Thanks @netgalley for read number 146 of 2022. This was like reading an action movie with a great mystery or two included too. Lots of twists in this book. I couldn’t figure things out. I really liked the humour as well. Ide writes characters well, even though there are a lot of them. It probably would have been better to read this all in a day or two, as there are a lot of people and storylines to remember. It took me some time to keep everything straight. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read in my books. I liked seeing Marlowe in a different kind of mystery.

This is Joe Ide's interpretation of Philip Marlowe set in the 21st century. Marlowe is dealing with two missing persons cases: a young boy has been kidnapped from his mother in England and the missing daughter of a faded movie star. Marlowe is brilliant but cannot escape the shadow of his father, now a drunk, but once a decorated LAPD detective. Marlowe and his father, Emmet, find Casey, the missing daughter, but she does not want to return to her stepmother's house. Turns out Casey is a sociopath, she is working with her boyfriend, the brother of an Armenian mobster, to try and steal two million dollars. The other case of the missing little boy is more complicated than Marlowe had thought it was going to be. Ide is an excellent writer and his world of Marlowe is well defined. The characters act as Philip Chandler would have wished. My problem is...I prefer Marlowe in his correct environment, with all the dinge of 1940s Los Angeles.

Joe Ide to me is an Edgar award winning caliber author. With this book he pretty much cemented that status in my mind. In my opinion, he is as good as authors such as Michael Robotham, Deanna Raybourn & Walter Mosley.

Remakes are hard. So much to compare to. I'm enjoying Joe Ide's Q books and I love the LA-ness of this.

Thanks to the lovely folks at NetGalley for a chance to read an ARC.

Joe Ide pays homage to Raymond Chandler by bringing Philip Marlowe into modern day LA, not as an old man but as a young detective, 10 years into being a private eye. This Marlowe has a complicated relationship with his dad, who’s a legendary LA cop who turned to drink when his wife developed and then died from cancer.

Marlowe’s case in The Goodbye Coast is, on the surface, an investigation into tracking down a runaway teen, stepdaughter of a fading Hollywood starlet, whose husband was recently murdered. It, of course, morphs into a much more complicated case, chock full of pathological characters, foreign mobsters and pathetic Hollywood personalities.

With all that being said, I just could not really appreciate the characters, and was somewhat put off by Ide’s version of Marlowe. It just didn’t work for me, and as a result, I really could have cared less about the plot. Maybe it’s just me, but I just wasn’t all that impressed by The Goodbye Coast.

My thanks to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book.

The character of Marlow is still in development. Right now, we have a sketch of him while his father takes the stage. Joe Ide is a wonderful writer and I hope he has 'his' Marlow fleshed out in the next book.

Full Murder in Common review here: https://murderincommon.com/2022/03/27/joe-ide-the-goodbye-coast/

I have never read other books by Joe Ide, though they have been recommended to me often. The author's popularity along with the description of a Philip Marlowe story set in modern-day L.A. made me so excited to check this title out.
I was expecting an intricately plotted mystery featuring a hard-boiled detective. While the character lived up to my expectations, the storyline seemed to fall short. I felt like I would have liked the book more if I were familiar with L.A. There was just generally too much description of places and food. It seemed to slow the plot down.
While I didn't love this book, I think there are many readers who will, especially fans of P.I. detective stories or readers who enjoy Ide's previous series.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mulholland Books for an advance copy of this mystery pastiche.

Characters in novels outliving and sometimes outgrowing their creators are not a new trend. Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, even publisher creations like The Shadow, and Nick Carter and thousands of comic book characters have continued to have adventures long past their original or canon stories as some call them. Some take place in their original era, Victorian England, for example, or moved up and down the timeline depending on the writer's whim. Whatever the time the character usually stays the same, which is why they retain their popularity. Award-winning author Joe Ide takes the character of Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler and updated him to today in the novel The Goodbye Coast.

Philip Marlowe had always wanted to be a police officer like his father, but he lacked the patience to deal with the stupid that being a cop entailed, from bureaucracy, to fellow cops to being told what to do, so he left after only a week or two. Still, young Marlowe had a sense of justice, of fairness and of helping people who were weak and unable to get the justice they deserved, so he became a private detective. Ten years on he still is at it. Marlowe's latest case is to track down the missing daughter of a recently murdered man, whose wife is an A-list actress. From there complications ensue.

