THE LITTLE SISTER by Raymond Chandler (New York: Pocket #750, 1950)

(London: Hamish, 1949) Cover art by Cecil W. Bacon. // (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1949) Cover art by Boris Artzybasheff.

The Little Sister is a 1949 noir novel by Raymond Chandler, the fifth featuring his iconic private investigator Philip Marlowe, set in 1940s Los Angeles and delving into the corrupt world of Hollywood through a missing persons case involving a starlet and her siblings. The plot follows Marlowe as he investigates a seemingly simple case for a young woman, Orfamay Quest, which spirals into blackmail, murder, and a web of deception involving movie stars, gangsters, and corrupt cops, showcasing Chandler's sharp dialogue and cynical view of the film industry.

THE CASE OF THE CARETAKER’S CAT by Erle Stanley Gardner (New York: Pocket #138, 1942) Perry Mason.

(New York: Morrow, 1935) // (World Publishing, 1946)

The Case of the Caretaker's Cat is a 1935 Perry Mason mystery novel by Erle Stanley Gardner, featuring a dispute over a will that involves a caretaker, his cat, and a million-dollar estate, leading to murder and a classic courtroom showdown where the cat plays a surprising role in Mason's victory. It's the seventh book in the series and was adapted for the Perry Mason TV show.

RED HARVEST by Dashiell Hammett (New York: Pocket #241, 1943) Cover by Hoffman.

(New York: Knopf, 1929) // (London: Knopf, 1929)

Red Harvest is a seminal 1929 hardboiled detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, featuring his recurring character, the Continental Op, in the corrupt mining town of "Poisonville" (Personville). The nameless detective is hired to clean up the town's gang warfare but instead orchestrates a bloody conflict between rival factions, leading to widespread violence and corruption, and becoming a suspect in a murder himself. The novel is famous for its gritty realism, moral ambiguity, and its role in defining the hardboiled genre, with the Op using ruthless tactics to pit criminals against each other until they destroy themselves.

(New York: Perma Books #3043, 1958) Cover by Lou Marchetti. // (London: Panther, 1958) Cover by John Vernen.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK by Leslie Ford. [aka Zenith Jones Brown] (New York: Dell mapback #447, 1957)

THE CAT SAW MURDER by D.B. Olsen. (New York: Dell mapback #35, [1939])

(Doubleday Doran, 1939)

MURDER AND THE MARRIED VIRGIN by Brett Halliday. (New York: Dell mapback #128, [1944])

Murder and the Married Virgin is a 1944 Mike Shayne mystery novel by Brett Halliday, featuring a "locked room" murder in New Orleans where a maid is found dead in a gas-filled room, which Shayne investigates alongside a missing emerald necklace case. It's the 10th book in the series and notable for being the first to feature Lucy Hamilton as Shayne's secretary. The plot involves Shayne looking into the apparent suicide of a soldier's fiancée, which leads him to the wealthy family's missing jewels and a complex case.

TOO BUSY TO DIE by H.W. Roden (New York: Dell mapback #185, 1947)

TOO BUSY TO DIE by H.W. Roden (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1944)

COLD STEAL by Alice Tilton [aka Phoebe Atwood Taylor] (New York: Dell mapback #142, 1930)