Award winning novelist John Banville will write a new novel about Raymond Chandler‘s beloved private detective, Philip Marlowe. Henry Holt will publish the book in 2013 under Banville’s pen name, Benjamin Black.

Banville promises to create a “slightly surreal, or hyper-real, atmosphere” for the novel, exploring some of Marlowe’s Los Angeles. What do you think of this surprising turn for the novelist?

Here’s more about the title: “Along with Marlowe, Banville will bring back policeman Bernie Olds, the gumshoe’s good friend. The book will have an original plot and take place in the 1940s. The setting will remain in Bay City – Chandler’s fictional stand-in for Santa Monica, California – and feature Chandler’s hallmark noir ambience.”

Banville has written five crime novels under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, publishing Vengeance this week.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this post did not mention that the book will be published under the Benjamin Black name.