Ross MacDonald wrote of his crime fiction mentor "Raymond Chandler" that he "...wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sunblinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence." L.A. is the main character in "The Simple Art of Murder" an excellent collection of short stories by Chandler. In these pages we meet tough shamuses. world weary dames, corrupt politicians and cops on the make. Though Phillip Marlowe is not to be seen in these pages most of the stories are seen through the eyes of a private dick who is immersed in a heap of trouble.