I'd been meaning to read Raymond Chandler for a while (in which case I don't know if this counts, but), when I read a blurb for The Big Sleep to the effect of "Chandler writes like a slumming angel." I thought, 'really? how does that work out?' and bought it. I think that's the first blurb I've ever paid attention to, because it was brief, evocative, and, I hoped, in the spirit of Chandler's writing. If that makes any sense.