“The next hour was three hours long.”

“I was doing a cheap sneaky job for people I didn’t like, but - that’s what you hire out for, chum. They pay the bills, you dig the dirt. Only this time I could taste it.”

Yup, that’s Marlowe’s thoughts about the job he’s hired to do in this one, following a girl for a man named Clyde Umney, a lawyer. And that's pretty much what he does for the entire book! It's not boring, but not a lot is going on. Except, of course, that the writing is done by Mr. Raymond Chandler, so even without a lot of action, it's still beautiful to read! And, as it is the last Philip Marlowe book, it ends rather well - for him! Unfortunately, it is my last read in this series, which is a total bummer. Maybe in a few years I'll revisit the collection, and this time read them in order! I'll miss ya' Marlowe!

Fun facts - Clyde Umney (in name) appears is Stephen King's short story "Umney's Last Case". “Playback” is Chandler’s last completed novel. It is the only Marlowe novel completed by him that is set somewhere other than Los Angeles. The setting is the town of Esmeralda, a fictional name for La Jolla. And oddly, of all Chandler's novels, “Playback” is the only one never to have been adapted into a film. Weird… ( )

Philip Marlowe is asked to shadow a young woman named Betty Mayfield. He isn't told why but the request comes from a lawyer. Soon he notes she is very frightened and someone is blackmailing her and unless he finds out what is behind all this, her life will be in danger.

A tough guy and another P. I. from Kansas City threaten Marlowe and one of them attacks him. After one competitor disappears and another pulls a gun on him, Marlowe knows he must learn the girl's secret. The novel contains the usual sarcastic dialogue, tough guys and hard women one finds in a Marlowe novel. ( )

First edition very good. Price clipped

As Chandler's last novel opens, Philip Marlowe meets a well-endowed redhead as she disembarks from the Super Chief and leads him to the California coast to solve a tale of big money and, of course, murder.

There had been a time when I read every book by Chandler I could get hold of. Having by now forgotten the story I re-read it with pleasure. (XI-22)