Stephen Marlowe (1928-2008)

Novelist Stephen Marlowe (a.k.a. Milton Lesser), best known for a series of books featuring private detective Chester Drum, died Friday after a long illness at the age of 79. The AP story (forwarded by Andrew Porter) reports that Marlowe began his career as a writer of pulp and science fiction and wrote more than 50 novels. His series featuring Chester Drum began with “The Second Longest Night” in 1955 and concluded with “Drumbeat Marianne” in 1968.