Big Sleep, The by Raymond Chandler; 1939/1992. Softcover

Raymond Chandler's first novel, published, in 1939, introduces us to Philip Marlowe, a thirty-eight-year-old private detective moving through the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s. The case involves a paralyzed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail and murder.

When a dying millionaire hires Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in."Chandler [writes] like a slumming angel and invest[s] the sun-blinded streets of Los Angelos with a romantic presence."--Ross Macdonald