“Playback,” by Raymond Chandler

With “Playback” we can see the creativity that produced the iconic Marlowe ebbing just a year before Chandler’s death. The twists and turns are there and some might say this is a more introspective Marlowe but the sputtering ending with his apparent acceptance of a renewed love with Linda Loring of “The Long Goodbye” doesn’t quite live up to Chandler’s other works. Still, definitely worth a read.