A famously late bloomer, Raymond Chandler swapped jobs and apartments on an almost annual basis before becoming a detective writer during the height of the Depression. No one seems to have profited more from his time here than Esotouric, a bus tour company that offers not one but two romps through Chandler's Los Angeles, which he once said had “all the personality of a paper cup.” This Monday, the literary opportunists offer their second quarterly salon at Musso & Frank, “Down These Mean Streets: Raymond Chandler's Underworld.” Join John Buntin, author of L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City and Howard Prouty, acquisitions archivist at the Academy Foundation and proprietor of ReadInk, while enjoying a three-course prix fixe dinner prepared by Musso chefs especially for this event. (Those not living so high on the hog might take matters into their own hands; the fantastic Raymond Chandler Mystery Map of Los Angeles, published in 1986, has been made available by one Loren Latker, here: https://homepage.mac.com/llatker/aMysteryMap.html.) Musso & Frank Grill, 6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd.; Mon., April 30, 6-11 p.m.; $100 per person. Reserve seats by calling (323) 467-7788, or at https://lavatransforms.org/mussosalon2.

Mon., April 30, 6 p.m., 2012

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