10 Best Raymond Chandler Books
The best Raymond Chandler books, ranked by how many expert sources recommend each one, with notes on who each suits and where to begin with Philip Marlowe.
Our take
Raymond Chandler’s crime fiction follows private detective Philip Marlowe through a Los Angeles where money, influence and respectability conceal violence. The attraction is as much the voice as the investigation: sharp dialogue, unexpected comparisons and a stubborn concern with personal integrity. The plots can be tangled, and the period’s prejudices remain visible in the language and characterization.
The Big Sleep introduces Marlowe and the wealthy Sternwood family. Farewell, My Lovely expands the social landscape, while The High Window offers a more contained household mystery. The Lady in the Lake takes the investigation beyond the city, and The Little Sister turns a bitter eye on Hollywood. The Long Goodbye gives friendship and disillusionment unusual emotional weight. Playback is Chandler’s final completed Marlowe novel. The collections provide another route in, although smaller selections overlap with Collected Stories.
Start with The Big Sleep for Marlowe’s introduction, The Long Goodbye for a more reflective novel or Trouble Is My Business for shorter fiction.
10 books · 8 sources · Last updated
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Reading Raymond Chandler in order? See all Raymond Chandler books in order
How to choose from this list
Skip to the full rankingIf you want Marlowe from the beginning: The Big Sleep → Farewell, My Lovely
If you prefer a more contained investigation: The High Window
If you want a change of setting: The Lady in the Lake
If you want Hollywood satire and bitterness: The Little Sister
If you want friendship and disillusionment: The Long Goodbye
If you want shorter fiction and its context: Trouble Is My Business → The Simple Art of Murder
The 10 books, ranked
Ranked by how many expert sources name each book. Ties go to the book more people recommend.
For readers who want Marlowe’s loyalty and loneliness to matter as much as the crime. Its more reflective treatment of friendship gives the mystery emotional depth, but the slower, melancholy stretches make it less brisk than the earlier cases.
What it's about
Philip Marlowe befriends damaged war veteran Terry Lennox, then drives him to Mexico on the night Lennox’s wife is found brutally murdered. Refusing to accept the easy answers, Marlowe digs into Hollywood wealth, publishing scandals, and the price of loyalty and self-respect.
Also recommended by
2 people
Jordan Peterson recommended this bookJordan Peterson
Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
Jordan Peterson's recommendation of this book 
Andy Greenwald recommended this bookAndy Greenwald
Andy Greenwald recommended this book on Twitter.
Andy Greenwald's recommendation of this book
For readers who want the original Marlowe voice amid wealthy families, blackmail and Los Angeles corruption. Its dialogue and atmosphere make a strong introduction, but the tangled plot rewards enjoying the scenes without demanding perfectly tidy explanations.
What it's about
Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by aging General Sternwood to stop a shady bookseller from blackmailing the general’s reckless daughter. What begins as a simple shakedown spirals into murder, pornography, and a tangle of secrets in seedy 1930s Los Angeles.
Also recommended by
1 person- Jordan Peterson recommended this book
Jordan Peterson
Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
Jordan Peterson's recommendation of this book
For readers who want a vivid cross-section of Chandler’s violent, corrupt city. The memorable cast and hardboiled voice give the investigation energy, but the racial language and caricatures can be particularly jarring to modern readers.
What it's about
While chasing a routine missing-persons case, Philip Marlowe watches hulking ex-con Moose Malloy storm into a nightclub looking for his vanished sweetheart. The search for Velma pulls Marlowe through gambling dens, crooked cops, and spiritualist rackets in a violent Los Angeles.
For readers who want Marlowe’s urban investigation mixed with a mountain setting and an identity puzzle. The movement between locations varies the atmosphere, but the accumulating disappearances and revelations require attention to keep the people straight.
What it's about
Businessman Derace Kingsley hires Philip Marlowe to track down his missing wife, who may have run off with a lover. Marlowe’s search leads from a quiet mountain resort back to Los Angeles, where multiple bodies and police corruption surface beneath the placid lake water.
For readers who prefer a relatively contained case centered on a wealthy household. The missing-coin investigation gives Marlowe’s moral judgment room to develop, but its quieter reputation and familiar devices may feel less striking than the larger classics.
What it's about
Called in by tyrannical widow Elizabeth Murdock, Philip Marlowe is asked to recover a priceless Brasher Doubloon supposedly stolen by her flighty daughter‑in‑law. The hunt for the missing coin uncovers murder, blackmail, and rot at the heart of a wealthy Pasadena family.
For readers who enjoy Hollywood stripped of its glamour through Marlowe’s sharp observations. Its bitter humor makes the entertainment world distinctive, but the complicated blackmail plot and sour mood can overshadow straightforward detective pleasures.
What it's about
A prim young woman from Kansas hires Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother in Los Angeles. The job plunges him into Hollywood’s low-end studios, ruthless fixer types, and a tangle of blackmail and sibling betrayal that strips away any glamour the movies promise.
The Simple Art of Murder
For readers who want Chandler’s ideas about detective fiction alongside examples of his early storytelling. The essay gives useful context for the hardboiled style, but the accompanying stories overlap with broader collections of his shorter work.
What it's about
This collection combines Chandler’s influential essay on what crime fiction should be with a group of early hardboiled stories. It’s a sharp introduction to his ideas about realism, style, and why detectives like Philip Marlowe belong on the mean streets.
For readers completing Chandler’s Marlowe novels who want a shorter case involving a woman under surveillance. The compact pursuit offers familiar atmosphere, but the late novel is generally less expansive and emotionally substantial than The Long Goodbye.
What it's about
An anonymous client hires Philip Marlowe to shadow an attractive woman traveling under an alias to a seaside town called Esmeralda. As he learns why she’s being hunted, Marlowe must decide whether to betray his employer or help her outrun a dangerous past.
Trouble is My Business
For readers who want a smaller sample of Chandler’s short fiction before committing to a complete collection. Four long stories offer room for intricate cases, but their recurring situations can feel familiar if you already know the novels.
What it's about
Four hard-edged stories—including the title tale of a spoiled rich boy and the woman out to ruin him—show Philip Marlowe working cases that start as simple protection jobs and end in murder. It’s a compact tour of his meaner, messier short-form adventures.
Collected Stories
For readers who want Chandler’s shorter fiction gathered in a substantial volume. The range reveals his style across different stories, but the size and repeated material found in smaller collections make selective reading more practical than buying every compilation.
What it's about
This volume gathers Raymond Chandler's complete short stories, including pieces unavailable for many years, with an introduction by John Bayley. The collection brings his crime fiction together in one place, alongside work beyond his familiar detective novels.
Sources
- 1
Books
raymondchandler.co.uk
- 2
Top Raymond Chandler books
goodreads.com
- 3
Books by Raymond Chandler
fivebooks.com
- 4
10 Best Raymond Chandler Books (2025)
ereads.com
- 5
The Top Five Best Raymond Chandler Novels to Get You Hooked on Philip Marlowe
dorsetbookdetective.wordpress.com
- 6
Where to start with Raymond Chandler?
reddit.com
- 7
Raymond Chandler
thegreatestbooks.org
- 8
Raymond Chandler
chrisroutledge.co.uk
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.
Comments
Spotted a missing book, a wrong order or a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix this page.
We're a reading guide, not the author or publisher, so we can't send books or pass on messages.