I got to thinking today how many brilliant US hardboiled private investigators there are. I prefer the books, but it seems to me that if you're into the movies, the names of these detectives are probably more memorable than the authors. How many top private eyes can you match up with the right authors?

Here are some to start you off: Philip Marlowe (as played by so many people including Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum), Lew Archer, Spenser (with an S not a C), Perry Mason, Cool and Lam, C. W. Sughrue, Sunny Randall, Travis McGee, Sam Spade.

But which character belongs to which author? Don't forget, some authors created several different detective protagonists. Feel free to post in the comments.

Incredibly, there is another Marlowe on the way, this time played by Liam Neeson in a story originally written by John Banville in the style of Raymond Chandler. Thankfully there is no end to the life of these characters.