Only to Sleep

Osborne is a good, occasionally great writer. His books are full of specific details. It's very easy to get a sense of place. Only To Sleep would be a good travelouge of the Mexico of the late 80's. Unfortunately, this is a Phillip Marlowe novel. There are expectations of plot, pace, and mood in hard boiled crime fiction. This has none of it. The mystery and the process of reaching the core of the case is secondary to the ruminations by the author of aging, or being of a different time, and of being the outsider in a different land. I was bored repeatedly, and it was a chore to finish the book. Which is unfortunate, since Osborne is a good writer.