A review by mobyskine
The High Window by Raymond Chandler

4.0

It was a hectic plot but I really enjoyed it quite well compared to The Big Sleep. The High Window was set in the early 1930s, private detective Philip Marlowe was hired by a wealthy widow who wants him to find her missing daughter-in-law and a rare gold coin that went lost in her possession.

The vibe was not much different from the first book in the series, but I think Marlowe was fun, more cynical and quite talkative (think Chandler was being witty a bit while writing this manuscript) in here that I love his character a lot-- loving his kind of thinking and observations, things that I missed out but Marlowe could identified. The case was so drama-ish (at first, cause of the family conflict etc) and quite intriguing (when suddenly it became too thrilling with few sudden unknown murders), love the sharp and meticulous narration, all those amusing dialogues and Merle! Somehow love how Marlowe wrapping up the case(s), he was so straightforward and really assertive.

"Until you guys own your own souls you don’t own mine. Until you guys can be trusted every time and always, in all times and conditions, to seek the truth out and find it and let the chips fall where they may—until that time comes, I have a right to listen to my conscience..."