Really hard-boiled and funny, this book is stodgy and still fluffy. The protagonist, Philip Marlowe, is a detective who is hired by an old, decrepit man who has two young, mischievous daughters who are surrounded by mysterious circumstances and a web of lies.

This is extremely well-written, and the dialogue is superb. Marlowe is a sublime character with a lot of jagged edges, constantly under threat but always merely picking up 25 dollars a day, plus expenses (of which most are for whiskey).

A shining, exciting and polished example of detective noir at its best and most simple.