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The Lady in the Lake

 The Lady in the Lake
type
TVTItem
 The Lady in the Lake
label
The Lady in the Lake
 The Lady in the Lake
page
TheLadyInTheLake
 The Lady in the Lake
comment
The Lady in the Lake is a 1943 detective novel written by Raymond Chandler and featuring Philip Marlowe.Marlowe is hired by Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, to find Kingsley's wife. Crystal Kingsley had apparently run off with one of her lovers, Chris Lavery, but Lavery has reappeared on the scene and denies knowing anything about her whereabouts.Marlowe's investigation also uncovers the truth about two other lost wives: Florence Almore, a doctor's wife whose suspicious death was ruled a suicide, and Muriel Chess, the wife of the caretaker of the lakeside holiday home where Mrs Kingsley was last seen.The 1947 film version of Lady in the Lake starred Robert Montgomery as Marlowe and is famous for using a P.O.V. Cam for almost the entire film.
 The Lady in the Lake
fetched
2023-11-17T11:59:17Z
 The Lady in the Lake
parsed
2023-11-17T11:59:17Z
 The Lady in the Lake
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Lady in the Lake / int_1f250372
type
I Need a Freaking Drink
 The Lady in the Lake / int_1f250372
comment
I Need a Freaking Drink: Once the truth of Crystal Kingsley's death is revealed, and as the man who killed her murderer tries to make good his escape, Kingsley wordlessly drains a glass of whiskey, throws up his arms, walks into another room and goes to sleep.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_1f250372
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_1f250372
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The Lady in the Lake / int_1f250372
 The Lady in the Lake / int_204340fc
type
Vomiting Cop
 The Lady in the Lake / int_204340fc
comment
Vomiting Cop: When the local constable and his deputy come to take charge of the corpse that's been sunken in the lake for a month, the constable, coroner, and Marlowe take it in relative stride, but after wrapping up the body, the deputy goes off and throws up behind a tree. Downplayed; he does so in a fairly businesslike manner and Marlowe's narration doesn't dwell on his reaction.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_204340fc
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_204340fc
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The Lady in the Lake / int_204340fc
 The Lady in the Lake / int_266b283
type
Crime After Crime
 The Lady in the Lake / int_266b283
comment
Crime After Crime: Mildred Haviland/Muriel Chess kills a bunch of people in order to try to steal the identity of Crystal Kingsley. This includes Crystal herself, Lavery, and almost Marlowe himself. She was already a murderer for killing Mrs. Almore before any of this started.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_266b283
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_266b283
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_266b283
 The Lady in the Lake / int_29476563
type
Crusty Caretaker
 The Lady in the Lake / int_29476563
comment
Crusty Caretaker: Bill Chess is a rough, rugged man living on an army pension who looks after the cabins at Little Fawn Lake for Kingsley and his fellow investors.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_29476563
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_29476563
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The Lady in the Lake / int_29476563
 The Lady in the Lake / int_2d363f63
type
Frame-Up
 The Lady in the Lake / int_2d363f63
comment
Frame-Up: A modus operandi for the local police force to get rid of nosy PIs - stop them for speeding, Force Feed them a bottle of liquor and then lock them up for drunk driving and handle the speeding ticket. After having a meeting with who might be Crystal Kingsley, Marlowe is knocked out, only to wake up next to her dead, naked body, while himself being doused with gin. He is still able to work his way out of this.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_2d363f63
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_2d363f63
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The Lady in the Lake / int_2d363f63
 The Lady in the Lake / int_32d0784e
type
Stop, or I Will Shoot!
