The Big Sleep

“Chandler is the daddy of Noir. When I was first thinking about writing crime, I decided to go back and read the classics that I hadn’t read already. The tone reminded me a lot of those old movies, and it helped get me a sense of the aesthetic of my own writing of that period. I have American characters in both of my last two books. I was trying to figure out how to write their dialogue. And I think that Chandler’s dialogue is really good—you can hear it just as it might be spoken.” Read more...

The Best 1930s Mysteries

Louise Hare, Novelist

“Really, what makes it is Chandler’s prose—it’s the original use of language, the descriptions, and the interior monologue of Marlowe. Telling it in the first person was a great way to bring out Marlowe’s characters, his cynicism, his despair, but also his incredible wit. I love stories where you get so fully immersed into the head of the main protagonist you see everything through his point of view. It creates this bond between the character and the reader where you just want to follow this guy wherever he goes.” Read more...

The Best Mystery Books

David Baldacci, Novelist

“I think the writing is just so beautiful. ……..I think that’s what I admire in Chandler; he’s very economical with his words. And also he can do something that very few writers can do, he can actually use a joke to increase tension rather than release tension. Normally we think of comic relief: you build up the tension and then you break it with a joke. But Chandler could actually make the tension tighter with a joke, which I think is a great achievement.” Read more...

The Best Whodunnits

Simon Brett, Thriller and Crime Writer