A riveting tale of risk and obsession set in the alluring and dangerous world of Macau's casinos, by the author of the critically acclaimed The Forgiven. As night falls on Macau and the neon signs that line the rain-slick streets come alive, Doyle - "Lord Doyle" to his fellow players - descends into his casino of choice, to try his luck at the baccarat tables that are the anchor of his current existence. A corrupt English lawyer who has escaped prosecution by fleeing to the East, Doyle spends his nights drinking and gambling and his days sleeping off his excesses, continually haunted by his past. Taking refuge in a series of louche and dimly lit hotels, he watches his fortune rise and fall as the cards decide his fate. At a moment of crisis, he meets Dao-Ming, a beautiful and enigmatic native Chinese woman who seems to offer salvation in the form of both money and love. But as Doyle attempts to make a rare and true connection, all that he accepts as reality seems to be slipping from his grasp. Richly atmospheric and suspenseful, The Ballad of a Small Player is a contemporary ghost story, steeped menacingly in the supernatural, but also recalling classics by Dostoevsky and Graham Greene.                                            

Lawrence Osborne brings one of literature's most enduring detectives back to life – as Private Investigator Philip Marlowe returns for one last adventure.

The year is 1988. The place, Baja California. And Philip Marlowe – now in his seventy-second year – is living out his retirement in the terrace bar of the La Fonda hotel. Sipping margaritas, playing cards, his silver-tipped cane at the ready. When in saunter two men dressed like undertakers, with a case that has his name written all over it.    For Marlowe, this is his last roll of the dice, his swan song. His mission is to investigate the death of Donald Zinn – supposedly drowned off his yacht, and leaving behind a much younger and now very rich wife. But is Zinn actually alive? Are the pair living off the spoils? Set between the border and badlands of Mexico and California, Lawrence Osborne’s resurrection of the iconic Marlowe is an unforgettable addition to the Raymond Chandler canon. **

Review

‘Brilliant... Osborne and Chandler are a perfect match.’ — William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart and Solo: A James Bond Novel 'It's a joy to see Philip Marlowe lured back for one last job by the gleefully unsentimental Lawrence Osborne... If you like noir, pour yourself something cool and enjoy one final dark night of the soul.’ — Joseph Knox, author of Sirens  'Osborne is the third writer to have resurrected Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe (following Robert B.Parker and Benjamin Black), and his effort may be the best of the lot. Wisely electing not to re-create Chandler’s iconic PI in his salad days, nor to imitate the author’s simile-strewn style, Osborne gives us a retired Marlowe, 72 years old and living in Baja California in the late 1980s. Osborne’s real triumph here is to create a new style for the septuagenarian Marlowe that seems absolutely right, less florid but even more driven by mordant wit.' — *Booklist*  'Osborne skillfully channels Chandler’s distinctive prose and tone. He also captures Marlowe’s keen observations and courage, along with a world-weariness and cynicism that somehow mesh with his essential sense of hope.' — *Seattle Times
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'Fans of the Raymond Chandler originals as well as the Robert B. Parker and Benjamin Black successors will find much to like here... A fresh perspective on one of the classic hard-boiled detectives.' — ***Library Journal *

About the Author

LAWRENCE OSBORNE was born in England but has traveled and lived all over the world. He is the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Forgiven, The Ballad of a Small Player, Hunters in the Dark, and Beautiful Animals. He is the third writer, after John Banville (writing as Benjamin Black) and Robert B. Parker, to be asked by the Raymond Chandler Estate to write a new Philip Marlowe novel. In Only to Sleep, Osborne draws from his time working as a reporter on the Mexican border in the early 1990s. His non fiction includes Bangkok Days and The Wet and the Dry. His short story 'Volcano' was selected for Best American Short Stories 2012. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, Harper's, and other publications. He lives in Bangkok.