obviously connected until later on, yet there was always slight nods to links between Lennox's death and the Wade family.

 

If I remember correctly, I found the Wade death a little confusing - it seemed to come out of nowhere, and I had to re-read it again. I almost felt like I'd misread something in that chapter, missing the point completely.

 

A very good book, and one that makes me feel like I'd like to check out more of his stuff for sure.