Recommended reading - The Third Figure, by Collin Wilcox (1968):

The Third Figure

By Collin Wilcox.

Published by Dodd, Mead.

First published 1968.

ASIN: B0006BUJVS

Description:

A mob boss is dead, and his widow wants Drake to help him rest in peace. Dominic Vennezio is found on the floor of his beachside love nest, murdered on a Sunday night. It looks like an ordinary mob hit, part of a routine power struggle with the East Coast Outfit, but Vennezio's widow has other suspicions. Her marriage to the kingpin had been strained ever since he began taking his secretary for weekends at the beach house, but even now, she feels a devotion to him. She wants justice for her husband – not just legal, but cosmic – and for cosmic justice, San Francisco can offer no better sleuth than Stephen Drake. A crime reporter with a clairvoyant streak, Drake's apprehensions about working for the mob are overcome by his sympathy for the noble widow. He starts his investigation in Los Angeles, talking to Vennezio's replacement, and sees immediately that it doesn't take a psychic to figure out that this job could be deadly.

Recommended reading - The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories (2001):

The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories

Published 2001.
Edited by Herbert Van Thal.
Mammoth Books.

ISBN-10: 0786708867
ISBN-13: 978-0786708864

Anthology of short stories.

Description:

Murder, suspense, mystery – the biggest and best collection ever.

This huge and unique volume contains four anthologies by Herbert Van Thai featuring 35 of the best detective stories ever told. The stories range and style and setting from the mean streets of Raymond Chandler's New York to the classic English whodunnit by Agatha Christie and offer an unmissable treat for detective fans.

Recommended reading - Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s (1997):

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s

Published by Library of America.

Published 1997.

ISBN-10: 1883011493

ISBN-13: 9781883011499

Description:

Contents: The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson; The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith; Pick-up, by Charless Willeford; Down There, by David Goodis; The Real Cool Killers, by Chester Himes.

This adventurous volume, with its companion devoted to the 1930s and 40s, presents a rich vein of modern American writing. Evolving out of the terse and violent style of the pulp magazines, noir fiction expanded over the decades into a varied, innovative, and profoundly influential body of work. The five novels presented here are authentic underground classics: Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me, with its psychotic narrator, a murderous West Texas Sheriff; Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, an astonishing study of the seductiveness of evil and the vagaries of personal identity; Pick-Up, Charles Willeford’s nihilistic love story of two lost souls adrift in San Francisco’s lower depths; David Doodis’ haunted, lyrical Down There (the inspiration for Truffaut’s classic film Shoot the Piano Player); and Chester Himes’ The Real Cool Killers, an explosive and sometimes wildly comic novel featuring Harlem detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones. With this Library of America publication, these works are at last being recognized for their powerful literary qualities and their unique, sometimes subversive role in shaping modern American language and culture.

The Library of America, a nonprofit publisher, is dedicated to preserving America’s best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritive texts.

Recommended reading - A Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953), by Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumeton (2002):

A Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953)

By Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumeton.

Translated from French by Paul Hammond.

Published by City Lights Publishers.

Published 2002.

ISBN-10: 087286412X

ISBN-13: 9780872864122

Description:

"...the book notes the influence of criminal psychology on film noir and how German Expressionism inspired directors..." – San Francisco Chronicle Book Review.

When it appeared in France in 1955, A Panorama of American Film Noir was the first book ever on the genre: this clairvoyant study of Hollywood film noir is at last available in English translation.

A Panorama of American Film Noir addresses the essential amorality of its subject from a decidedly Surrealist angle, focusing on noir's dreamlike, unwonted, erotic, ambivalent and cruel atmosphere, and setting it in the social context of mid-century America.

Beginning with the first film noir, The Maltese Falcon, and continuing through the post war "glory days," which included such films as Gilda, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage and The Lady from Shanghai, Borde and Chaumeton examine the dark sides of American society, film and literature that made film noir possible, even necessary.

