Farewell, My Lovely

Farewell, My Lovely (1940) is Raymond Chandler's second Philip Marlowe novel. When Marlowe witnesses the giant Moose Malloy tear apart a bar looking for his old girlfriend Velma, it sets off a chain of events that entangles the detective in a web of murder, stolen jewels, corrupt cops, and a missing woman. Chandler's prose reaches new heights as Marlowe navigates between the desperate poverty of Central Avenue and the decadent wealth of Bay City's elite.