The Big Sleep (1939) is a crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe. The story is noted for its complexity and is heavily influenced by classic Greek tragedy, with many characters double-crossing each other and many secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The title is a euphemism for death; it refers to a rumination in the book about “sleeping the big sleep”.

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the sprawling mansion of the elderly and paraplegic General Sternwood. General Sternwood asks Marlowe to deal with a blackmailer named Arthur Gwynn Geiger.

The Long Good-bye is a 1953 novel by Raymond Chandler, centered on his famous detective Philip Marlowe. While some consider it not on the level of The Big Sleep or Farewell, My Lovely, others rank it as the best of his work. It is notable for using hard-boiled detective fiction as a vehicle for social criticism. It is also known for having autobiographical elements that relate to Chandler's life.

The novel opens outside a club called The Dancers. Marlowe, whom we presumably know from previous novels, meets a drunk named Terry Lennox, a man with scars on one side of his face. They forge an uneasy friendship over the next few months.

Farewell, My Lovely is a 1940 novel by Raymond Chandler, the second novel he wrote featuring Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times. A chance encounter with hulking ex-con Moose Malloy on Los Angeles’ Central Avenue, gets Marlowe into all kinds of trouble. Just released from prison, Malloy is looking for his one-time girlfriend, red-haired Velma, whom he last saw eight years ago.

The nightclub where she used to sing, Florian’s, is now a “dine and dice emporium”, and no one there has ever heard of her. Malloy flees after casually killing the boss of the club, and Marlowe, the only witness to Malloy’s mayhem, is asked by a detective on the case, Nulty, to look for Velma.

The Lady in the Lake is a 1943 detective novel by Raymond Chandler featuring the Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe. The novel’s complicated plot initially deals with the case of a missing woman in a small mountain town an hour or so from the city. The ending of the book makes a direct reference to America’s involvement in World War II.

Derace Kingsley, a wealthy businessman, hires Marlowe to find his estranged wife Crystal. Although separated from his wife, Kingsley fears that Crystal may have gotten herself into a scandal that could jeopardize his own position with the shareholders of the company he runs.

The Simple Art of Murder refers to both a critical essay and a collection of short stories written by hard-boiled detective fiction author Raymond Chandler. The essay was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in December 1944. It was reprinted in 1950 along with eight of Chandler’s early stories pre-dating his first novel, The Big Sleep.

The essay is considered a seminal piece of literary criticism. Although Chandler’s primary topic is the art (and failings) of detective fiction, he touches on general literature and modern society as well.

The High Window is a 1942 novel written by Raymond Chandler. It is his third novel to feature Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe. The story begins when Mrs. Elizabeth Bright Murdock hires Marlowe to find an old rare coin, the Brasher Doubloon, that belonged in her deceased husband’s collection. Mrs. Murdock insists that her son’s wife has stolen the coin.

Marlowe begins investigating, but quickly finds himself entangled in a series of unexplained murders. He also must play psychoanalyst, to solve the riddle of Mrs. Murdock’s troubled assistant, and the assistant’s relationship to both Mrs. Murdock and her son. This is necessary to put together the big picture. Marlowe is never satisfied with only solving one piece of the puzzle.