A Panorama of American Film Noir includes a film noir chronology, a voluminous filmography, a comprehensive index and a selection of black-and-white production stills.

"Incredibly, this is the first English translation of the very influential 1955 French book that initially identified, described and assessed the Hollywood movies that we now term film noir . . . a seminal work of cinema description and analysis and therefore an essential purchase for most libraries." – From the Starred Review in Library Journal.

Raymond Borde (1920 - 2004), founder of the Cinémathèque de Toulouse, wrote extensively on film history; among his short films is a study of the artist Pierre Molinier.

Etienne Chaumeton was the film critic of the Toulouse newspaper La Dépêche until his death.

Recommended reading - The Black Door, by Collin Wilcox (1967):

The Black Door

By Collin Wilcox.

ASIN: B0006BQEGW

Published by Dodd, Mead.

First published 1967.

ASIN: B0006BQEGW

Description:

A crime reporter with ESP tackles a double homicide. In a San Francisco apartment building, a young woman is found strangled beside a piano player with a broken neck. He's a nobody – a dreamer with little talent and no future – but she is Roberta Grinnel, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the Bay Area. Stephen Drake, crime reporter for the "Sentinel," feels nothing when he looks at their corpses, and this is a troubling fact. For Drake is a psychic, and when his sixth sense fails him, that means more trouble ahead. As Drake tries to come to grips with his cosmic gift, the mystery of the heiress and the piano player becomes the hottest story in town. To keep his gig at the paper, Drake will call on every source he has – on this plane and the astral one – but knowing danger's lurking doesn't guarantee he can stay out of its way.

Recommended reading - The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 (2001):

The Best American Mystery Stories 2001

The Best American Series.

Edited by Lawrence Block and Otto Penzler.

Published 2001.

ISBN-10: 0618124918

ISBN-13: 978-0618124916

Contents:

Foreword; Introduction by Lawrence Block; Things that make your heart beat faster, by Jennifer Anderson; Lobster night, by Russell Banks; Prison food, by Michael Downs; In the zone, by Leslie Edgerton; Paperhanger, by William Gay; Book of Kells, by Jeremiah Healy; Erie’s last day, by Steve Hockensmith; Under suspicion, by Clark Howard; Her Hollywood, by Michael Hyde; Family, by Dan Leone; Blood sport, by Thomas Lynch; Carnie, by David Means; Tides, by Kent Nelson; Girl with the blackened eye, by Joyce Carol Oates; Easy street, by T. Jefferson Parker; Big bite, by Bill Pronzini; Missing in action, by Peter Robinson; Face-lift, by Roxana Robinson; Big ranch, by John Salter; Push comes to shove, by Nathan Walpow.

Description:

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected – and most popular – of its kind.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 will thrill fans of all reached of the genre. The legendary mystery writer Lawrence Block offer chilling tales from best-selling writers as well as talented up-and-comers. Ranging from traditional detective cases to psychological studies to atmospheric scene-setters, these stories illustrate the variety and scope of styles, plots, and characters Block admires. With Block as guest editor and a stellar roster of suspense veterans and rising stars, the 2001 edition will delight mystery afficionados and all lovers of great fiction.

Recommended reading - Mastering Black & White Photography, by John Walmsley (2016):

Mastering Black & White Photography

By John Walmsley.

Published by Ammonite Press.

Published 2016.

ISBN-10: 1781450870

ISBN-13: 9781781450871

Description:

Mastering Black & White Photography is the definitive work on how to shoot black & white images on today's sophisticated digital SLR and compact digital cameras and smart phones.

Jargon-busting text, illustrated with the author's own stunning images, explains the theory behind digital photography, along with a guide to the equipment and software needed to take outstanding images. The book explains the basics of exposure and good composition, file types, manipulating captured images using popular software, and applying special effects (such as split toning, simulating film grain, lith prints and using cyanotypes). A printing chapter discusses outputting and displaying images.

