Raymond Chandler Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

The Akashic Noir series is an ongoing collection of over 120 mystery and thriller anthologies, each focused on a specific city or region, that began publication in 2002 and continues through 2025. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with San Francisco Noir and progressing through locations including Bronx Noir, Seattle Noir, Brooklyn Noir, Chicago Noir, London Noir, Manhattan Noir, Miami Noir, and many others. Each volume features noir fiction stories set in its particular geographic location, offering readers a diverse exploration of urban crime and mystery across the globe.

Start with San Francisco Noir, the first of 121 books in the Akashic Noir series.

#	Title
1	San Francisco Noir 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bronx Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Seattle Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Brooklyn Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hasidic Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Brooklyn Noir 2 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Chicago Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Dublin Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Baltimore Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	D.C. Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	London Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Manhattan Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Miami Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Twin Cities Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Detroit Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Havana Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Los Angeles Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	New Orleans Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Wall Street Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	D.C. Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Istanbul Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Las Vegas Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Manhattan Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Paris Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Queens Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Toronto Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Trinidad Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Boston Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Delhi Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Phoenix Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Portland Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Rome Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	San Francisco Noir 2 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Copenhagen Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Haiti Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Indian Country Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Lone Star Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Los Angeles Noir 2 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Mexico City Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Moscow Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	Orange County Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Philadelphia Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	Richmond Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	Barcelona Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
46	Cape Cod Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
47	New Jersey Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
48	Pittsburgh Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
49	San Diego Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
50	Boston Noir 2 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
51	Kansas City Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
52	Kingston Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
53	Long Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
54	Mumbai Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
55	St. Petersburg Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
56	Staten Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
57	Venice Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
58	Buffalo Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
59	Dallas Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
60	Haiti Noir 2 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
61	Manila Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
62	USA Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
63	Belfast Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
64	Helsinki Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
65	Prison Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
66	Rio Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
67	Singapore Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
68	Tehran Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
69	Tel Aviv Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
70	Beirut Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
71	Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
72	Marseille Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
73	Memphis Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
74	Providence Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
75	Zagreb Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
76	Brussels Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
77	Mississippi Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
78	New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
79	Prague Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
80	San Juan Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
81	St. Louis Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
82	Stockholm Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
83	Atlanta Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
84	Buenos Aires Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
85	Montana Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
86	Montreal Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
87	New Haven Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
88	Oakland Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
89	Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
90	Baghdad Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
91	Berlin Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
92	Hong Kong Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
93	Lagos Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
94	Marrakech Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
95	Santa Cruz Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
96	Sydney Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
97	São Paulo Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
98	Vancouver Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
99	Amsterdam Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
100	Houston Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
101	Milwaukee Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
102	Accra Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
103	Addis Ababa Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
104	Alabama Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
105	Belgrade Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
106	Berkeley Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
107	Columbus Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
108	Miami Noir: The Classics 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
109	Nairobi Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
110	Santa Fe Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
111	Tampa Bay Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
112	Palm Springs Noir 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
113	Denver Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
114	Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
115	South Central Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
116	Cleveland Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
117	East Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
118	West Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
119	Honolulu Noir 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
120	Hamburg Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
121	Sacramento Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

15 books (1953–2018)

This collection spans 14 anthologies featuring Raymond Chandler's work alongside stories by other mystery and thriller writers, published between 1953 and 2018. The series includes contributions to major collections such as The Oxford Book of Detective Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century, and The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories, as well as specialized volumes focused on noir and hardboiled fiction. Read these anthologies in publication order to follow the chronological development of Chandler's recognition within the broader mystery and detective fiction landscape. The series is complete and should be approached as individual compilations rather than as a continuous narrative.

Start with Hard-Boiled Detectives, the first of 14 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Hard-Boiled Detectives 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Great Law and Order Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Little Book of Horrors: Tiny Tales of Terror 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Modern Library: The 200 Best Novels in English Since 1950 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Oxford Book of Detective Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Writing Los Angeles 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Pulp Fiction - The Dames 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Books to Die For 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Strand Magazine Issue 53: Unpublished Raymond Chandler Story 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Writers: Their Lives and Works 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1933–2014)

This five-book non-fiction series spans from 1933 to 2014 and compiles the diverse literary works and personal writings of Raymond Chandler. The collection should be read in publication order, beginning with Stories and Early Novels and concluding with The World of Raymond Chandler. The series is complete and includes his notebooks, selected correspondence, later novels, and various other writings that provide insight into the mystery and thriller author's creative process and life.

