The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler's concept of mystery deviates from traditions; for him, the atmosphere and people are more important than the complicated narrative. As a result, The Big Sleep is not your typical story: private investigator Philip Marlowe is recruited to investigate the blackmailing of Carmen Sternwood, the second daughter of a rich general. The farther he delves into this tangled web, the more intricate the narrative becomes, as Carmen is blackmailed by others in a web of surprising relationships between the individuals.

Chandler's work is complex: his characters are multifaceted, and his language is dense with foreshadowing of the disaster that is going to befall this family. While the signals he drops aren't precisely designed to assist you to figure out "who done it," they do create a sense of foreboding that makes it difficult to put the book down.

Link to buy: www.amazon.com/dp/0394758285?tag=reedwebs-20