Recommended reading - The Ferguson Affair, by Ross Macdonald (1960):

The Ferguson Affair

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

First published 1960.

ISBN-10:030774079X

ISBN-13: 9780307740793

Description:

It was a long way from the million-dollar Foothill Club to Pelly Street, where grudges were settled in blood and Spanish and a stolen diamond ring landed a girl in jail.  Defense lawyer Bill Gunnarson was making the trip – fast.  He already knew a kidnapping at the club was tied to the girl's hot rock, and he suspected that a missing Hollywood starlet was the key to a busy crime ring.  But while Gunnarson made his way through a storm of deception, money, drugs, and passions, he couldn't guess how some big shots and small-timers would all end up with murder in common...

Recommended reading - No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality (2020):

No Time Like the Future:
An Optimist Considers Mortality

By Michael J. Fox.

Published by Flatiron Books.

Published 2020.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1250265630

ISBN-13: 978-1250265630

Description:

The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future; as Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties; as Mike Flaherty in Spin City; and through numerous other movie roles and guest appearances on shows such as The Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Diagnosed at age 29, Michael is equally engaged in Parkinson’s advocacy work, raising global awareness of the disease and helping find a cure through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the world’s leading non-profit funder of PD science. His two previous bestselling memoirs, Lucky Man and Always Looking Up, dealt with how he came to terms with the illness, all the while exhibiting his iconic optimism. His new memoir reassesses this outlook, as events in the past decade presented additional challenges.

In No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox’s trademark sense of humor, his book provides a vehicle for reflection about our lives, our loves, and our losses.

Running through the narrative is the drama of the medical madness Fox recently experienced, that included his daily negotiations with the Parkinson’s disease he’s had since 1991, and a spinal cord issue that necessitated immediate surgery. His challenge to learn how to walk again, only to suffer a devastating fall, nearly caused him to ditch his trademark optimism and “get out of the lemonade business altogether.”

Does he make it all of the way back? Read the book.

Recommended reading - In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper (2016):

In Sunlight or In Shadow:
Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

Edited by Lawrence Block.

Published 2016.

ISBN: 9781681772455

Description:

A truly unprecedented literary achievement by author and editor Lawrence Block – a newly commissioned anthology of seventeen superbly crafted stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

"Edward Hopper is surely the greatest American narrative painter. His work bears special resonance for writers and readers, and yet his paintings never tell a story so much as they invite viewers to find for themselves the untold stories within."

So says Lawrence Block, who has invited seventeen outstanding writers to join him in an unprecedented anthology of brand-new stories: In Sunlight or In Shadow. The results are remarkable and range across all genres, wedding literary excellence to storytelling savvy.

Contributors include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Connelly, Megan Abbott, Craig Ferguson, Nicholas Christopher, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Justin Scott, Kris Nelscott, Warren Moore, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and Lawrence Block himself. Even Gail Levin, Hopper’s biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonée, appears with her own first work of fiction, providing a true account of art theft on a grand scale and told in the voice of the country preacher who perpetrated the crime.

In a beautifully produced anthology as befits such a collection of acclaimed authors, each story is illustrated with a quality full-color reproduction of the painting that inspired it.

Recommended reading - Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (2020):

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics

By Michael Rabiger & Mick Hurbis-Cherrier.

Published by Routledge.

Published 2020.

Sixth edition.

ISBN-10: 0815394314

ISBN-13: 9780815394310

Description:

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics is a comprehensive exploration into the art and craft of directing for film and television. It’s filled with practical advice, essential technical information, and inspiring case studies for every stage of production. This book covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film, and concentrates on developing the human aspects of cinema to connect with audiences.

The fully revised and updated 6th edition features new sections on using improvisation, the development of characters for long form television series, visual design, the role of the digital imaging technician, film promotion and distribution, alongside expanded information on contemporary color grading tools, stylistic approaches and genre, workflows, blocking scenes for the camera and more. The book emphasizes independent and short form cinema which allows cutting-edge creativity and professionalism on shoestring budgets. Recognizing that you learn best by doing, it includes dozens of practical hands-on projects and activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills.