Start with Stories and Early Novels, the first of 5 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	Stories and Early Novels 1933Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Selected Letters 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Later Novels and Other Writings 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The World of Raymond Chandler 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

13 books (1939–2023)

Philip Marlowe is a 13-book mystery series featuring Raymond Chandler's iconic private detective. The original seven novels were published between 1939 and 1959, establishing Marlowe as one of crime fiction's most influential characters. After Chandler's death, subsequent authors including Robert B. Parker, Benjamin Black, Lawrence Osborne, Joe Ide, and Denise Mina have continued the series, with new entries appearing as recently as 2023. Read the books in publication order, beginning with The Big Sleep, to experience both Chandler's definitive cases and the later continuations by acclaimed crime writers.

Start with The Big Sleep, the first of 13 books in the Philip Marlowe series.

#	Title
1	The Big Sleep 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Farewell, My Lovely 1940Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The High Window 1942Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Lady in the Lake 1943Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Little Sister 1949Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Long Goodbye 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Playback 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Poodle Springs(With: Robert B. Parker) 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Perchance to Dream(By: Robert B. Parker) 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Black-Eyed Blonde / Marlowe(By: Benjamin Black) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Only to Sleep(By: Lawrence Osborne) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Goodbye Coast(By: Joe Ide) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Second Murderer(By: Denise Mina) 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1944–1976)

Raymond Chandler's screenplay collection comprises two works published across three decades, beginning with Double Indemnity in 1944 and concluding with The Blue Dahlia in 1976. These complete screenplays should be read in publication order, offering insight into Chandler's adaptation of mystery and thriller material for the silver screen. The series showcases the acclaimed author's work in Hollywood alongside his collaborators, including director Billy Wilder on the first entry.

Start with Double Indemnity(With: Billy Wilder) and read in order.

#	Title
1	Double Indemnity(With: Billy Wilder) 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Blue Dahlia 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (1936–2020)

Raymond Chandler's Short Stories and Novellas collection comprises eleven works published between 1936 and 2020, presenting a complete series that should be read in publication order. The collection includes tales such as The Curtain, Mandarin's Jade, Try The Girl, Bay City Blues, The Bronze Door, No Crimes In The Mountains, Professor Bingo's Snuff, English Summer, Goldfish, The Man Who Liked Dogs, and I'll Be Waiting. These mystery and thriller short works showcase Chandler's distinctive narrative style across various standalone stories and shorter narratives.

Start with The Curtain, the first of 11 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	The Curtain 1936Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Mandarin's Jade 1937Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Try The Girl 1937Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Bay City Blues 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Bronze Door 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	No Crimes In The Mountains 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Professor Bingo's Snuff 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	English Summer 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Goldfish 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Man Who Liked Dogs 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	I’ll Be Waiting 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

12 books (1944–1965)

Raymond Chandler's Short Story Collections comprise twelve volumes published between 1944 and 1965, collecting his noir and mystery short fiction. These stories should be read in publication order, beginning with Five Murders and concluding with The Smell of Fear. The complete series offers readers a comprehensive look at Chandler's shorter works across two decades of his writing career.

Start with Five Murders, the first of 12 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Five Murders 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Five Sinister Characters 1945Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Red Wind 1946Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Spanish Blood 1946Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Finger Man 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Simple Art of Murder 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Trouble is My Business 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Pickup on Noon Street 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Smart-Aleck Kill 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Pearls are a Nuisance 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Killer in the Rain 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Smell of Fear 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible