b reads Marlowe’s case as delving into the California underworld in search of a rare and extremely valuable coin, the Brasher Doubloon. This is just a small portion of the novel. The book starts out with Marlowe visiting a Mrs. Murdock, s a bitter woman who secludes herself in her musty and dank house all day while she drinks Port as medicine to mitigate her asthma. She puts Marlowe on the case of the Brasher Doubloon, she thinks that it has been stolen by her daughter-in-law, Linda Conquest, who had recently run-off. Murdock hopes that Marlowe finds the coin, so she can get an uncontested divorce for her son, Leslie. As Marlowe passes through the house of Murdock he meets a beautiful, young and timid blonde, Merle Davis, Mrs. Murdock’s secretary. Davis is the only outsider of the family, but she regards Mrs. Murdock as a mother, bitter as she is. Not only is Miss Davis timid, but Marlowe also discovers that, when he touched her casually, she jumped. It is then apparent to him that she suffers from a sexual neurosis; she can’t stand men. With the help of Miss Davis, Marlowe is able to get find the names of Linda Conquest’s friends, Lois Magic, and Louis Vannier. Marlowe also finds that Leslie owes a man named Morny a considerable sum of money for his gambling losses. Morny also happens to be Lois Magic’s husband. This provokes Marlowe into thinking that Linda stole the Doubloon to pay off the gambling debt. Marlowe decides to pay a visit to the Morny estate. At the estate, Marlowe meets Vannier who is having an affair with Lois Magic. (Sound like a Soap Opera?) Upon leaving the estate Marlowe has more questions than before and even fewer answers. Marlowe’s next confrontation with a total stranger is with George Anson Phillips, who has been tailing him since the beginning of the novel. Anson, being an amateur private gumshoe, gives Marlowe his apartment key so that they can meet later. Anson and Marlo...
