Philip Marlowe, a private investigator in mid‑century Los Angeles, becomes entangled with a damaged newcomer and the consequences of that friendship. The novel follows Marlowe’s investigation and its social fallout while using detective work to probe characters’ motives and the city’s moral landscape.

Set in late-19th-century London, the novel follows an agent involved in espionage for an unnamed foreign power amid a small circle touched by anarchist agitation. The book traces the effects of political plotting and covert operations on ordinary lives, especially relationships marked by dependency and vulnerability.

Set in 1870s upper-class New York, the novel follows a man caught between an established engagement and an unexpected attraction that threatens his place within a rigid social world.

A murder occurs within a limited social circle and the central account is delivered in first person by a figure close to the investigation; a famous private detective appears and works from clues and interviews to identify the killer.

A woman linked to an academic community returns to a college where puzzling acts and a climate of fear have erupted; an investigator connected to her seeks to discover who is behind the incidents and why.

An unnamed Black narrator recounts his journey through segregated American life, encountering institutions, movements, and people that test his sense of self.