Only to Sleep

A highly distinctive writer who quickly becomes addictive… I loved it – John Gray * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Splendid * Mail on Sunday *A brilliant Raymond Chandler continuation novel with an ageing Philip Marlowe. Osborne and Chandler are a perfect match – William Boyd * Guardian *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 SirensThe decayed grandeur of the setting, the mystery of an alluring femme fatale, an old man’s tussle with his conscience and his ageing body, and a healthy number of spectacular set-pieces work a subtle magic… both a convincing Marlowe and a seedily satisfying thriller – Andrew Holgate * Sunday Times *This is the best Marlowe novel I have read apart from the master’s own works… it’s the only one I can imagine Chandler liking – Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *Osborne succeeds brilliantly… captures the dreamlike quality of the original Marlowe novels – Bruce deSilva * Daily Mail *Superb… Osborne’s dialogue and description echo Chandler’s wit and world-weariness with uncanny skill – Mark Sanderson * Evening Standard *An exhilarating talent…one of our finest writers – Francesca Angelini * Sunday Times *Lawrence Osborne, an accomplished writer of fiction and nonfiction, has been asked to imagine a new case for Philip Marlow and – have a smell from the barrel, all you gunsels and able grables – it crackles…brisk and disarming – Laura Lipman * New York Times Book Review *

Born in England, Lawrence Osborne is the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Forgiven, The Ballad of a Small Player, Hunters in the Dark, Beautiful Animals, Only to Sleep- A Philip Marlowe novel (commissioned by the Raymond Chandler estate), The Glass Kingdom and On Java Road. His non-fiction ranges from memoir through travelogue to essays, including Bangkok Days, The Naked Tourist and The Wet and the Dry. His short story ‘Volcano’ was selected for Best American Short Stories 2012. The film of The Forgiven, starring Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith and Jessica Chastain was released in 2022. The Ballad of a Small Player, starring Tilda Swinton and Colin Farrell, is due to be released in autumn 2025. Osborne lives in Bangkok.