Recommended reading - D-Day: June 6, 1944. The Battle for the Normandy Beaches, by Stephen E. Ambrose:

D-Day: June 6, 1944. The Battle for the Normandy Beaches

By Stephen E. Ambrose.

Originally published in 1994.

ISBN-10: 1471158268

ISBN-13: 978-1471158261

Description:

D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Distinguished historian Stephen E. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination — what Eisenhower called “the fury of an aroused democracy” — that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged.

Drawing on more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be.

The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France. It ends at midnight June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, it moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a German sergeant. 

Ambrose’s D-Day is the finest account of one of our history’s most important days.

Recommended reading - The Big Book of Noir (1998):

The Big Book of Noir

Published 1998.

Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, Martin H. Greenberg.

ISBN-10: 0786705744

ISBN-13: 978-0786705740

Description:

THE BIG BOOK OF NOIR

Noir is big. It was born in the hard-boiled detective story of Depression-era America. It flourished in the black-and-white B movies of the forties and fifties. And it’s been ingeniously reinvented in the film and fiction of the nineties.

Etched on our cultural memory by writers like Raymond Chandler, directors like Alfred Hitchcock, screen stars like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Graham, noir is big.

Noir is big, so The Big Book of Noir jam-packs its pages with articles, interviews, excerpts, opinion, and gossip that chronicle its history and explore noir in all its forms: movies, detective stories, television and radio shows, comic books, and graphic novels.

The Big Book of Noir pays homage to the big names in noir – John Huston, Fritz Lang, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake – as well as less familiar figures like Phil Karlson, Peter Rabe, Charles Williams, Harry Whittington, and Gil Brewer. It also includes two rare pieces: Stephen King writing about Jim Thompson in one and in the other Dulcy Brainard writing about Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Wendi Lee.

The evidence is in. The Big Book of Noir amasses fascinating and informative exhibits that amply illustrate one of America’s most significant cultural contributions.

Because noir is big.

Recommended reading - Meet Me at the Morgue, by Ross Macdonald (1953):

Meet Me at the Morgue

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

First published 1953.

ISBN-10: 0307740773

ISBN-13: 9780307740779

Description:

“My favorite . . . [Macdonald] is first among those novelists who raised the genre from its roots in pulp fiction to serious literature.” – P.D. James, from Talking About Detective Fiction.

“[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, brought to its zenith by Macdonald.” – New York Times Book Review.

“Macdonald should not be limited in audience to connoisseurs of mystery fiction.  He is one of a handful of writers in the genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Most mystery writers merely write about crime.  Ross Macdonald writes about sin.” – The Atlantic.

“Without in the least abating my admiration for Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, I should like to venture the heretical suggestion that Ross Macdonald is a better novelist than either of them.” – Anthony Boucher.

“[Macdonald] carried form and style about as far as they would go, writing classic family tragedies in the guise of private detective mysteries.” – The Guardian (London).

“[Ross Macdonald] gives to the detective story that accent of class that the late Raymond Chandler did.” – Chicago Tribune.

Somebody in Pacific Point is guilty of a kidnapping, but what probation officer Howard Cross wants to find most is innocence: in an ex-war hero who has taken a tough manslaughter rap, in a wealthy woman with a heart full of secrets, and in a blue-eyed beauty who has lost her way. The trouble is that the abduction has already turned to murder, and the more Cross pries into the case the further he slips into a pool of violence and evil. Somewhere in the California desert the whole scheme may come down on the wrong man. Somewhere Cross is going to find the last piece of a bloody puzzle – a mystery of blackmail, passion, and hidden identities that might be better left unsolved.

Recommended reading - Hardboiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories (1995):

Hardboiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories

Edited by Bill Pronzini & Jack Adrian.

Published by Oxford University Press.

