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Quick answer: If you loved The Big Sleep, try Farewell, My Lovely, The Long Goodbye, The Black-Eyed Blonde, The Maltese Falcon, Red Harvest and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Each one offers hardboiled detectives, dark city streets or noir prose with plenty of attitude.
Raymond Chandler's 1939 debut introduces Philip Marlowe, a smart and weary private detective in Los Angeles. A rich general hires him to deal with a blackmailer targeting his wild daughter, and Marlowe stumbles through a tangle of pornographers, gamblers and murder. Readers love its famous similes, its shadowy city and its tough but honorable hero. These books share its dark mood and its cynical wit.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Detective | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farewell, My Lovely | Raymond Chandler | Philip Marlowe | readers who want more Marlowe |
| The Long Goodbye | Raymond Chandler | Philip Marlowe | readers who want Chandler's finest |
| The Black-Eyed Blonde | Benjamin Black | Philip Marlowe | readers who want a modern Marlowe |
| The Maltese Falcon | Dashiell Hammett | Sam Spade | readers who want the other great noir |
| Red Harvest | Dashiell Hammett | The Continental Op | readers who like violent small towns |
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | James M. Cain | No detective | readers who like doomed lovers |
| Double Indemnity | James M. Cain | Insurance man | readers who like fatal plans |
| The Chill | Ross Macdonald | Lew Archer | readers who want complex family secrets |
| I, the Jury | Mickey Spillane | Mike Hammer | readers who want pulp violence |
| Devil in a Blue Dress | Walter Mosley | Easy Rawlins | readers who want a fresh angle on old L.A. |
| L.A. Confidential | James Ellroy | LAPD | readers who want dark corruption |
| The Black Dahlia | James Ellroy | LAPD | readers who like true crime roots |
| Inherent Vice | Thomas Pynchon | Doc Sportello | readers who like funny, stoned noir |
| Motherless Brooklyn | Jonathan Lethem | Lionel Essrog | readers who like a modern twist |
| The Friends of Eddie Coyle | George V. Higgins | Boston crooks | readers who love crime dialogue |
1. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Marlowe gets caught up in a hunt for an ex-convict's lost love.
Best for: readers who want more Marlowe.
2. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
Marlowe helps a friend who is accused of killing his wife.
Best for: readers who want Chandler's finest.
3. The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
An authorized continuation sends Marlowe after a missing lover.
Best for: readers who want a modern Marlowe.
4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Spade gets caught up in a hunt for a priceless statuette.
Best for: readers who want the other great noir.
5. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
A detective pits gangs against each other in a corrupt town.
Best for: readers who like violent small towns.
6. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
A drifter and a young wife plot to kill her husband.
Best for: readers who like doomed lovers.
7. Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
An insurance salesman helps a woman kill her husband for the payout.
Best for: readers who like fatal plans.
8. The Chill by Ross Macdonald
Archer searches for a missing bride and finds a buried past.
Best for: readers who want complex family secrets.
9. I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane
Mike Hammer hunts the killer of his best friend.
Best for: readers who want pulp violence.
10. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
A Black war veteran takes a job finding a white woman in 1948 Los Angeles.
Best for: readers who want a fresh angle on old L.A..
11. L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
Three cops are entangled in a 1950s Los Angeles conspiracy.
Best for: readers who want dark corruption.
12. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
Two detectives become obsessed with a real unsolved murder.
Best for: readers who like true crime roots.
13. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
A hippie detective in 1970 L.A. gets tangled in a conspiracy.
Best for: readers who like funny, stoned noir.
14. Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
A detective with Tourette's seeks his boss's killer.
Best for: readers who like a modern twist.
15. The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins
A small-time gun runner tries to avoid jail in Boston.
Best for: readers who love crime dialogue.
How to Choose
Read The Long Goodbye next, as it is widely considered Chandler's masterpiece, and Farewell, My Lovely has the best of his humor. If you want other foundational noir, The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest are the essential books by Dashiell Hammett. For dark stories with no real detective, Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice are short, punchy and deadly. If you want an update on these traditions, Devil in a Blue Dress looks at race in the same Los Angeles, and L.A. Confidential takes corruption further. For humor, Inherent Vice is a wild pastiche, and it's fun to read once you know Chandler's world.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Big Sleep about?
Private detective Philip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case for a wealthy family and uncovers several murders.
Why is it called The Big Sleep?
The phrase is a euphemism for death.
Is there a famous movie?
Yes. The 1946 film starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Is the plot confusing?
Many readers think so, and it is famous for a killing even the filmmakers could not explain. Most enjoy it for the mood and the voice.
How many Philip Marlowe novels are there?
Chandler finished seven novels featuring Marlowe, starting with The Big Sleep.