farewell my lovely " a plot summary "

Farewell my lovely is short story written byRaymond Chandler, he considered this crackling 1940 sequel to The Big Sleep his best book."

it very attractive story and it pushes you to read more Raymond Chandler's novels

before I give the plot summary of this short story, I'll give author biography :

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an Anglo-American novelist and screenwriter who had an immense stylistic influence upon the modern private detective story, especially in the style of the writing and the attitudes now characteristic of the genre. His protagonist, Philip Marlowe, along with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, is considered synonymous with "private detective", both being played on screen byHumphrey Bogart.

THE PLOT SUMMARY :

A big bruiser known as Moose Malloy has gotten out of prison after serving 8 years for a bank robbery. He's looking for his girl, a redheaded singer named Velma. LA private investigator Philip Marlowe is on the premises at a club that caters only to blacks when Moose busts in and shoots the manager. Soon after, Marlowe gets hired as a temporary bodyguard by poofy Lindsay Marriott, who is ransoming a fine jade necklace for a friend after it was stolen during a carjacking. But Marlowe gets knocked out on the job and Marriott ends up beaten to a pulp.

Marlowe follows Velma's trail to the home of Jessie Florian, widow of the singer's old club owner, who has been receiving mysterious monthly checks in the mail and who ends up beaten to a pulp as well. The trail continues to the palatial home of elderly millionaire Lewin Lockridge Grayle and the owner of the jade necklace, his wife, through the offices of the corrupt police of LA suburb Bay City; and to offshore gambling operations. Chandler considered this crackling 1940 sequel to The Big Sleep his best book.