The Big Sleep was written in 1939, but to me, it could have been written in the sixties. The one-liners are terrific - " Neither of the two people in the room paid any attention to the way I came in, although one of them was dead."
Marlowe is dedicated to his profession of Private Eye - and the code that goes with it. Like Chandler, he is a strongly emotional man, which shows in the tone of the scenery and is probably why I like the writing.
Maybe best taken in single books rather than reading through the whole series, which span almost twenty years. The last was written in 1958 "Playback" I more enjoyed the freshness of the dialogue re-reading this one than I remembered when I first read them 30 years ago. A four star read for me!
Roger
