Despite being a short book, only 208 pages in my edition, it took him five years to complete it. We can have access to the final draft of the script, dated in 1949, here. He was 65 and the starting point was a script he wrote for Universal Studios around 1947 but was rejected and it was never made into a film. If my information is correct, Raymond Chandler begun its writing in 1953, shortly after the great success of which is probably his best book The Long Goodbye. Although for a better appreciation, it is necessary to recall perhaps the circumstances under which it was written. Playback is generally considered the weakest novel in the series, probably not without reason. However, when Marlowe gets there the body has disappeared. Larry Mitchell is lying on the floor of her room, he has been murdered. She has moved to another hotel, but one night she shows up in Marlowe’s room and asks him for help. At that moment he decides to enter in her room.Īs the story unfolds, Marlowe decides to turn down the case and help the young woman. And as soon as Larry Mitchell leaves the room, Marlowe hears she’s packing up to leave. From their conversation, Marlowe realises she’s being blackmailed. With the help of a stethoscope, Marlowe can hear that she gets in touch by phone with a man named Larry Mitchell that will soon arrive to her room. He discovers that she has registered as Betty Mayfield. Once he’s identified the girl, Marlowe follows her to Esmeralda, a small coastal town near San Diego and rents the room next to her in Rancho Descansado. Besides he receives some money to cover his expenses and two hundred and fifty dollars in advance. Initially, Marlowe is reluctant to accept a case without knowing anything more, but he’s told that he isn’t asked to do anything wrong. The girl, according to the note that comes with her photograph, is Eleanor King. Next, he must find out where she’s going to stay and then inform him. All he has to do is follow a red-haired girl who is arriving at the train station without her realising she is being followed. Philip Marlowe is hired by a lawyer who claims to be acting on behalf of a major New York law firm.

The action takes place a year and a half after the events narrated in The Long Goodbye. Paperback format with an Introduction by Kathy Reichs. Esta entrada es bilingüe, para ver la versión en castellano desplazarse hacia abajo In contribution to Rich Westwood’s #1958 book challenge

Playback by Raymond Chandler