Private detective Samuel Marlowe’s life unfolded like a mystery novel, with prewar Los Angeles its noir setting. Marlowe did his detective work from South Los Angeles and its illicit speak-easies to Hollywood and its gleaming studio backlots. Some believe that Marlowe corresponded with hard-boiled fiction writers Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and that letters from the authors could be stashed at South L.A. properties connected to the detective. The hunt for them is on.