Being a fan of both Philip Marlowe and Joe Ide's Isaiah "IQ" Quintabe series I found this novel jut ok. If the character had been someone other than Marlowe, I might not have had as much problems with the story or the portrayal of Marlowe, but I just could not get behind the character nor the story, which just seemed to big. Marlowe having a father was interesting, but giving him a family just seemed not in fitting with the story, which I know was a problem with Robert B. Parker's Poddle Springs, another novel featuring Philip Marlowe which also was just ok. The characters other than Marlowe were well thought out, and in another novel might have carried it, but here again I felt they just got in the way of the story. However Ide's details about Los Angles and its environs was really spot on, very Chandler-esque and fitting with the original stories.

A decent mystery if you can get past the idea of Philip Marlowe, almost in the way of the story. As this is both an retcon/origin/ and introduction of the character to many a modern reader, I can see where trying a lot of new things might have been a good idea, but I'm not sure if it all came together. Fans of Chandler might have a problem, but Joe Ide fans might enjoy a new story with a new character. I am interested to see if this will continue, and what the future might hold for a 21st century knight errant Philip Marlowe.

Joe Ide has a great series featuring IQ, a loner who solves crimes the LAPD doesn’t have time for. Now Ide has gone back to the hard boiled detective stories of Raymond Chandler for his inspiration. The book is The Goodbye Coast featuring Philip Marlowe, in what I assume is the first in a new series. I of course was familiar with Humphrey Bogart as Marlowe but had never read any of the original books. This story started out a great mix of modern day LA atmosphere, deprecating humor and some intriguing investigations that Marlowe was hired to solve. Throw in Emmett, Marlowe’s father an irascible policeman on medical leave for drinking and mourning his late wife and a cast of self-absorbed Hollywood types and you have the makings of a great mystery.
Unfortunately as we get deeper and deeper into the story, the cast of characters expands to include the worst sort of Russian and Armenian mobsters, and the twists and turns of the intrigue becomes harder to follow. What makes it worse, though, is that our two experienced detectives, father and son, are barely keeping up with the bad guys. I don’t know about you, but I like my hero to be competent. Add to that weakness is the fact that the strongest character presented is a girl who is total sociopath. I’m hoping the next Marlowe mystery will give Marlowe a little stronger role in his own story.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this for an honest review.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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“Reassembling the past, reconstructing relationships, trying to link someone's words with the facts at hand or facts yet to be discovered. You overlay a hundred different constructs over the exact same information and you'll come up with a hundred different theories. Everyone sees, interprets and understands things differently. Everyone has their own aspirations, anxieties and fears. It’s what they call human nature.” Basilio paused to search his molars with his tongue. “Don’t get me wrong, kid. I’m not saying it'll all be mundane. There are things inside people so vicious and depraved you'd think their breath would smell like roadkill. They're out there, Marlowe. Every vile infection, mutant species, every simmering brew of psychopathic evil are waiting for you right outside the door.” Basilio unwrapped a toothpick and continued the search. “Sure you're still game?”

That was ten years ago and yes, Marlowe was still game.



MY FAULTY ASSUMPTION
When I heard that Joe Ide was going to do a Philip Marlowe novel, I assumed it was going to be in the same vein as his South Central Sherlock Holmes novel, IQ-this time with a Marlowe-esque figure in a contemporary L.A.

Nope. This time out, Ide isn't messing around with something inspired by one of the greats. He's it's a full bore re-imagining. We've got Philip Marlowe in his tenth year of being a P.I. in a 2020-is L.A. The question is, will this work?

WHAT'S THE GOODBYE COAST ABOUT?
An aging star of Rom-Coms hires Marlowe to find her stepdaughter, a 16-year-old runaway, Cody. Cody's father, Terry, was a director who had one mega-success and a series of flops. He appears to have fallen in with a group of Russian and Albanian gangsters as a way to secure funding for one last attempt at saving his career. Sadly, he was murdered in front of their home. That was six weeks ago. A month later, Cody runs away, stealing the housekeeper's car to do so.

It's been two weeks, and no sign of her has been found. Kendra James hires Marlowe, not to look into the murder, but to track down Cody. Something doesn't sit right about this with Marlowe, but James is paying a ridiculous amount of money, so he takes the case. Marlowe definitely doesn't like James, the way she treats her staff, or spends her money. But that doesn't mean he can't some of that money.

