Noir

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

• Knowing It Has to End

  Noir's rap is bleak, nihilistic, hardbitten. But at heart it's a deeply emotional genre and a deeply nostalgic one.

  Boris Dralyuk, Megan AbbottMay 7, 2012

  • Noir

• The Criminal Kind: Ken Bruen

  It’s Jack Taylor’s lovably cynical personality, rather than the mystery, that drives the story forward.

  Cullen GallagherMar 22, 2012

  • Fiction

  • Noir

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  The Criminal Kind: Christa Faust

  Apathy, booze, and cynicism are the standard PI’s ABCs, but Bruen’s detective takes things to a whole new level.

  Mar 22, 2012

  • Fiction

  • Noir

• 

  The Criminal Kind: Ed Gorman

  The hallmark of Gorman's style is the utter simplicity and clarity of his language. Straightforward prose is the hallmark of his moral universe.

  Mar 22, 2012

  • Fiction

  • Noir

• The Criminal Kind: Day Keene

  One of the distinctive characteristics of Keene's male protagonists is their self-awareness. They know they're sleazebags.

  Cullen GallagherMar 22, 2012

  • Fiction

  • Noir