A brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of a classic Raymond Chandler mystery featuring private eye Philip Marlowe.
Marlowe's on a case: his client, a dried-up husk of a woman, wants him to recover a rare gold coin called a Brasher Doubloon, missing from her late husband's collection. That's the simple part. It becomes more complicated when Marlowe finds that everyone who handles the coin suffers a run of very bad luck: they always end up dead. That's also unlucky for a private investigator, because leaving a trail of corpses around LA gets cops' noses out of joint. If Marlowe doesn't wrap this one up fast, he's going to end up in jail - or worse, in a box in the ground....
Dramatised by: Toby Stephens, Judy Parfitt, Jessica Raine, Patrick Kennedy, Joe Montana, Stuart Milligan, Susie Riddell, Peter Polycarpou, Gerard McDermott, Carl Prekopp, Alex Tregear, James Lailey, Sean Baker, Alun Raglan, Simon Bubb.
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"How can I not love a detective novel that includes allusions to Wuthering Heights and the Diary of Pepys? The reference to Marlowe as a Galahad figure is especially apt in this installment of the Marlowe novels; the ethical code Marlowe follows is explicitly stated and (it seems to me) more central to his internal conflict than in the other novels. While Chandler's noir focuses on the underbelly of American life, the level of individual corruption (the psychological exploitation of Merle Davis) is far more cruel and devious than plot threads in other novels. Marlowe's handling of Merle and his odious employer are what make him such a compelling character."
—
Michelle (5 out of 5 stars)