I've read that Chandler's style evolved as he exited the pulp
arena and began writing novels, and comparing
"Blackmailers Don't Shoot" to his novels I've read, I'd have
to agree. Chandler's moody atmosphere and lyrical composition
distanced his work from the pulp standard, but his first
story, "Blackmailers," is rough around the edges. The
dialogue is poor and the writing leans heavily toward cliche.
Guns talk and characters squeeze lead and laugh mirthlessly.
It almost has a Robert Leslie Bellem (author of the
outrageous Dan Turner, Hollywood detective series) feel to
it. At his best, Chandler's flair for simile could prove
awkward, but in "Blackmailers" they are less developed and
less effective than in his later works: "His eyes were as
dead as stale oysters."
The story doesn't approach the quality of his best work, but
it still contains themes and elements that continue through
his oeuvre. Descriptions of Los Angeles reinforce the story's
atmosphere. A rich and beautiful woman invokes death and
destruction, and there's a crooked cop who the story is not
totally unsympathetic to. There's a big-time gentleman
criminal who's debonair and dangerous. There's the homosexual
theme that would have delighted Leslie Fiedler. Although the
story is written in third person, it's strongly centered on
the protagonist.
The plot involves a Chicago private eye named Mallory
investigating blackmailers attempting to extort money from an
actress. It starts out with Mallory wearing the same
powder-blue suit that Marlowe wears in the beginning of THE
BIG SLEEP. Mallory's description makes him appear more of a
dandy than Marlowe. A lot of people get shot, and there's a
special description for how each one collapses to the floor.
It is the first thing I've read by Chandler without a female
killer.
miker
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