Published 1995.

First Edition.

ISBN-10: 0195084993

ISBN-13: 978-0195084993

Description:

Compellingly and compulsively readable, Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories is a page-turner no mystery lover will want to be without. Included are thirty-six superbly suspenseful stories that chronicle the evolution of this quintessentially American art form, from its earliest beginnings during the Golden Age of the legendary pulp magazine Black Mask in the 1930s, to the arrival of the tough digest Manhunt in the 1950s, and finally leading up to present-day hard-boiled stories by such writers as James Ellroy. Here are eight decades worth of the best writing about betrayal, murder, and mayhem: from Hammett’s 1925 tour de force “The Scorched Face,” to Ed Gorman’s 1992 “The Long Silence After,” Other contributors include Evan Hunter (better known as Ed McBain), Jim Thompson, Helen Nielsen, Margaret Maron, Andrew Vachss, Faye Kellerman, and Lawrence Block. Containing many notable rarities, Hard-Boiled celebrates a genre that has profoundly shaped not only American Literature and film, but how we see our heroes and ourselves.

Recommended reading - A New Omnibus of Crime (2005):

A New Omnibus of Crime

Edited by Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert.

Published by Oxford University Press.

Published 2005.

ISBN-10: 0195182146

ISBN-13: 9780195182149

Contents:

Introduction; The Man Who Knew How; The Girl with the Silver Eyes; Red Wind; The Wench Is Dead; Gone Girl; The Couple Next Door; By the Scruff of the Soul; A Poison That Leaves No Trace; Photo Finish; The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown; Red Clay; Barking at Butterflies; Running Out of Dog; Hostages; When the Women Come Out to Dance; Flowers That Bloom in the Spring; Woodrow Wilsons Necktie; Loopy; Great Aunt Allies Fly Papers; First Lead Gasser; Chee’s Witch; Breathe Deep; Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation; The Hanged Man; The Holly and the Poison Ivy; Copycat; He Loved to Go for Drives with His Father; Credits; Index.

Description:

Three-quarters of a century ago, Dorothy L. Sayers compiled the classic anthology The Omnibus of Crime, a definitive collection of short fiction that brought together crime and mystery works from the Apocryphal Scriptures to whodunits from the 1920s. Now, reflecting the explosive developments in the genre, Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of that book’s publication with A New Omnibus of Crime. Like Sayers’s volume, this new book is envisioned as a vehicle carrying stories the editors think represent the best in crime and mystery writing in our time. Selections also reflect the tastes of Contributing Editors Sue Grafton and Jeffery Deaver, both of whom have stories in this volume. The anthology begins with a story by Sayers herself; other giants of the genre including Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, are also represented among the twenty-seven works. Hillerman and Herbert introduce each story and place each selection in the context of the literary history of the genre. Several of the writers confide the circumstances and real-life happenings that inspired them to write their stories. The book concludes with stories by Jeffery Deaver, Alexander McCall Smith, and Catherine Aird – all in print for the first time here.

While mystery writers in Sayer’s day shunned the love interest as a distraction from a puzzling plot, some of these stories show how the depiction of love – thwarted or otherwise – can effectively enrich crime writing. In the last seven-plus decades, the use of a distinctly regional voice has also revitalized the genre, as our selection of stories shows. And while Sayer’s contemporaries looked at crime as something that could be solved and “tidied up,” writers here take the view that the effects of crime linger like a stain even after a solution has been reached. Illustrating another more recent trend, pets romp through these pages, some in surprising ways. Like passengers on an omnibus, the stories that keep company here are colorful and mixed. Some will inspire laughter while others will incite chills. All will keep readers turning the pages. We invite you to hop on, take a ride, and get to know them.

Recommended reading - Kubrick: The Definitive Edition, by Michel Ciment (2001):

Kubrick: The Definitive Edition

By Michel Ciment.

Published by Faber & Faber.

Published 2001.

