Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Big Sleep | 1939 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 2 | Farewell, My Lovely | 1940 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 3 | The High Window | 1942 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 4 | The Lady in the Lake | 1943 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 5 | The Little Sister | 1949 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 6 | The Long Goodbye | 1953 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 7 | Playback | 1958 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 8 | Poodle Springs | 1989 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 9 | Perchance to Dream | 1991 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 10 | The Black-Eyed Blonde / Marlowe | 2014 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 11 | Only to Sleep | 2018 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 12 | The Goodbye Coast | 2022 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
| 13 | The Second Murderer | 2023 | Robert B. Parker | Buy |
The Philip Marlowe series originated with Raymond Chandler’s classic hard-boiled detective novels, starting with The Big Sleep in 1939. Chandler wrote seven Marlowe novels before his death in 1959, creating one of the most influential characters in crime fiction. The series has since been continued by several authors.
Robert B. Parker, whose own Spenser character was heavily influenced by Marlowe, completed Chandler’s unfinished Poodle Springs (1989) and wrote a sequel to The Big Sleep called Perchance to Dream (1991). Later continuation authors include Benjamin Black (The Black-Eyed Blonde, 2014) and Lawrence Osborne (Only to Sleep, 2018). The series now spans 13 books across nearly a century.