The High Window

infobox Book |
name = The High Window
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Raymond Chandler
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Philip Marlowe
genre = Detective, Crime, Novel
publisher = Alfred A. Knopf
release_date = 1942
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 240 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by = Farewell, My Lovely
followed_by = The Lady in the Lake

"The High Window" is a 1942 novel written by Raymond Chandler. It is his third novel to feature Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe.

Plot introduction

The story begins when Mrs. Elizabeth Bright Murdock hires Marlowe to find an old rare coin, the Brasher Doubloon, that belonged in her deceased husband's collection. Mrs. Murdock insists that her son's wife has stolen the coin. Marlowe begins investigating, but quickly finds himself entangled in a series of unexplained murders. He also must play psychoanalyst, to solve the riddle of Mrs. Murdock's troubled assistant, and the assistant's relationship to both Mrs. Murdock and her son. This is necessary to put together the big picture; Marlowe is never satisfied with only solving one piece of the puzzle.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation, "The Brasher Doubloon", directed by John Brahm, was released in 1947.