Five hundred bucks doesn't come easily for private eye Philip Marlowe. But when it comes by way of a bribe, it might as well be five cents. He rejects Winslow Wong and his offer of cash--and Wong promptly karates the detective's office into a junk pile. In this colorful whodunit, Garner's easygoing style contrasts agreeably with the grim task of sleuthing a case of missing persons, blackmail and icepick murders, in a sprawling '60s L.A. so hard-boiled...

The hardboiled Marlowe's latest cases, the search for an ex-convict's lost love, and the murder of a client, take on an even more sinister turn when they begin to connect, leading the private eye deeper and deeper into the seamy underbelly of 1940s Los Angeles. As the stakes are raised and the body count swells, it looks like Marlowe might be next on the list to take the big sleep.

Devil in a blue dress: "Washington stars as Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, a decorated war hero who returns home to the segregation of post-war America. Forced to accept an under-the-table job finding a missing socialite, Easy is caught between the white power elite and the vibrant black community of Central Avenue. As soon as Easy and his trigger-happy friend Mouse find Daphne Monet, trouble follows."--Back of container. Arlington Road: Widowed when his...