Who is Roger Wade from The Long Goodbye and what is their importance?

Roger Wade is a famous author. He writes historical romance novels, and he was having an affair with Sylvia Lennox around the time of her death. Roger is drinking heavily, and we're never really sure whether he believes that he himself killed Sylvia.... or if he knows his wife, Eileen, committed the murder. After a heavy night of drinking, Roger calls on Marlowe for help, and when Marlowe arrives, he finds him passed out on the lawn and puts him to bed where he rambles freely, seemingly implicating himself in Sylvia's murder. In the end, Roger is shot and killed by his wife.