ISBN-10: 0571199860

ISBN-13: 978-0571199860

Description:

"Michel Ciment's Kubrick: The Definitive Edition remains the best work on the great director. Through it we get a glimpse into a working method that was unique in the cinema. It is a fascinating blend of interviews and analysis." – Joel Coen.

"This final edition of Michel Ciment's definitive book is an invaluable resource." – Martin Scorsese.

If Stanley Kubrick had made only 2001: A Space Odyssey or Dr. Strangelove, his cinematic legacy would have been assured. But from his first feature film, Fear and Desire, to the posthumously released Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick created an accomplished body of work unique in its scope, diversity, and artistry, and by turns both lauded and controversial.

In this fully revised and definitive edition of his now classic study, film critic Michel Ciment provides an insightful examination of Kubrick’s thirteen films --- including such favorites as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket --- alongside an assemblage of more than four hundred photographs that form a complementary photo essay. Rounding out this unique work are a short biography of Kubrick; rare interviews that were held with the usually reticent director, as well as with cast and crew members, including Malcolm McDowell, Shelley Duvall, and Jack Nicholson; and a detailed filmography and bibliography.

Meshed with masterful integrity, the book’s text and illustrations pay homage to one of the most visionary, original, and demanding filmmakers of our time.

Recommended reading - Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, by Eddie Muller (2021):

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir

by Eddie Muller (2021).

Revised and Expanded Edition.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

ISBN: 9780762498970

ISBN-10: 0762498978

Description:

This revised and expanded edition of Eddie Muller's Dark City is a film noir lover's bible, taking readers on a tour of the urban landscape of the grim and gritty genre in a definitive, highly illustrated volume.

Named by The Hollywood Reporter one of the "100 Greatest Film Books of All Time!"

Dark City expands with new chapters and a fresh collection of restored photos that illustrate the mythic landscape of the imagination. It's a place where the men and women who created film noir often find themselves dangling from the same sinister heights as the silver-screen avatars to whom they gave life. Eddie Muller, host of Turner Classic Movies' Noir Alley, takes readers on a spellbinding trip through treacherous terrain: Hollywood in the post-World War II years, where art, politics, scandal, style -- and brilliant craftsmanship -- produced a new approach to moviemaking, and a new type of cultural mythology.

Recommended reading: The Three Roads, by Ross Macdonald (1948):

The Three Roads

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.

First published 1948.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0307740765

ISBN-13: 978-0307740762

Description:

[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, brought to its zentih by Macdonald. – New York Times Book Review.

Macdonald should not be limited in audience to connoisseurs of mystery fiction.  He is one of a handful of writers in the genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form. – Los Angeles Times.

Most mystery writers merely write about crime. Ross Macdonald writes about sin. – The Atlantic.

Without in the least abating my admiration for Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, I should like to venture the heretical suggestion that Ross Macdonald is a better novelist than either of them. – Anthony Boucher.

[Macdonald] carried form and style about as far as they would go, writing classic family tragedies in the guise of private detective mysteries. – The Guardian (London).

[Ross Macdonald] gives to the detective story that accent of class that the late Raymond Chandler did. – Chicago Tribune.

Silken skin pale against dark hair, red lips provocatively smiling at him – that’s how Lieutenant Bret Taylor remembered Lorraine. He was drunk when he married her, stone cold sober when he found her dead. Out on the sunlit streets of L.A. walked the man – her lover, her killer – who had been with her that fatal night. Taylor intended to find him. And when he did, the gun in his pocket would provide the quickest kind of justice. But first Taylor had to find something else: an elusive memory so powerful it drove him down three terrifying roads toward self-destruction – grief, ecstasty, and death.

Recommended reading - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain (2013):

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

By Susan Cain.

Published by Crown.

Pubished 2013.

ISBN-10: 0307352153

ISBN-13: 9780307352156

Description:

The book that started The Quiet Revolution.

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts — Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak — that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts — from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, impeccably researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.