Lawrence Osborne astutely states in his Author’s Note that stepping into the mind of another writer is “a perilous proposition.” This is particularly true when the mind is that of an icon, the possessor of a household name known even to those who never read.

Such is the case with the late Raymond Chandler. Chandler’s books were (and still are) the finest of literary fiction, all of which happened to contain a mystery at their core, using a rumpled knight-errant named Philip Marlowe as a tour guide through the dark end of the Los Angeles environs. The Marlowe novels have survived both the decades since they were written and obsessive rereadings. Osborne is only the third author after Robert B. Parker and John Banville (writing as Benjamin Black) to be asked by Chandler’s estate to extend the Marlowe canon. ONLY TO SLEEP, the result, is a quietly riveting work, a homage to creator and creation that is nonetheless infused with Osborne’s own creative touch.

"ONLY TO SLEEP deserves a place next to your Chandler volumes and, like those, should be read and reread on a regular basis."

Osborne gives himself a considerable challenge here. He brings us a septuagenarian Marlowe in the twilight of his life, living as an expatriate in Baja California in the late 1980s while keeping a seat warm in a local hotel bar. His peaceful, inebriated monotony is interrupted by the arrival of a couple of insurance company representatives. It seems that Donald Zinn, one of their elderly life insurance policyholders, has died --- apparently accidentally --- by drowning while fishing in Mexico. The policy is quite large, and the beneficiary is Donald’s widow, Dolores, a woman less than half his age who has suddenly become very, very wealthy. Donald was cremated almost immediately, and the insurer is suspicious about the entire matter.

It develops that Donald, though supposedly a well-to-do building contractor, had turned welching on financial obligations into an art form, leaving a trail of creditors behind the wake of his corpse. The reps want Marlowe to investigate the matter. At 72, Marlowe knows that he is too old to be involving himself in such work, but takes the case for the best of reasons: he needs the money. Those expecting fisticuffs have unreasonable expectations, given that Marlowe’s tough guy days are far behind him. What he lacks in physical acuity, though, he makes up for in his wits and the occasional use of a handy weapon.

While Marlowe was a functioning alcoholic back in the day, his capacity for the spirits is not what it used to be, and he stumbles more than strolls his way through the investigation into what really happened to Donald, as well as why and how it did. Whether walking or tripping, Marlowe remains persistent as his investigation takes him deep into Mexico off the beaten path. One gets the sense that Osborne is giving the reader more of a travelogue through Marlowe than a mystery novel, but that’s fine. Marlowe is definitely a fish out of water, and his fuzzy observations coupled with his sometimes unpredictable behavior heighten the suspense. One never really knows what is going to happen next. The only certainty is that Marlowe will persist --- staying true to his own rough-edged standards --- if not always in the best interests of his deep-pocketed client.

ONLY TO SLEEP deserves a place next to your Chandler volumes and, like those, should be read and reread on a regular basis. Marlowe occasionally and momentarily muses on the past glories of prior cases, including many that occurred in the years between 1959 (when Chandler passed away) and 1989 but have never been documented. If Chandler’s estate retains Osborne to visit that period and cast light on those episodes, I certainly would be first in line to read them.