Hardboiled books
Hardboiled books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
The Maltese Falcon
Dashiell HammettEstablished the archetypal private investigator, Sam Spade, through an objective third-person narrative focused on greed and deception.
The Big Sleep
Raymond ChandlerIntroduced Philip Marlowe and established the lyrical, simile-heavy voice characteristic of classic Los Angeles hardboiled fiction.
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (Easy Rawlins Mysteries)
Walter MosleyBrought Black post-World War II Los Angeles into the hardboiled tradition through investigator Easy Rawlins.
Red Harvest
Dashiell HammettDepicts total gang warfare in a corrupt mining town, establishing the genre's bleak view of civic institutions.
The Long Goodbye
Raymond ChandlerChandler's longest and most introspective novel, examining friendship, disillusionment, and high-society rot.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More hardboiled books
- The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings TwiceJames M. Cain - I, the Jury
I, the JuryMickey Spillane - A Rage in Harlem
A Rage in HarlemChester Himes - The Chill
The ChillRoss Macdonald - The Godwulf Manuscript
The Godwulf ManuscriptRobert B. Parker - The Black Dahlia
The Black DahliaJames Ellroy - The Yiddish Policemen's Union
The Yiddish Policemen's UnionMichael Chabon - Pay-off in Blood
Pay-off in BloodBrett Halliday1963