Naturally, Marlowe ends up looking into the murder, and the questions surrounding it, the victim, and Marlowe's client start to add up.

While in the middle of this investigation, Marlowe is approached by a British woman looking for her son—her ex-husband has abducted the boy and flown home to L.A. as the lastest step in their bitter divorce. She's spent pretty much everything she has to get to L.A., and after a series of rejections from Private Investigators who expect to be paid for their efforts, she's been referred to Marlowe.

EMMETT MARLOWE
Marlowe's father, Emmett, is a 17-year-veteran of the LAPD. Currently on leave, following the death of his wife from cancer and the drinking (both excessive and habitual) he turned to after that.

The relationship between father and son is strained, and the closest they get is when they work together—Emmett is essentially Marlowe's partner in some of his cases, unofficially using LAPD resources in the service of the case.

The emotional core of this novel is the relationship between Emmett and Marlowe. There are a lot of ups and downs just in these three hundred pages, and it's clear that this is nothing new—all of this has happened before, and it will all happen again. I'm not sure what they have could be love—it really doesn't seem to be affection—but they're family.

PHILLIP MARLOWE, REALLY?
I'm really not sure about this part. How Phillip Marlowe-y is this guy? Do we need Marlowe in the 21st Century? I wondered about that as soon as I finally understood what Ide was doing in this book a few weeks ago, and I still have questions about that.

One thing that I stumbled over is Ide's use of the third person. Chandler's Marlowe is notably a first-person narrator—and his narration served as the template for so many P.I.s that followed. Ide is about to work in some touches that make me think of Chandler's narration but it's not the same and takes some getting used to.

There are plenty of similarities between the two author's take on the character, a similar attitude, aptitude, mannerisms, and likes. On the other hand, Ide's Marlowe's backstory and the involvement of his father are significant divergences. That's his prerogative, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that—but at a certain point, if enough tweaks are made, is it Phillip Marlowe?

I cannot stress enough—I would have absolutely no qualms about this character if he had any other name under the sun. But tagging him with Philip Marlowe means something, right? I'm not prepared to say that Ide gave us a version of Chandler's character for the Twenty-First Century. For me, I think I have to think of Ide's Marlowe as some guy who by some crazy, random happenstance shares his name with a P.I. from the same city in the 30s and 40s.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE GOODBYE COAST?

A PI didn't have to produce evidence that held up in court. A PI speculated, deduced and conjectured until a theory formed that felt right to an experienced investigator. Marlowe could never replicate [redacted]'s thinking or [their] individual moves. The best he could do was ask himself, How would you do it, Marlowe?

It took me no time at all to get hooked by this—and hooked solidly. If it weren't for prior obligations (like, say, work), I'd have eagerly stayed up all night reading.

Everything about the Cody/Terry/Kendra case is murky—the more time that Marlowe and his father spend on it, the worse it gets. Every time they or the reader think they've gotten to the bottom of what happened, and to the depth of the depravity involved, within a few pages they're proven wrong. By the end, you see that Ide has fully embraced the noir ethos of Chandler's detective and runs with it.

I'm not sure I liked much about the father taking the child story, the resolution was satisfying enough, though. But what I appreciated about it was the way it brought the child's mother, Ren, into the novel. She played a significant role in the Cody story in several ways. Also, the best bit of dialogue in the novel comes from the first conversation that Mom and Marlowe had. I'm a sucker for banter, and Ide nailed this one. If there is a sequel to this, I'd love for Ide to come up with some excuse to bring Ren into it.

Speaking of the dialogue, as a whole it's crisp, snappy, and witty. The characters leap off the page, and it didn't take me long to get invested in the whole thing. This version of L.A. shares a lot with Chandlers, too—the collision of an abundance of wealth and a dearth of ethics/morality helps to create a dynamite setting for a P.I. novel. Between the narrative voice, dialogue, and frequent Chandler-esque similies, this is the most entertaining writing from Ide yet--I'm talking the technical bits, not the character or plot (nothing against them, I'm trying to distinguish things here).

I got the impression this is intended as a stand-alone, but I could be wrong. If there's a sequel, I'm there in a heartbeat. I can see this Marlowe rivaling Isaiah Quintabe in my eyes. P.I. fans—go get your hands on this.