 The Lady in the Lake / int_32d0784e
comment
Stop, or I Will Shoot!: Following the Summation Gathering, Degarmo attempts to escape but is killed while crossing a dam guarded by wartime sentries under orders to shoot potential saboteurs.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_32d0784e
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_32d0784e
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The Lady in the Lake / int_32d0784e
 The Lady in the Lake / int_33576bdb
type
The Sheriff
 The Lady in the Lake / int_33576bdb
comment
The Sheriff: Jim Patton is the town constable and deputy sheriff, presumably answerable to a county sheriff, but Puma Point is far enough up in the mountains that he's effectively on his own. Despite his advancing age, he's impressively quick on the draw and a good enough shot to shoot a gun out of a man's hands.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_33576bdb
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_33576bdb
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_33576bdb
 The Lady in the Lake / int_567e7c4d
type
Wounded Gazelle Gambit
 The Lady in the Lake / int_567e7c4d
comment
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Patton pretends to be a rather feeble old man who is now going to get shot by a murderer because Marlowe decided to hold his Summation Gathering in Patton's town. The murderer takes a moment to laugh at him, giving Patton the brief window he needs to Quick Draw his pistol and shoot the gun out of their hands.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_567e7c4d
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_567e7c4d
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The Lady in the Lake / int_567e7c4d
 The Lady in the Lake / int_57ca867e
type
Force Feeding
 The Lady in the Lake / int_57ca867e
comment
A modus operandi for the local police force to get rid of nosy PIs - stop them for speeding, Force Feed them a bottle of liquor and then lock them up for drunk driving and handle the speeding ticket.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_57ca867e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_57ca867e
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 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
The Lady in the Lake / int_57ca867e
 The Lady in the Lake / int_5e2e55e4
type
The Casanova
 The Lady in the Lake / int_5e2e55e4
comment
The Casanova: Chris Lavery, a small-time lothario who lives off the women he dates. Miss Fromsett describes him as 'quite easy to hate [...] And poisonously easy to love.' Mildred kills him because he saw her alive after she faked her death.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_5e2e55e4
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_5e2e55e4
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The Lady in the Lake / int_5e2e55e4
 The Lady in the Lake / int_6d7cd3e
type
Dead Person Impersonation
 The Lady in the Lake / int_6d7cd3e
comment
Dead Person Impersonation: The murdered woman in Little Fawn Lake, supposed to be Muriel Chess, was actually Crystal Kingsley, killed by Mildred Haviland, who then assumed her identity.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_6d7cd3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_6d7cd3e
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hasFeature
The Lady in the Lake / int_6d7cd3e
 The Lady in the Lake / int_73328e84
type
Suicide by Cop
 The Lady in the Lake / int_73328e84
comment
Suicide by Cop: Degarmo seems to be all but daring Patton to kill him as he leaves, but the constable refuses to shoot an unarmed man. Degarmo then steals the deputy's car, rushes the wartime checkpoint across the dam, and is shot halfway across, swerving over the side and landing in a crumpled wreck below.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_73328e84
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_73328e84
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_73328e84
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7a2a34ef
type
Not With the Safety On, You Won't
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7a2a34ef
comment
Not With the Safety On, You Won't: When Marlowe is being held at gunpoint by the murderer, he notes that she's not confident with the gun, and tells her that she's still got the safety catch on. This distracts her just long enough for him to knock the gun away and turn the confrontation into a contest of physical strength. Lampshaded by Marlowe, who refers to it as "that old business of the safety catch not being off".
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7a2a34ef
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7a2a34ef
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The Lady in the Lake / int_7a2a34ef
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7c1bf001
type
Character Name Alias
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7c1bf001
comment
Character Name Alias: At one point, needing a fake name at a moment's notice, Marlowe claims to be named Philo Vance.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7c1bf001
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_7c1bf001
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The Lady in the Lake / int_7c1bf001
 The Lady in the Lake / int_884e513b
type
Medium Awareness
 The Lady in the Lake / int_884e513b
comment
Medium Awareness: Even by Chandler's standards, this is a novel in which the most Lampshade Hangings, Leanings on the Fourth Wall and Discussed Tropes happen, directly delivered by Marlowe either in dialogues or even his narration. It goes as far as having a lengthy discussion on Chandler's Law and how those situations usually play out.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_884e513b
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_884e513b
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 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
The Lady in the Lake / int_884e513b
 The Lady in the Lake / int_8e20b0f7
type
Private Detective
 The Lady in the Lake / int_8e20b0f7
comment
Private Detective: Marlowe, obviously. The Lady in the Lake is notable for taking him far away from the big city and sending him into the countryside, where he has to rely on himself in a "foreign" place.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_8e20b0f7
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_8e20b0f7
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The Lady in the Lake / int_8e20b0f7
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90b66e22
type
Femme Fatale
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90b66e22
comment
Femme Fatale: Mildred Haviland is a skilled actor with a way of getting men to jump through hoops for her. She murders two women and one man and threatens to shoot Marlowe before being killed herself.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90b66e22
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_90b66e22
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The Lady in the Lake / int_90b66e22
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90c3ce7
type
Pink Elephants
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90c3ce7
comment
Pink Elephants: Miss Fromsett tells Marlowe that Dr. Almore has a reputation as the kind of doctor "who ran around all night with a case of loaded hypodermic needles, keeping the fast set from having pink elephants for breakfast."
