When we think of noir police romance, the images that come to our minds present a dark tone, in a smoky environment, with no clear definition of right and wrong... as if some opium were to sprout from its pages and intoxicate our spirit.

Omitting the funereal and prohibited expression of "divorce case investigation", the plot centers around a set of homicide cases, perpetrated in a highly chained manner, with one thing in common: the association with femmes fatales, who, like devourers of the apple of Eden, aim to take the reins of their own lives in a downward spiral of game, pleasure, and luxury.

In an ironic tone (sometimes confused either by the excessive flight of ideas or by the hallucinating adventure of the "paired" reading in Castilian), probably due to the disinhibition guaranteed by alcohol, there is a constant prickling of the attention of all those who want to listen/read, thereby awakening the observational skills and simple curiosity (except for that of doctors, it seems...).

Without sheltering a logical thought, however, a rather critical look is taken at the conduct of justice, which, being blind, does not look at the means to achieve its ends (monetary, above all), regardless of whether these are or are not those that should govern its final judgment.

In the end, the motive for all crimes lies in a simple emotion inoculated in the deepest recesses of our brain: love (for everything and all things), the passion crime.... and, without us realizing it, more bodies of lovers keep emerging from the nauseating swamp of corruption!

Cutting right to the chase, the fourth novel in Chandler's Marlowe series commences with a missing wife. Degrace Kingsley, a businessman in the perfume trade, engages Marlowe to locate his wife Crystal. Despite being "washed up for years," Kingsley requires Marlowe's services to ensure she hasn't committed any scandalous acts that could reflect poorly on him. The last known whereabouts of Crystal was a month earlier, when she was staying at their cabin up at Little Fawn Lake at Puma Point. Marlowe embarks on a journey there and encounters Kingsley's alcoholic caretaker, Bill Chess, whose wife has also vanished. Not one to believe in coincidence, Marlowe decides to investigate both cases, and discovers far more than he anticipated.

Things in Los Angeles have undergone some changes since the era of The High Window. Chandler makes numerous references to the war, starting with the very first sentence of the novel. A sidewalk in front of Kingsley's office building, constructed of "black and white rubber blocks," is being dismantled for the government. Later, he remarks that armed sentries are standing guard at the dam at Puma (read Big Bear) Lake, "at each end and one in the middle." Marlowe comes across a woman who walked to her destination to conserve her tires for the government. Men are anxiously awaiting news of their enlistment. At the same time, some aspects have remained constant: crooked cops, murder, blackmail, illegal gambling, and drugs still persist in the city. There is another significant difference in this book that sets it apart as well - a considerable amount of action occurs away from LA, up in the mountains where life is much more leisurely, where deer roam freely, where people are genuinely nice, and where rudeness is conspicuous and not well-received. It is an entirely distinct world, just a few hours' drive from the city.

The Lady in the Lake is truly captivating, and although it isn't my favorite among the Marlowe novels thus far, Chandler is still very much at the top of his game. The same wisecracks and witty turns of phrase are still in evidence. Marlowe continues to strive to hold onto his own moral compass while having to resort to less than ethical methods to apprehend the bad guys. And while there is a basic formula shared by all of these novels - Marlowe being hired, Marlowe stumbling upon peripheral cases that somehow connect to his own investigations and land him in some sort of trouble - each book is unique in its own way. Normally, when crime novels become formulaic, I grow bored. For some reason, that simply isn't the case with these books - between Chandler's writing, his focus not only on Marlowe but also on the other characters, and the way he描绘s Marlowe's Los Angeles, I can't get enough.

As the cover image and the title of the book make clear, “cerchez la femme”, or rather “les femmes”, because the plot revolves around two missing women, both femme fatales, man-eaters, in search of the rich chicken to pluck without disdaining poor but handsome lovers.

Marlowe investigates in his own way. With his Chrysler, he wanders around Bay City, Los Angeles, San Bernardino. With the irony that characterizes him, Chandler accompanies the reader along the roads of California, among corrupt policemen, complacent nurses, unscrupulous doctors, unfaithful husbands. He also crosses paths with a policeman like Sheriff Patton, in whose presence the final scene of the book takes place, full of suspense, practically perfect for a noir that respects itself.

