The Second Murderer

Wow, this is fun! Denise Mina has picked up the Marlowe gauntlet and run with it all the way. She piles on the wisecracking, sharp similes of Chandler, manages to set the mood perfectly in the original’s classic style and produces a murder mystery that takes the best of the hard boiled bottle blondes and marries it with a feminist take.

We first meet Marlowe in his office, drinking at 11am. He’s unsettled by the recent arrest of Black Jack Beau for the murder of Pasco Pete. He’s feeling uneasy; this is a case that looks solid – perhaps too solid – and it just doesn’t feel right to him.

But he’s lifted out of his contemplation by a phone call directing him to a new client. Marlowe is hired by the humongously wealthy Chadwick Montgomery III to look for his missing daughter, Chrissie. Chrissie ran away from home the morning after her engagement party, leaving her young son behind. Chadwick says he’s chosen Marlowe because he knows how to be discreet, but Marlowe is unconvinced. He discovers that Chadwick has also hired Anne Riordan, who runs an all-female detective agency. He instinctively dislikes Chadwick and is dazzled by his companion, Anneliese Lyle.

Marlowe, who knows how his city runs and has contacts in all kinds of low places, does not have to look very far at all to get his first lead on 22 year old Chrissie. She is working under an assumed name and wants no more than to be left alone. But with Anne Riordan also on her trail, Marlowe knows that’s no option.

Marlowe trails Christie to a seedy downtown hotel in Skid Row where he finds Chrissie standing over the dead body of a man. Obviously, nothing is quite as it seems and this case becomes darker and more deadly as Marlowe and Anne Riordan work together to get to the bottom of what turns out to be a decidedly murky affair.

Though Marlowe here is not unwilling to use any means to get his information, Mina nevertheless portrays him as an inherently moral man, who knows how and where to draw the line and will not willingly be corrupted.

In this story the excess of wealth is repugnant and those who have it appear to be already corrupted by it. But it is women who are at the centre of this story and Mina creates a stunning cast of female characters with varying degrees of complicity in the murkiness of this story. I did also enjoy the portrait of Lieutenant Moochie Ruud, a man in the pocket of his superiors, who is frequently to be heard asking ‘do you know who my father-in-law is?

There’s a lot going on and more than one murder will need to be resolved. Mina has her scene setting down to a ‘T’ and this is a highly entertaining, dark and fascinating read that really does showcase the essence of Chandler’s Philip Marlowe.

I absolutely loved it.

📗📗BOOK REVIEW 📗📗
The Second Murderer: A Philip Marlow Novel by Denise Mina

Taking over the mantle of Raymond Chandler’s PI Philip Marlowe series was brave but the author has pulled it off. I’m of an age where I can vividly recall watching Humphrey Bogart playing the title character on screen in The Big Sleep so I was looking forward to this. It didn’t disappoint. Set in 1930’s Los Angeles and told from duel POV’s it opens with Marlowe contemplating the murder of Pasco Pete, something didn’t sit right with him, but that gets swept to one side when he is asked to find a missing heiress. The author has a great knack of making you feel like you are there in steamy Los Angeles and part of the investigation.

Briefly, Marlowe is asked by the Oil Magnate Chadwick Montgomery to investigate the disappearance of his daughter and heir Chrissie. Her dying father wants to find her and quickly so makes Marlowe aware that he is in competition against his fellow PI the lovely Anne Riordan. Marlowe is good at his job and within 24 hours has traced the girl to a seedy hotel but there is a problem. With her is a dead man. Who is he and what is actually going on? The two investigators work together to try and solve the crime but can they before more people die.

The author has done a great job of writing Marlowe’s high levels of sarcasm and wit and the dialogue throughout is excellent. A wonderfully compelling journey back in time in this great murder mystery; but who is the real victim and who is the killer?  A very entertaining read, Chandler would be pleased, and I’m hoping there will be more. I’ll be at the front of the queue.

Denise Mina obviously had great fun stepping into the shoes of Raymond Chandler and that shines through every page of this Philip Marlow masterpiece. You can feel the heat and smell the sweat and perfume of 1930s L.A. as Marlow does what he does best and tracks down a twisty murderer. While I still prefer Mina’s Tartan Noir books, The Second Murderer proves that she is truly a great writer.