Noir

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

• 

  Melancholy Danes

  Glenn HarperApr 2, 2016

  • Noir

• A Mixtape Murder Mystery

  "The Big Rewind" vacillates between crime novel, television teen drama, and a long playlist at the three a.m. hour somewhere left of the dial.

  Taylor MimsMar 29, 2016

  • Noir

• Disguising Loss

  Don Franzen interviews William C. Gordon.

  Don FranzenMar 23, 2016

  • Fiction

  • Law

  • Noir

• 

  The Darkness of Primitive Desires

  "The Vegetarian" probes the boundaries between sanity and madness, passion and obsession, desire and violence.

  Lesley TritesMar 22, 2016

  • Noir

• 

  Low Art

  An interview with Denise Mina about crime writing and low art.

  Kim FayMar 19, 2016

  • Noir

• 

  Disappearing Acts

  "Ways to Disappear" and "Perfect Days" couldn't be more different. One I found unputdownable; the other made me want to send it sailing across the room.

  Jim RulandMar 18, 2016

  • Noir

• Shoggoths in a Segregated America

  Matt Ruff's new novel, "Lovecraft Country," is set in Jim Crow America, long after Lovecraft's death in 1937.

  Justin BortnickMar 1, 2016

  • Noir

• The Telltale Novel

  Novels like "Black Wings" don't display master criminals or overly clever detectives — noir's best portrayals are gritty and realistic.

  Phil McCauslandFeb 28, 2016

  • Noir

• 

  Ugliness and Glamour

  Megan Abbott interviews Alison Gaylin

  Megan AbbottFeb 27, 2016

  • Noir

• Elementary, Dear Harlem: On the First African-American Detective Novel

  African-American authored mystery fiction dates back to the turn of the 19th century.

  Scott AdlerbergFeb 24, 2016

  • Noir

• The Real Paris

  Jérémie Guez's "Eyes Full of Empty" is worth a read, for the acutely drawn window it provides on the contemporary metropolitan French experience.

  Russell WilliamsFeb 22, 2016

  • Noir

• 

  The Whole Ball of Wax in a Nutshell

  Paul Tremblay interviews Peter Straub.

  Paul TremblayFeb 21, 2016

  • Noir