My, my, my. Am I glad that I always read at least 2 books from an author before deciding on him. I'm also happy to have chosen this book for the second one. My complaint with "The Big Sleep" was that it was all about the atmosphere and not about the characters. Chandler has improved considerably. I like the way he integrated a twinge of sarcastic dry humor to the story and I also like the fact that this story is entirely character driven. The fact that I was forcing myself to struggle through the first 100 pages in "The Big sleep" and that I read the fist 100 pages in "The Long goodbye" in one sitting would tell about the vast difference between the both. If anyone ever wants to read Chandler, this would be the best book to start I suppose.
