The Novels of Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler’s crime novels and short stories had enormous impact upon modern crime fiction. His writing style and attitude have become practically synonymous with private eye fiction and film noir to a level arguably equalled only by Dashiell Hammett. All of his novels star the tough, wise-cracking, and oddly philosophical private detective Philip Marlowe, who somehow manages to be simultaneously cynical and idealistic. The last of the novels on this list, Poodle Springs, was prematurely cut off at four chapters by Chandler’s death in 1959 and was finished three decades later by Robert B. Parker.