In the process, he transformed both crime writing and the American language.Written during the war, The Lady in the Lake (1943) takes Philip Marlowe out of the seamy L.A. streets to the deceptive tranquility of the surrounding mountains, as the search for a businessman’s missing wife expands into an elegy of loneliness and loss. The darker tone typical of Chandler’s later fiction is evident in The Little Sister (1949), in which an ambitious starlet, a blackmailer, and a seemingly naïve young woman from Manhattan, Kansas, are the key players in a plot that provides fuel for a bitter indictment of Hollywood and Chandler’s most savage portrayal of his adopted city.The Long Goodbye (1953), his most ambitious and self-revealing novel, uncovers a more anguished resonance in the Marlowe character, in a plot that hinges on the betrayal of friendship and the compromises of middle age. Playback (1958), written originally as a screenplay, is Chandler’s seventh and last novel.A special feature of this volume is Chandler’s long-unavailable screenplay for the film noir classic, Double Indemnity (1944), adapted from James M. Cain’s novel. Written with director Billy Wilder, it is one of the best screenplays in American cinema, masterful in construction and dialogue. Supplementing the volume, and providing a more personal glimpse of Chandler’s personality, is a selection of letters and essays—including “The Simple Art of Murder,” in which Chandler muses on his pulp roots and on the special qualities of his hero and style.

    Botswana Mma Precious Ramotwse solves mysteries, caring for reputations of all involved. 1 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency2 Tears of the Giraffe3 Morality for Beautiful Girls4 The Kalahari Typing School For Men5 The Full Cupboard of Life

    Featuring former cop turned private investigator Kinsey Millhone—one of the most popular sleuths in modern fiction—these three compelling titles deal with false suicide, an unsolved case of murder, and a true test of Kinsey's skills, making each mystery one of Grafton's best.

    His latest investigation intot he low crimes of high society exposes a secret of his own that he thought was dead and buried... McNally's Luck Playboy/lover/sleuth Archy McNally is back--and the secrets of the filthy rich have never been filthier...What begins with a kidnapped cat leads to ransom and homicide. And if a sensuous psychic makes a believer out of McNally, he'll learn that humans don't have nine lives...but scandals do. McNally's Risk Archy McNally finds himself seduced by the mysterious woman he's been hired to investigate. Her name is Theodosia Johnson. Her past is as provocative as her butterfly tattoo. Her future is as questionable as her smile. But what's really risky is her shocking flirtation with McNally, and with murder...

    Join private eye Spenser as he breaks open three of his wittiest and wildest cases, including The Godwulf Manuscript, Promised Land, and Mortal Stakes.

    This anthology contains: Devil in a Blue Dress; A Red Death; and White Butterfly.

    But Annabel Brannigan is a woman full of surprises. Especially for Roy Steele, the rugged outlaw gunslinger, who learns they're both hunting the same man.