Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.

    Marlowe's entanglement with the Sternwood family - and an attendant cast of colourful underworld figures - is the background to a story reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the great American Dream. The detective's iconic image burns just as brightly in 'Farewell My Lovely', on the trail of a missing nightclub crooner. And the inimitable Marlowe is able to prove that trouble really is his business in Raymond Chandler's brilliant epitaph, 'The Long Goodbye'.

    Higgins wrote:  "Chandler is fun to read.  He's as bleak as tundra, and his dirtbag characters far outnumber his stellar citizens, but Philip Marlowe is a laconic tour guide through a zoo of truly interesting animals."

    However, just before the quarantine is declared, the police arrive, and so does a young man, who hides in his pyjamas in the wardrobe of Miss Maud Borckman. It turns out that of the numerous guests under quarantine, any number could have committed the murder the police have come to investigate, including the stranger in pyjamas and Maud, as well as a prince and a janitor, even a police officer. Hilarious mayhem abounds all around as the true identities of the hotel guests come to light, and the stranger in pyjamas finally gets to take a hot bath and lays hold of some clothes.

    The Sittaford MysteryWhy didn't they ask Evans?And then there were noneMurder is Easy

    Operating in the lawless underworld of California, Marlowe in The Big Sleep hunts down a millionaire's blackmailers with the doubtful assistance of his two beautiful daughters... Tracing missing property leads to a trail of corpses in The Lady in the Lake... and Marlowe lands himself in trouble in The Long Goodbye — but that's his line of work. Six superb novels are included in this volume which ends with the spiciest Chandler of all, Farewell My Lovely.