 The Lady in the Lake / int_90c3ce7
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_90c3ce7
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The Lady in the Lake / int_90c3ce7
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9b1e50bd
type
During the War
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9b1e50bd
comment
During the War: Set during WW2, after the US joined it. While at first glance it's a completely insignificant detail that serves no purpose, the finale has Degarmo trying to escape through the dam of Puma Lake, which, as a strategic asset, is guarded by the military. Since he drives past the checkpoint, they open fire, killing him.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9b1e50bd
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_9b1e50bd
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The Lady in the Lake / int_9b1e50bd
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9ccb5f39
type
Summation Gathering
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9ccb5f39
comment
Summation Gathering: Marlowe has Degarmo drive him up to Kingsley's cabin and has Constable Patton meet him there. It is not to arrest Kingsley, as Degarmo has been allowed to assume, but rather because Marlowe now knows who killed who: Degarmo killed Mildred Haviland, after Mildred killed Chris Lavery, Crystal Kingsley, and before that Dr. Almore's wife. Degarmo originally helped cover up the murder of Florence Almore because he was in love with Mildred; he finally killed her because he wasn't willing to let Mildred go on killing, but still wasn't willing to come clean about his own part in the coverup. Marlowe's idea was to lure the killer someplace isolated where they wouldn't be able to bolt.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9ccb5f39
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9ccb5f39
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The Lady in the Lake / int_9ccb5f39
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9dab0a6e
type
Continuity Nod
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9dab0a6e
comment
Continuity Nod: While talking to a police detective in Bay City, Marlowe asks after Red Norgaard, a Bay City detective he befriended in Farewell, My Lovely, and is informed that he's away in the army now.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9dab0a6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_9dab0a6e
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The Lady in the Lake / int_9dab0a6e
 The Lady in the Lake / int_a1b0bde2
type
Revealing Cover-Up
 The Lady in the Lake / int_a1b0bde2
comment
Revealing Cover Up: After Marlowe goes to talk to Lavery, a Dirty Cop shows up to warn him off taking an interest in the affairs of Lavery's neighbor Dr. Almore. As Marlowe takes great pleasure in telling the cop later, he'd had no idea who Dr. Almore was and no interest in him until the warning-off told him there was something to be interested in; if it hadn't been for that, he'd have left the Almore angle alone and nobody involved in it would have had anything to worry about.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_a1b0bde2
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_a1b0bde2
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The Lady in the Lake / int_a1b0bde2
 The Lady in the Lake / int_aaa35901
type
My Card
 The Lady in the Lake / int_aaa35901
comment
My Card: Marlowe carries two sets of business cards: one with his business details and contact information, and one with just his name for situations when he doesn't wish to advertise his reason for calling. When he calls into Kingsley's office at the beginning of the novel, he gives the plain card to the secretary when he asks to be announced, but gives his business card to Kingsley after being shown in.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_aaa35901
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_aaa35901
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_aaa35901
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b1a7cd14
type
Tap on the Head
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b1a7cd14
comment
Tap on the Head: While confronting Kingsley's wife, who has now produced a gun, somebody steps out from behind a curtain and coshes Marlowe on the back of the head. He wakes up to find the woman dead, and himself covered in gin and made out to look as if he killed her. During The Summation he reveals that he has deduced that the man who coshed him and killed the woman was Dirty Cop Degarmo.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b1a7cd14
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1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b1a7cd14
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The Lady in the Lake / int_b1a7cd14
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b26cc887
type
Just Between You and Me
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b26cc887
comment
Just Between You and Me: Lampshaded.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_b26cc887
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_b26cc887
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_b26cc887
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd0796da
type
Dangerous Clifftop Road
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd0796da
comment
Dangerous Clifftop Road: The murderer rushes the military barricade on top of the dam at Little Fawn Lake and careens off the side.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd0796da
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd0796da
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The Lady in the Lake / int_bd0796da
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd79d896
type
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd79d896
comment
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: It starts out with a search for a missing / runaway wife and ends up with 3 murders and mafia involvement in defense industries, skimming money from the war effort.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd79d896
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_bd79d896
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The Lady in the Lake / int_bd79d896
 The Lady in the Lake / int_ca3a6dbd
type
Informed Ability
 The Lady in the Lake / int_ca3a6dbd
comment
Informed Ability: Mildred's ability to wrap men around her little finger is discussed, but while we see the emotional turmoil left in her wake, we never see her seduce anyone.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_ca3a6dbd