I’d have enjoyed it more if it weren’t trying to be Marlowe…

Even though they are not my typical thing (my personal preferences tend to lean more towards historical mysteries and police procedurals), I’ve really enjoyed Joe Ide’s IQ books. So I was excited to receive a review copy of Ide’s new book, The Goodbye Coast, which has been marketed as a “reinvention of a classic”. The classic being, of course, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe series. Unfortunately, it can be really hard to update a classic, and I think I’d have enjoyed this book more without the Chandler/Marlowe ties.

First off, Ide gets a number of things right. His Philip Marlowe is a credible descendant of Chandler’s Marlowe, with a certain “apartness” that feels right for the role. And Ide’s Los Angeles is just as much a character in The Goodbye Coast as it is in any Chandler book – with the same fabulous, but often shallow, wealth found cheek-by-jowl with grifters and gangs. Beyond that, though, it felt to me as if the effort to re-imagine Chandler had led Ide down a path that he didn’t quite manage to own. The plot was a little too hard to follow (not that Chandler’s are easy), and a little too long, and I’d have preferred a cleaner, sparer book. And I wasn’t fond of the shifting viewpoints either – first we are in Marlowe’s head, then in the client’s, then in Marlowe’s dad’s… Even with its issues, though, somehow The Goodbye Coast grabbed me and kept me reading late into the night. So, it’s worth reading, IMO - I just think Ide could have done a better job with these characters and this Los Angeles if he weren’t trying to write a modern Chandler.

Oh, and FWIW, I loved the title and the cover!

And finally, my thanks to the publisher, Mulholland Books, and to NetGalley for the review copy.

It's always a good time for a throwback gumshoe. Was happy to include this book in my latest “Thrills and Chills” round-up for Zoomer magazine, highlighting winter’s best suspense and mystery reads. (see mini-review at link)

Marlowe is back! Rejoice fans of the iconic private investigator from the books of Raymond Chandler. In The Goodbye Coast he’s reimagined in modern day Los Angeles by highly acclaimed novelist Joe Ide ( EE-day) of the beloved and unique IQ series, featuring private investigator, Isaiah Quintabe.

Ide imbues Marlowe with a gift for observation and deduction. Marlowe notices what most people don’t and assimilates and deduces connections veiled in ambiguity. A veritable sleuthing guru. His narrative epitomizes the hard boiled crime fiction of the 1920s. Ide maintains the same “tough guy” detective, who loves his “top notch” bourbon and smokes Camel cigarettes, but, unlike the Marlowe of lore, he enjoys his vices in moderation, rather than excess. This Marlowe also is not fooled by the femme fatales, and recognizes them for their true motivations and foibles.

The present day Los Angeles provides an atmospheric backdrop, filled with scheming and sordid Hollywood people, brutal gangsters, the mentally ill and poor, the homeless, and the ubiquitous inequality.

Ide provides Marlowe with a unique back story. Highlighted by a contentious relationship with his decorated LAPD homicide detective father, Emmet. Marlowe aspired to also be a cop—a detective, like his father. But, as his father predicted, he washed-out of the police academy after three weeks, due to his attitude.He couldn’t follow orders, nor accept authority and disrespected the officer in charge.

Marlowe’s next career choice involved apprenticing as a private investigator with an ex-detective and old friend of Emmet. Thus he gained experience and ultimately his license. As his mother, Addie, was fighting Ovarian cancer, Emmet began drinking heavily and with her death this accelerated. He disregarded pleas to seek treatment.

Marlowe meets his client, movie star Kendra James, at her posh, sprawling Malibu estate on the water. Kendra is a notoriously nasty diva, that thinks nothing of destroying careers and reputations—she herself an almost washed-up actress with little in the way of new parts.Marlowe has an obvious dislike for her, and the wealthy with their power and privilege, and excess.Nonetheless, he listens to her story and accepts the case of finding her missing step-daughter Cody.Her ex-husbandand failed director, Terry was murdered, shot to death on the beach.Cody ran away two weeks ago without further contact.Kendra is “very worried” and Marlowe’s “bull-shit” meter is going crazy.Kendra describes Cody as being spoiled rotten, secretive, smart but devious.She is slender, pretty and typically dresses in Emo goth garb, and has short, dyed black hair and green eyes.Kendra comments to Marlowe, that his reputation precedes him, as being at best prickly, and somewhat of a rude, impolite boor.

