Noir

"The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter, eh?" — Dashiell Hammett

Noir for the Anthropocene: On Elspeth Barker’s “O Caledonia”
Chelsea Jack Fitzgerald reviews Elspeth Barker’s “O Caledonia,” a Scottish noir interested in the connections between different types of anthropogenic damage.
Chelsea FitzgeraldDec 26, 2022
Wrong Choices: On Woody Haut’s “Skin Flick”
Gabriel Hart reviews Woody Haut’s new novel “Skin Flick.”
Gabriel HartDec 18, 2022
- Noir
Three Questions for Gabino Iglesias Regarding His Novel “The Devil Takes You Home”
Daniel A. Olivas speaks with Gabino Iglesias about his new novel “The Devil Takes You Home.”
Daniel A. OlivasNov 23, 2022
- Noir
Magical Realism Meets Noir: On Michael Fessier’s “Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind”
Jack Mearns reviews the surreal, deadpan noir of Michael Fessier’s “Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind.”
Jack MearnsNov 17, 2022
- Noir
Opposites Blur Together: On Dane Bahr’s “The Houseboat”
Jason Namey reviews Dane Bahr’s “The Houseboat,” a gothic noir about a detective investigating an outcast suspected of murder in 1960s Iowa.
Jason NameyOct 13, 2022
The Joy of Genre: On Brooks E. Hefner’s “Black Pulp”
Nathan Jefferson reviews Brooks E. Hefner’s “Black Pulp: Genre Fiction in the Shadow of Jim Crow,” an introduction to often overlooked pulp stories that ran in Black newspapers.
Nathan JeffersonOct 6, 2022
- Literary Criticism
- Noir
Cosmopolitan Chaos: Dwyer Murphy on “An Honest Living”
Jonathan Lee talks with Dwyer Murphy about his debut, “An Honest Living.”
Jonathan LeeSep 13, 2022
- Fiction
- Noir
A Beautiful and Terrible Paradise: On Fernanda Melchor’s “Paradais”
Marcus McGee contextualizes Fernanda Melchor’s “Paradais,” translated by Sophie Hughes.
Marcus McGeeAug 28, 2022
Meet Melchor: On Javier Cercas’s “Even the Darkest Night”
Tara Cheesman reviews Javier Cercas’s “Even the Darkest Night,” translated by Anne McLean, in which the Spanish author introduces readers to detective Melchor Marín.
Tara CheesmanAug 24, 2022
“Pretty Big Once”: W. R. Burnett’s Cynical Americana
W. R. Burnett’s multifarious fiction exposed the fatal emptiness of American ambition.
Aug 12, 2022
- Fiction
- Noir
Strength of Convictions: On Dervla McTiernan’s “The Murder Rule”
Glenn Harper reviews Dervla McTiernan’s “The Murder Rule,” a legal thriller about a law student’s complicated personal ties with a project that’s working to overturn a convicted murderer’s death sentence.
Glenn HarperAug 6, 2022
- Fiction
- Noir
The Price You Pay: Of Crimes and Closets
Michael Nava reads Katherine V. Forrest’s “Delafield” and explains why Forrest is an icon of lesbian fiction.
Michael NavaJul 1, 2022
- Noir