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_ca3a6dbd
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The Lady in the Lake / int_ca3a6dbd
 The Lady in the Lake / int_caa28b82
type
Cloudcuckoolander
 The Lady in the Lake / int_caa28b82
comment
Cloudcuckoolander: Mrs Fallbrook, Chris Lavery's landlady, is a rather scatterbrained woman who Marlowe has to bluster his way past — just before he finds Lavery dead in his bathroom. She's not actually the landlady, but rather Mildred Haviland in disguise, Returning to the Scene.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_caa28b82
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_caa28b82
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 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
The Lady in the Lake / int_caa28b82
 The Lady in the Lake / int_dda12cb3
type
Cat Scare
 The Lady in the Lake / int_dda12cb3
comment
Cat Scare: Marlowe breaks into Bill Chess's cottage to search for clues. While he's searching, he hears footsteps outside. He moves quietly over to the door and yanks it open — and it's just one of the local deer.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_dda12cb3
featureApplicability
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_dda12cb3
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_dda12cb3
 The Lady in the Lake / int_e83f211c
type
O.O.C. Is Serious Business
 The Lady in the Lake / int_e83f211c
comment
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Calling her husband for getaway money, Crystal seems much more subdued and hard-nosed than she has been described. Marlowe wonders if everyone has been underestimating her. Kingsley himself is confused to see the cabin where Crystal was supposedly living is recently cleaned and organized. All of which adds to the evidence when Marlowe reveals that 'Crystal' was actually an impostor, Muriel/Mildred impersonating the woman she killed.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_e83f211c
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_e83f211c
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_e83f211c
 The Lady in the Lake / int_eb251937
type
Dirty Cop
 The Lady in the Lake / int_eb251937
comment
Dirty Cop: The cops in Bay City are notorious for being on the payroll of the local gangsters. Mrs Almore's death is widely believed by those who know about it to have been a murder that was covered up by a gangster who Dr. Almore was doing off-the-books work for. It was a murder, and Detective-Lieutenant Degarmo did cover it up, albeit for more personal reasons.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_eb251937
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_eb251937
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_eb251937
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f07450a0
type
Balcony Escape
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f07450a0
comment
Balcony Escape: Marlowe is knocked out in an apartment and recovers consciousness to find himself sharing the room with a dead body and police knocking on the door. He buys time by climbing out the window and in through the window of the next room.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f07450a0
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_f07450a0
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 The Lady in the Lake
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The Lady in the Lake / int_f07450a0
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f2097aef
type
Finally Found the Body
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f2097aef
comment
Finally Found the Body: A month after Muriel Chess went missing, her husband happens to spot a bloated blonde corpse under a pier. It never occurred to him that her final note to him could be read as a suicide note just as easily as a "Dear John" Letter. Except instead of the body of Muriel Chess, murdered by Crystal Kingsley, it's exactly the opposite, used by Muriel, actually Mildred Haviland, to keep anyone from looking for her.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f2097aef
featureApplicability
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_f2097aef
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The Lady in the Lake / int_f2097aef
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f9876f7e
type
Faking the Dead
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f9876f7e
comment
Faking the Dead: The body in the lake that's identified as Muriel Chess isn't her. She faked her own death so she could get away without anybody looking for her, murdering Crystal Kingsley to provide a suitable body.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_f9876f7e
featureApplicability
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 The Lady in the Lake / int_f9876f7e
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The Lady in the Lake / int_f9876f7e
 The Lady in the Lake / int_fd7267dd
type
Master of Disguise
 The Lady in the Lake / int_fd7267dd
comment
Master of Disguise: Mrs Fallbrook, the Crystal Kingsley who Marlowe meets at Granada apartments, and Muriel Chess are all actually the same person: Mildred Haviland. Marlowe is suspicious of Mrs Fallbrook until she puts the gun in his hand, and later he admits that he is impressed by the same woman's hard-boiled performance in the Granada, but it isn't until the Summation Gathering that he affirms that the real Crystal is dead, and Mildred, alias Muriel, killed her and impersonated her in San Bernardino as well, a month before Granada.
 The Lady in the Lake / int_fd7267dd
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The Lady in the Lake / int_fd7267dd
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ItemName
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The Lady in the Lake / int_name
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The Lady in the Lake

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
American Literature (J To M) / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Balcony Escape / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Cat Scare / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Character Name Alias / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Commended for Pushback / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Dead Person Impersonation / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Not With the Safety On, You Won't / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Stop, or I Will Shoot! / int_e881ea2d
 The Lady in the Lake
hasFeature
Vomiting Cop / int_e881ea2d