The Second Murderer

June 1, 2023
The versatile Mina adds still another arrow to her quiver in this authorized pastiche in which Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled private eye searches for a woman who definitely doesn't want to be found. In fact, Marlowe's strong impression is that wealthy LA patriarch Chadwick Montgomery III doesn't really want to find Chrissie, his daughter and heir; he's chosen Marlowe's one-man agency, the narrator/hero decides, to look for her because he wants to keep the investigation under wraps and end in failure. Instead, Marlowe locates Chrissie, who was "easier to find than an optimist in a casino," in less than a day and then has to decide what to do next. Chrissie would rather work as "Joan Baudelaire" at Peggy Zimmerman's art gallery than return to the home of her intolerant, abusive father and his enigmatic secretary, Anneliese Lyle. The decision about her fate isn't Marlowe's alone, however, since the all-female detective agency headed by Anne Riordan, whom Marlowe met 83 years ago in Farewell, My Lovely, turns out to be on her trail as well. When Marlowe discovers Chrissie--who's gone to the seedy Brody Hotel apparently to meet a nonexistent fellow named Peter West--standing over the corpse of a man who reportedly died months ago several thousand miles away, the case instantly becomes more urgent. But Mina's pastiche, less literal than Robert B. Parker's Poodle Springs (1989) and less glum than Benjamin Black's The Black-Eyed Blonde (2014), is more playful in its early stages, as Mina cheekily piles on Marlowe's trademark similes, though it darkens considerably as it approaches its fade-out. Female-forward in all sorts of ways--quite a change of pace for the legendary gumshoe.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from June 19, 2023
Mina (The Less Dead) successfully emulates the language and tone of Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled novels featuring California P.I. Marlowe in this terrific pastiche. Though Marlowe has been instrumental in solving the murder of cowboy actor Pasco Pete, the gumshoe is unsettled by a sense he missed something. There’s no time to reopen the investigation, however, as he’s summoned to help the überwealthy Chadwick Montgomery track down his missing 22-year-old daughter, Chrissie, who vanished from the family estate the morning after her engagement party. Despite his distaste for Montgomery and uncertainty about whether Chrissie wants to be found, Marlowe accepts the case, which quickly leads to the discovery of multiple bodies, the revelation of Montgomery family secrets, and possible links to Pasco Pete’s death. The search is further complicated by the presence of Marlowe’s professional rival, detective Anne Riordan, whom Montgomery has also retained to find Chrissie. On top of nailing Chandler’s atmospherics (“Out on Santa Monica the heat was oiling up from the ground. Dust whipped past us on a spiteful breeze”), Mina delivers a truly surprising plot. Noir fans will hope Mina returns to the mean streets of L.A. again soon. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary.

Starred review from July 7, 2023

Scottish novelist Mina (Confidence; The Less Dead) effortlessly segues into Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles with this perfectly rendered Philip Marlowe noir. She has the world-weary, florid voice of Chandler's P.I. down pat. as he narrates the bewildering case of a missing heiress, Chrissie Montgomery, and puzzles over a previous case involving the murder of a brokedown cowboy extra named Pasco Pete. He dislikes his client, Chrissie's cold, contemptuous father, and is mystified by the man's secretary, who appears to be his punching bag. Marlowe is also beguiled by P.I. Anne Riordan, who once wanted to be part of his agency but now runs a sleuthing service of her own. Riordan's been hired by Mr. Montgomery as well, so it becomes a race to find Chrissie. Their investigations, together and apart, take them to all the worst places in L.A., and to a murder in a skid-row hotel. The tropes, the mise-en-sc�ne, the unforgettable characters, the convoluted, Chandler-esque plot--they're all here, with Mina's creative, timely-but-not-anachronistic touches. VERDICT Fans of the original books (and movies) starring Marlowe will appreciate his return; those who like re-creations of classics, such as the HBO Perry Mason series starring Matthew Rhys and Juliet Rylance, will enjoy this outing and hope for more Marlowe and Riordan adventures from Mina.--Liz French

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.