What is the name of the detective in 'The Big Sleep'?

The detective in “The Big Sleep” is Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler introduces Marlowe as a private investigator in Los Angeles who is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood. What begins as a request to deal with blackmail involving Sternwood’s daughter Carmen soon expands into a tangled investigation involving murder, pornography, gambling, missing people, and competing criminal schemes.

Marlowe is a classic hard-boiled detective: observant, independent, morally stubborn, and willing to challenge both criminals and powerful clients. He narrates the novel’s investigation, guiding readers through a case whose twists are deliberately complicated. The story is set in 1930s Los Angeles and was published in 1939.

A common mix-up is Sam Spade, another famous hard-boiled detective created by Dashiell Hammett. Hercule Poirot belongs to Agatha Christie, while Sherlock Holmes was created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Marlowe, however, is Chandler’s signature investigator and also appears in novels such as “Farewell, My Lovely” and “The Long Goodbye.”