Author(s): Raymond Chandler

Fiction

The final complete novel by Raymond Chandler features his iconic creation Philip Marlowe. Betty Mayfield is blond and beautiful and has just been found guilty of murdering her husband. But when the judge realizes the jury is terrified of her father-in-law-the man who owns everything in this small North Carolina town-he overturns the verdict. Her father-in-law swears vengeance, and Betty flees. Seeking a new life, she meets Larry Mitchell, a brash but charming gigolo, on the train to Vancouver. He brings her to the Royal Vancouver Hotel, where she checks into a room beneath the penthouse of wealthy playboy Clark Brandon, who takes her under his wing. When Mitchell's body turns up on Betty's balcony, jaded inspector Jeff Killaine is assigned to the case but finds himself falling for Betty. Did she do it, or was she framed?