Killer in the rain

It was in the pulp detective magazines of the 1930s that Raymond Chandler's definitive take on the hard-boiled detective story first appeared. Here then, from the pages of the Black Mask and Dime Detective Magazine, are eight of his finest stories. Sharper than a hoodlum's switchblade, more exciting than an unexpected red-head and stronger than a double shot of whiskey, they are packed full of the punchy poetry and laconic wit that makes Chandler the undisputed master of his genre.