I am not so sure about the characters or plot, though they are entertaining- but I LOVE Raymond Chandler's similies and language, even when they are outlandish. Phrases like "He had a cat's smile. But I like cats." And her tongue flicking around like a lizard... and his vivid descriptions of Moose Malloy. And of course I love the chain- smoking alcoholic beaten depressed Humphrey Bogart Phillip Marlowe.
Loved it.