"The Lady in the Lake"

The American detective story in general, and the hard-boiled P. I. school in particular, owe an enormous debt to Raymond Chandler, whose justly-popular novels helped to define and shape the genre. Of all his novels, I think "The Lady in the Lake" is probably the most like a "traditional" mystery, with a puzzle to be solved, clues to be interpreted, and - as always in Chandler - characters to remember. "The Lady in the Lake" is the subject of this week's Classic Mysteries podcast review, and you can listen to the full review here.

Unlike some other Chandlers - "The Big Sleep" comes to mind - this one is pretty coherent: detective Philip Marlowe is hired to find a rich man's missing wife. Along the way, he runs across a poor man who has also lost a wife. He also runs into some apparently crooked cops. And he keeps finding bodies. It's a fast-paced private eye story and one of Chandler's best, which means it is very good indeed.

Comments

[Josiah]

I love The Big Sleep, but you're right. The plot is kind of a mess.

There's an apocryphal story that I really like: a reader pointed out to Chandler that one of the book's subplots (a corpse in a car out by the ocean) is never actually resolved.

I think that's hilarious, but I still love the book, because it's just so damn well-written.

And it's WAY more coherent than the Bogie-&-Bacall movie. I had finished the book two days before I watched the movie, and I still had no idea what was going on. Not William Faulkner's best work.

But I should read Lady in the Lake. It sounds really good.

[Les Blatt]

Josiah, the story isn't apocryphal - Chandler acknowledged in a letter that he didn't know who killed the chauffeur. But the book is delightful. And I also do like the movie - the dialogue, much of which is lifted from the book, is wonderful. The movie ending, as you know, is different (the whole confrontation with Eddie Mars). You could argue that the book is still influential 71 years after it appeared.

[Yvette]

I liked this book very much when I read it a while back. It is one of my favorite Chandlers. I also liked THE HIGH WINDOW which hardly anyone ever mentions. LOVED the film with George Montgomery as Marlowe. (I'm one of the rare few who liked Montgomery in the role.) What is wrong with me? HA!