It’s a brave author that takes a beloved character and creates a new story for them – and that’s exactly what Denise Mina has done here with Raymond Chandler’s famous private detective, Philip Marlowe.
Marlowe is mulling over a case that he’s closed that doesn’t feel right when he gets a summons to the sprawling Montgomery estate set high above Beverly Hills. The young heiress to the family fortune, Chrissie Montgomery, is missing and Marlowe is asked to find her. However, her elderly and dying father isn’t taking any chances – he’s hired another private detective who Marlowe knows well in order to set the rivals against each other in finding his daughter. As Marlowe gets nearer to the truth, a murder is committed and Marlowe has to consider whether Chrissie really is safest returning to her family.
Continue reading Book Review: ‘The Second Murderer’ by Denise Mina