More Chandler! This is a set of short stories, all of which contain memorable and incandescent prose. Here is probably the most famous selection, from the opening of ”Red Wind“:

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

I would be content to come up with five or six paragraphs that good in my life.