These hard-boiled novels of the year I like a lot! They offer a vivid and gritty portrayal of a seedy underworld, filled with complex characters and twisting plots. Chandler's writing style is engaging and his descriptions bring the settings and characters to life. I can't wait to read more of his works.

The most important feature of this story that cannot be forgotten is its degree of attraction. Every time I wanted to stop reading and leave the rest for the next day, I had to force myself. And this is a success for any writer. I can't say that all of Marlowe's theories or his words about refuting this or that theory have settled in my heart - and more importantly in my mind. But the real and human situations of the story, its unique style and humorous nature - at least to the extent that it was conveyed in the translation - simply did not make me feel a strange sense with the story, unlike the examples of Sherlock Holmes. I must admit that in other stories there was a lot of killing after killing, but still this kind of crime did not create a sense of disgust in me. I am one who became interested in Marlowe's works.

The funniest part of the story was the scene where Kingsley's empty necktie was found at the crime scene and Marlowe's conversation with the detective about it; after a lot of discussion and talk, finally Marlowe told him that this necktie was his. As if the author wanted to put a word in the detective's mouth but couldn't find a suitable situation, so he created a fictional situation for him to say it.

**"The Lady In The Lake: A Chandler Classic"**

The story begins with a man's wife missing and Philip Marlowe being hired to find her. However, his search takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a different dead woman. Marlowe, the self-proclaimed "Murder-A-Day Marlowe," is determined to get answers.

"Police business," he said almost gently, "is a hell of a problem. It's a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest type of men, and there’s nothing in it to attract the highest type of men. So we have to work with what we get— and we get things like this."

Chandler is at his best when it comes to Marlowe's quick-witted smart talk and tremendous one-liners and similes. In this novel, Marlowe really takes a beating, with blackjack shots and slugs to the face. It's amazing he can still stand at the end. I'm sure he sometimes wonders if it's all worth it.

Of the four Marlowe novels I've read so far, "The Lady In The Lake" had one of the more coherent and easy-to-follow plots, at least until the end. Developments unfold rapidly, and Marlowe solves the case in just two days. But when you sum it up, it all feels a bit far-fetched. That said, it's not a bad book. As many have said before, no one really reads Chandler for the plot. And when the dust settled, this novel was perfect evidence to support that statement.

Also posted @ Every Read Thing.

Raymond Chandler has once again delivered a remarkable detective novel.

I have stated this previously and I will repeat it now. Marlowe is truly the embodiment of the hard-boiled detective.

The story was outstanding, featuring an ending that completely took me by surprise. I had managed to identify the final killer, yet I was unable to fathom the reason behind their actions.

It was a superb twist that added an extra layer of excitement and intrigue to the narrative.

I simply cannot wait to explore more of Chandler's captivating books and immerse myself in his world of mystery and detection.

His writing style is engaging, his characters are vivid, and his plots are always full of unexpected turns.

Chandler is a master of the detective genre, and I am eager to see what else he has in store for readers.

The search for a rich man's missing wife leads Marlowe on a journey that takes him out of Los Angeles and into Bay City (Santa Monica) and Puma Point (Big Bear), with a brief stop in Riverside as well.

As is the norm in Chandler's works, the plot is more convoluted than a kindergartner's shoelaces, yet the dialogue is sharp and full of wit. The characters are as vivid and colorful as a large box of crayons (the really big box with the built-in sharpener).

By this fourth installment in the Philip Marlowe series, Chandler's prose has truly reached a level of maturity. However, the ending is a bit too neat and tidy. Marlowe breaks character and spouts several long explanatory paragraphs, in a rather Scooby-Doo like manner. By the time he does this, you will likely have already pieced together the mystery on your own.

Nonetheless, the journey that Marlowe takes and the characters he encounters along the way make this a captivating read, despite the slightly predictable ending.

Another outstanding installment in the Marlowe series.

Marlowe is engaged to locate the missing wife of a Los Angeles businessman. The wife has abandoned him, yet he desires to ensure her safety from any potential harm. The investigation leads to the businessman's cabin in the mountains near San Bernardino, beside a small lake named Little Fawn Lake.

