The Goodbye Coast

A Philip Marlowe Novel

By: Joe Ide

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

In this colorful reinvention of a classic, Philip Marlowe finds himself tangled in two missing persons cases; “Ide has chiseled off the rust while keeping the soul of one of American fiction’s icons” (Dennis Lehane).

The seductive and relentless figure of Raymond Chandler’s detective, Philip Marlowe, is vividly re-imagined in present-day Los Angeles. Here is a city of scheming Malibu actresses, ruthless gang members, virulent inequality, and washed-out police. Acclaimed and award-winning novelist Joe Ide imagines a Marlowe very much of our time: he’s a quiet, lonely, and remarkably capable and confident private detective, though he lives beneath the shadow of his father, a once-decorated LAPD homicide detective, famous throughout the city, who’s given in to drink after the death of Marlowe’s mother.

Marlowe, against his better judgement, accepts two missing person cases, the first a daughter of a faded, tyrannical Hollywood starlet, and the second, a British child stolen from his mother by his father. At the center of The Goodbye Coast is Marlowe’s troubled and confounding relationship with his father, a son who despises yet respects his dad, and a dad who’s unable to hide his bitter disappointment with his grown boy.

Steeped in the richly detailed ethnic neighborhoods of modern LA, Ide’s The Goodbye Coast is a bold recreation that is viciously funny, ingeniously plotted, and surprisingly tender.

©2022 Joe Ide (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“How the hell do you write a mystery about Philip Marlowe, set it in Los Angeles, and still make it a total gobsmacking original? That’s the miracle of Joe Ide’s The Goodbye Coast. Ide has created a Philip Marlowe for the 2020s. And an L.A. that he clearly loves and hates.” (James Patterson)

"Not so much a reimagining of Chandler's world as a reinvigoration. By transplanting Philip Marlowe to 2021 LA, Joe Ide has chiseled off the rust while keeping the soul of one of American fiction’s icons. The Goodbye Coast is a blast from start to finish.” (Dennis Lehane)

"Sunshine and skullduggery, movie stars and mayhem—Joe Ide brings us a Philip Marlowe who wears our twenty-first century like a well-cut suit." (Ian Rankin)

Good book Great Narrator

Good story w several twists and turns. The narration kept me hooked and following the characters.

great story

Started off good and got better and better as it went on. A great detective story that gets quite gripping as it goes on. I highly recommend it.

NOT Phillip Marlowe

This was an okay modern LA detective story with a protagonist named Phillip Marlowe. That’s where all similarities with Chandler’s Marlowe or LA noire end. I was entertained despite the frequent inconsistencies in the story and the mystery was well maintained throughout the novel. This Marlowe, however, had nothing in common with Chandler’s Marlowe except name and occupation. Though it’s queued up for a sequel I won’t be buying it.

I LOVED IT!

Another wonderful story from Mr. Ide! This one is completely different from his other books, but it is excellent!! He brings the characters to life in an authentic way and tells a fabulous story! Kudos! For me, this is one of the best this year!!

Like IQ better

The IQ series is so much better. But because I really like this author, I will try one more from this series.

Interesting story too many subplots

Good author And good performance but the story is a little bit too long with too many supports lo

READ IT IN PAPER

Nice ine, Hachette Ywo massive audio gaffes in this Coukdnt bither a final edit? Meanwhike the guy who reads it coukdn't be a eorde chiice He's talented but sll wring gere Hard to enjoy anything this poirly produced Feh

Cringe worthy

I can't believe Joe Ide wrote this. Characters were stereotypes and never developed. Dialoge was painful. Story was ridiculous, and resolved by every one getting shot at the end. I loved his other books: what happened???

Awful book, appalling narration

Deeply lazy writing made insufferable by the worst narrator I’ve ever encountered in decades of listening to audiobooks.

Damn this sucked...

As a fan of the IQ novels l, at least until "Hi-Five", I was hoping for a new and interesting take on the character of Phillip Marlowe. But instead I got a convoluted, messy, moronic story that was way longer than it needed to be. Everything about this book frustrated me and solidified my opinion that Joe Ide is a hack.