Murder

As the name of the entire collection implies, murder is featured commonly throughout the collection. It is important to note, however, that the form of murder Chandler is primarily concerned with is not merely the unlawful killing of just anyone. The murders that move the characters to action in these stories always involve someone who, in Chandler's crime-ridden streets of Southern California, is relatively innocent and honest. Relative is the operant word here, however, as even most of the victims are petty criminals in one way or another. The characters that most of the detectives sympathize with are often thieves or liars, but Chandler's world forgives these small crimes in light of all the more serious crimes that happen every day. For example, Belle is forgiven the murder of her husband by Delaguerra, simply because Delaguerra knows that Donovan Marr must have been a very difficult man to...