The caretaker there is also missing his wife, but she is soon uncovered when Marlowe ventures out onto a small dock; the lady's arms are visible deep in the water. How did she drown? Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? And what became of the businessman's wife? She was last heard from in El Paso while on her way to obtain a divorce in Mexico. However, the man she was allegedly with denies this account, and he later meets a violent end.

Consequently, Marlowe has his work cut out for him as a detective, and it is clear that all is not as it appears.

As always, I thoroughly relished this journey with Marlowe in his noir world of the 1940s. The novel contains some allusions to WWII, but this is not the central focus (it was published in 1944). I savored the laid-back atmosphere of the San Bernardino mountains, as well as the seedy underbelly of Chandler's Bay City, where much of the action unfolds. The plot was somewhat intricate, as is typical of Chandler's novels, but this truly enhances the story.

This particular novel was also adapted into a movie in 1946, with Robert Montgomery portraying Marlowe. Another one worth keeping an eye out for!

If you have a passion for the era of the 40s and the gritty charm of film noir, then Raymond Chandler is without a doubt the ultimate storyteller. This book presents a world where the dames are not only beautiful but also wicked, or perhaps even dead. The men are large and shifty, and the story is filled with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

In this particular tale, Chandler's independent private eye, Philip Marlowe, is tasked with locating a flighty and missing wife. He follows the trail to a small community in the mountains, only to discover that the body in the lake is identified as the wife of another man. This man has hinted that he has had an affair with the missing wife, adding another layer of complexity to the mystery.

The mystery then sends Marlowe on a hunt for the connections between the missing wife, the lady in the lake, and a doctor's wife who died over a year ago. And there is only one investigator who has the ability to piece together all the clues and solve the case.

This is classic mystery and detective fiction at its finest. It's a winner that will keep you engaged from beginning to end. So, don't just walk, but rather settle in for a period of intense reading. It's a very good ride that you won't want to miss.

I hate people hard, but I don't hate them very long.

This was my July birthday selection for the Dead Writers Society, and it proved to be an outstanding choice. Raymond Chandler was a truly celestial wordsmith, and I am constantly inspired by his novels. He crafts Philip Marlowe with such a concise and laconic style. Not a single word is wasted, yet we feel as if we know the man intimately, despite the complete absence of personal details. Do we really know anything about the guy? We encounter no family members, no friends, and no past history. Nevertheless, we sense that he is a somewhat decent individual, eager to apprehend the right criminal and uncover the truth of what actually transpired.

Whether he is describing a handshake that “feels like a towel rack” or a climb that “a well-nourished mountain goat” could manage, Chandler never fails to make me smile. The mystery is present, and Chandler allows Marlowe to solve it, but I always have the impression that describing the setting and establishing the atmosphere were of greater importance to him. He seems to have a preoccupation with police conduct, something that is all too familiar to twenty-first-century people. Sadly, some things never change.

The ending of this novel is rather weak, with Marlowe's role being of relatively small significance. However, I simply cannot bring myself to deduct a star. The vocabulary, the dialogue, and the writing are simply too delectable.

Cross posted at my blog:

https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...

Although the plot seemed overly intricate at times,

I still thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, the settings, and the characters.

Raymond Chandler has a prose style that is truly remarkable.

Somehow, he manages to be both very concise and very descriptive at the same time.

His character, Philip Marlowe, is an endearingly crusty and deceptively brilliant private detective.

I was captivated by the subtle, and not so subtle, ways in which Marlowe solved the mystery and steered the guilty parties toward a fitting punishment.

The witty banter between the characters added an extra layer of entertainment, and I very much enjoyed the author's insights into the human condition.

It was a truly engaging and enjoyable read that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

For a detailed review in Hebrew and English, the link to my blog -

https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/the-...

My blog offers in-depth analysis and thoughts on various literary works. Whether you are a fan of Raymond Chandler's "The Lady in the Lake" or interested in exploring different books, my blog has something for you. I strive to provide a comprehensive and engaging reading experience, sharing my insights and interpretations of the stories. With a focus on both Hebrew and English, I aim to reach a wider audience and promote the love of reading. So, if you're looking for a great read and some interesting perspectives, be sure to check out my blog.