The Little sister - Raymond Chandler (1949)

The original ice-pick thriller?

"Her name is Orfamay Quest and she's come all the way from Manhattan, Kansas, to find her missing brother Orrin. Or least ways that's what she tells PI Philip Marlowe, offering him a measly twenty bucks for the privilege. But Marlowe's feeling charitable - though it's not long before he wishes he wasn't so sweet. You see, Orrin's trail leads Marlowe to luscious movie starlets, uppity gangsters, suspicious cops and corpses with ice picks jammed in their necks. When trouble comes calling, sometimes it's best to pretend to be out?"

The Little Sister, with its overcomplicated and somewhat strained plotline, is not one of Chandler’s best, though even his lesser efforts show flashes of genius. Chandler's noirish tour of Hollywood feels a little worn and tired, however - much like Mr Marlowe himself I suppose.

“Easy Marlowe, you’re not human tonight”