Killer in the Rain

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Killer in the Rain
RaymondChandler KillerintheRain.jpg
First edition cover
Author Raymond Chandler
LanguageEnglish
Genre Crime short stories
Publisher Hamish Hamilton (UK)
Publication date
1964
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages332 pp

Killer in the Rain is a collection of short stories, including the eponymous title story, written by hard-boiled detective fiction author Raymond Chandler. The collection features eight short stories originally published in pulp magazines between 1935 and 1941. [1]

Contents

At Chandler's request, the stories remained uncollected during his lifetime and, save for three which were reprinted without his express permission, were not republished until 1964.

Contents

The collection features eight stories, all but the last predating Chandler's first novel The Big Sleep . They are, with place of original publication:

Cannibalization

During his lifetime, it was Chandler's personal desire that the stories not be reprinted. This was because he felt that the plots had become cannibalized in the process of writing three of his novels, Chandler had borrowed, expanded, and extensively reworked plots, passages, and characters from these eight stories. [2] The Big Sleep made use of "The Curtain", "Killer in the Rain", as well as small passages from "Finger Man". Farewell, My Lovely made use of "The Man Who Liked Dogs", "Try the Girl" and "Mandarin's Jade". The Lady in the Lake made use of the short story of the same name, "Bay City Blues" and "No Crime in the Mountains". The opening passage of "The Curtain" would also be revised and reused for the same function in his sixth novel, The Long Goodbye .

References

  1. Marlow, Sigrid (July 26, 1964). "Books in Review: For Suspense Buffs". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Santa Fe, New Mexico. p. 28. Retrieved November 1, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  2. Sanders, Bob (March 19, 1978). "Landmark Day In Long Love Affair With Chandler". The Opelika-Auburn News . Opelika, Alabama. p. 5-B. Retrieved November 1, 2025 via Newspapers.com.