Marlowe, unfazed, strikes a dapper pose in his handmade, dove-gray suit, black silk tie, brilliant white Egyptian cotton shirt and expensive, impeccable oxfords, and drives away in his three hundred and forty-nine horsepower, Mustang GT. Marlowe didn’t have much use for guns, His 9mm Sig was safely nestled in a covered frying pan, on the top of his stove at his office / home.

As Marlowe starts his investigation and following down multiple leads, everything pointed to a linkage involving the motivation for Terry’s murder. He was unfortunately known in the industry and a “one-hit” wonder, followed by a string of losers. Reportedly he was planning a “comeback” movie and had obtained funding…. possibly from the Russians or the Armenians. Nothing good can come from this scenario. While investigating he reluctantly is tasked with a second client, Ren Stewart. She was married for seven years to Fallon, and a victim of a whirlwind romance. On a regular visit, six weeks ago, he kidnapped their son, Jeremy, and their savings and fled from England to Hollywood. Fallon was an aspiring actor, who met with little success at home. ( Only Joe Ide could somehow conjure up the image of the psychotic Chihuahua, from the popular and often inappropriate cartoon: Ren and Stimpy, on the basis of Marlowe’s clients first name ) . Ide expertly intertwines the two investigations, that somehow collide in significance.

Joe Ide proves to be a masterful storyteller as he uses fantastic multidimensional characterizations and intricate plotting and prose to effortlessly fashion a twisted and complex narrative, that escalates to a powerful denouement – satisfying, and yet, having the reader yearn for more. He concocts a brew of viciousness, depravity and evil as Marlowe plows through the seamy underbelly of Los Angles, involving both the glitz, glamour and the Skid Row portions, where the impoverished, homeless, addicted, and mentally ill dwell. To complement his ingenious plotting, Ide inserts witty banter and social commentary to propel the story forward. His characters are no mere caricatures, but real life beings that will remain with the reader long after the last page is turned. I personally do not envision this Marlowe as Humphrey Bogart, ala The Big Sleep, but rather James Garner, from the 1969 movie, “Marlowe” ( which was based upon Chandler’s 1949 novel: The Little Sister ). Hopefully, Marlowe will continue to grow and struggle in further adventures penned by the amazing Joe Ide.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

A Philip Marlow novel? You caught my attention Joe Ide! Ide puts his own spin on this iconic character, setting his tale in current day, in his new novel - The Goodbye Coast.
Marlowe is an unlicensed private investigator in Las Angeles, often taking cases from a crusty old investigator. He often gets help from his Dad Emmet - currently on leave from the LAPD.

Now, I must admit, I went in with pre-conceived notions as to what this Marlow would be like - his thoughts and actions, who the other players would be and what the crime might entail. And I discarded them quickly. This Marlowe isn't what I expected - but I very much liked Ide's reinvention.

Marlowe has two cases on his plate - a missing wealthy teenager and a mother desperate to find her missing child. Enter the femmes fatale. Again, happily not what I was expecting - these two will give Marlow a run for his money. Bring in Russian and Armenian gangs and the action ramps up.

I loved Marlowe's wry internal thoughts and observations. And his wishful thinking on the romance front. The dialogue is short and snappy, suiting the character and the overall tone of the book. It's often quite humorous as well. The setting of Los Angeles is portrayed in all it's glitz and grime. Marlowe and Emmet have a complicated relationship and Ide explores the father and son relationship with a keen eye.

This reader quite enjoyed this homage to Chandler and other 'classic' crime novels. Here's hoping that it's not too long of a wait for the next Marlow case.

In this modern update of a Chandler central character, Ide pulls out every cliched trope that exists. I found it to be a silly exercise in nonsense. Not my cup of tea but others may find it readable.

I have tried Joe Ide books before and didn't like them but I decided to try this one. I gave up after a chapter or two. The writing is overwrought and, to my mind, unrealistic.

The Goodbye Coast by the outstanding writer Joe Ide lives up to and exceeds all expectations. Ide brings a new and refreshing look to the classic Philip Marlow novel by Raymond Chandler.
The Goodbye Coast crackles with dialog that is sleek and buzzing. Ide portrays Marlow as a modern and hip private investigator willing to kick butt and then spend $1000.00 on a suit of clothes. Action scenes occur with satisfying frequency, and the outcome is presented via flashbacks that wrap up another superb effort by Joe Ide.

