Max Allan Collins’ 6 favorite books that feature private detectives
The mystery writer recommends works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and more

Mystery writer Max Allan Collins is best known for comics and graphic novels, including the Road to Perdition series. He has also finished and published 15 of Mickey Spillane’s incomplete Mike Hammer novels. The latest, Baby, It’s Murder, is the last of the series.
‘The Maltese Falcon’ by Dashiell Hammett (1930)
In Hammett’s third novel, he assembles all the tropes of the private eye story, perfects them, and abandons them. He wrote only two more novels, The Glass Key and The Thin Man, neither traditional private eye novels. This one is a crackling read, with prose as spare and well-minted as anything Hemingway ever did. Buy it here.
‘Farewell, My Lovely’ by Raymond Chandler (1940)
Philip Marlowe and his creator each display an ease here that’s not readily apparent in the other handful of Marlowe novels. All of Chandler’s familiar, recurring character types are on display, from quack doctor and thugs to good girl and femme fatale. Much of what followed in the genre drew (and draws) upon this novel. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘One Lonely Night’ by Mickey Spillane (1951)
Spillane and his private eye Mike Hammer are at their most outrageous here, the noir poetry at its most musical, and Hammer’s psychotic violence at full throttle. Ostensibly littered with “Commie” bad guys (who are little more than Blue Meanies), the novel is chiefly Spillane answering his critics through a judge who reluctantly lets Hammer off for murder on a self-defense claim. Buy it here.
‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ by James M. Cain (1934)
In this and a few other works, notably Double Indemnity, Cain examines the lines between lust and love, and greed and murder, and does so while creating a lean prose style second to none. While his later novels are often lacking, Cain out of the gate wrote better dialogue scenes than anybody else. Buy it here.
‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye’ by Horace McCoy (1948)
McCoy created in “Ralph Cotter” (an alias used by the narrator) the template for Jim Thompson’s novels. The literate, even brilliant Cotter is a compelling stylist, which makes his amoral actions all the more terrifying. Buy it here.
‘The Golden Spiders’ by Rex Stout (1953)
Perhaps influenced by Mickey Spillane’s surprise success, Stout—the master of combining the traditional mystery and its hard-boiled rival—delivered his toughest novel here. It’s more noir than drawing-room mystery. Buy it here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine solutions - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
-
Magazine printables - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - July 4, 2025 / July 11, 2025
-
Controversial GOP plan to sell millions of federal acres hits major roadblock
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican Sen. Mike Lee says he'll revisit legislation to sell millions of acres of federally held land to create 'freedom zones' of single family homes
-
Lovestuck: a 'warm-hearted' musical with a 'powerhouse score'
The Week Recommends Team behind the hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno have created a hilarious show about a disastrous viral Tinder date
-
Outrageous: glossy Mitford family drama is full of 'fun, fashion and froth'
The Week Recommends Adaptation of Mary Lovell's biography examines the scandalous lives of the aristocratic sisters
-
F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Talking Point Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash
-
Lost Boys: a 'sobering' journey to the heart of the manosphere
The Week Recommends James Bloodworth examines the 'cranks and hucksters' making money through 'masculine discontent'
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Music reviews: Haim, Addison Rae, and Annahstasia
Feature "I Quit," "Addison," and "Tether"