A modern retread sees Philip Marlowe back in action!

I was conflicted with this to start with. Raymond Chandler is undoubtedly one of the greats of the noir-era detective thriller, and he made Philip Marlowe a household name. But... modernize him? Could it be done???

Enter Joe Ide... him of IQ fame, with the sweet dialog and witty action sequences. And sure enough... its a winner.

Filled with a good deal of intrigue, The Goodbye Coast has the feel of Marlowe... but where he was a bit more hard-boiled action and bluster, Modern Marlowe has a panache for overdressed and looking good while throwing kicks and dodging bullets.

With a high emphasis placed on action sequences (I counted at least 5 life-or-death moments), the mystery seemed to suffer a bit, but with a series of flashbacks at the end we have a satisfying ending with some decent twists! Ide.... write more. I'll read them!

When I heard that Joe Ide was going to be writing the first novel in a new Philip Marlowe series, I was intrigued. I know of Marlowe, of course, but have never actually read any of Raymond Chandler’s novels (although, like a great many classic books, I do own a few of them — just keep forgetting, because they’re on my Kindle). Having read all of Ide’s other novels to date, though, I knew I wanted to read The Goodbye Coast. I’m happy to report that it is a very enjoyable P.I. novel.

Ide’s novel opens with a pretty good introduction to Marlowe, as he meets with a new client and agrees to find her daughter. Neither takes a particular liking to the other — Marlowe’s reputation precedes him, in both good and bad ways. What follows is a surprisingly madcap investigation, one that brings in various factions of the Los Angeles underground, and also the murky ways of financing film projects. There’s also another mother with a missing child, some tangled romantic maneuvers, and occasional violence.

If you’re familiar with Ide’s other novels, you’ll be pleased to learn that he brings his great skill for character-building, dialogue and description to this novel. There is also some sharp-eyed observation about Los Angeles and what makes the city tick — both near and far away from the glitz and the glamour. Each character is well-constructed, three-dimensional, and has clear agendas and motivations. I found Marlowe’s relationship with his father rather surprising, but I thought it added some interesting and new-to-me elements to P.I./crime fiction. Marlowe Snr. is a cop, while Marlowe Jr. is a failed cop — however, they work together quite frequently, despite their differences and issues simmering barely below the surface of their interactions. The two grapple with their mixed feelings about Marlowe’s mother, who passed away not too long ago.

It’s a pretty fast-paced story, and one that didn’t struggle to grab my attention. There were times when the lighter, quirkier tone didn’t quite work for me, but that might well have been because I was expecting something a little more straight-faced. (I should have known better, given the author’s IQ novels.) It builds to a satisfying, yet tragic ending — one that does far more than merely wrap up a story, but put a pretty good spotlight on one of the great weaknesses of American society/culture.

After finishing The Goodbye Coast, I knew I had to go back and read Chandler’s original series. I hope to do that very soon. If you’re a fan of the original, I can’t say for definite that you’ll love this — however, if you’re open to reading a new series featuring a characterful P.I. in Los Angeles, then I think you will find plenty to like.

Definitely recommended. I hope there’s another novel in the series on the way.

I've enjoyed Joe Ide's IQ series tremendously. It's inventive, sharp about America's problems, develops unusual and often lovable characters (along with some memorable bad guys), and gives the armchair traveler a terrific sense of the city of LA, without focusing on the glitter of the film industry and the (white) California dream of living in a millionaire's home over the Pacific ocean.

I missed all that in this novel. It's built out of traditional materials - Raymond Chandler especially, but also Ross MacDonald and countless imitators. The mystery is primarily about a screwed up wealthy family. There's a sort of femme fatale - the old hardboiled tradition was never much good a women characters, at least ones that are fully-rounded human beings. There's also a woman trying to find her son, taken by her ex, and Marlowe, in white-hat-hero fashion, comes to her aid. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the book is the relationship between a spoiled sociopathic teenager and Marlowe's alcoholic father. But the mysteries, as tangled and cleverly plotted as they are, didn't grab me.

There are many touches of Ide's talent here, but it's neither as imaginative or as funny as his IQ series. I don't know why an author who has blazed such an original and impressive path would decide to turn back to the road most taken.