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Category Archives: Noir
HARDBOILED, NOIR AND GOLD MEDALS by Rick Ollerman
Bringing together new essays with material published over the last decade, this new volume in the Stark House Reference range more than lives up to its subtitle: Essays on Crime Fiction Writers from the ’50s through to the 90s. Part of … Continue reading
2016 Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt
For as long as I’ve been hosting this blog, I’ve participated in Bev Hankins’ irresistible vintage mystery reading challenges. The rules have been amended over the years, but the basic criteria is the same – review a mystery from two … Continue reading
Posted in 2016 Golden Age Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt, 2016 Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt, 87th Precinct, Albert Campion, Bill Pronzini, California, Canada, Catherine Aird, Chicago, Cosy Cozy, David Callan, Don DeLillo, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edgar Wallace, Ellery Queen, England, Fletcher Fliora, Florida, Germany, Gideon Fell, Inspector Wexford, Italy, James Hadley Chase, James Mitchell, John Dickson Carr, John le Carre, Kansas City, London, Louisiana, Margery Allingham, Middle East, Montana, New York, Noir, Ostara Publishing, Patricia Moyes, Police procedural, Private Eye, Radio, Ruth Rendell, San Francisco, Stark House Press, Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt 2016
18 Comments
BRIT NOIR by Barry Forshaw
This is the third in the author’s guides to contemporary crime fiction, following on from Nordic Noir (2013) and Euro Noir (2014). This, the Pocket Essential Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of the British Isles, looks at the state of … Continue reading
Posted in England, Noir, Police procedural
36 Comments
1950s Hitchcock – vote for the best
This was the decade when Hitchcock truly became a superstar – along with a string of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films he became the host of his own TV shows Alfred Hitchcock Presents (and later, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), … Continue reading
Hitchcock in the 1940s – vote now!
With the success of The Lady Vanishes, Hitchcock got a contract with producer David O Selznick and headed to Hollywood to make the Oscar-winning Rebecca – and never looked back. This period saw the director blossom as he got to … Continue reading
Posted in 'In praise of ...', Alfred Hitchcock, Amnesia, Anthony Berkeley, Australia, California, Cold War, Courtroom, Daphne Du Maurier, England, Espionage, Film Poll, Francis Beeding, London, Los Angeles, New York, Noir, Patrick Hamilton, Philip MacDonald, Screwball, Spy movies, The Netherlands, World War II
59 Comments
CRY BLOOD and KILLER IN SILK (1956) by Harry Vernor Dixon
This pair of hitherto hard-to-find mysteries come in a new volume from those very nice people at Stark House Press, the imprint specialising in new and classic crime fiction. Dixon is an author that seems really ripe for rediscovery, much … Continue reading
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR (1956) by Lionel White
This unusual thriller comes in a new volume comprising two previously hard-to-find titles by Lionel White (1905-85) from those very nice people at Stark House Press, the imprint specialising in new and classic crime fiction. White was the king of … Continue reading
THE CRIME ON THE COTE DE NEIGES (1951) by David Montrose
The influence of Chandler initially looms large in this highly enjoyable private eye novel but this eventually proves itself to be a pretty distinctive performance, not least for its Montreal setting. This was the book that launched the Ricochet Series of … Continue reading
Posted in 2015 Vintage Mystery Challenge, Canada, Noir
32 Comments
THE RED SCARF (1958) by Gil Brewer
One of the many Florida-set paperback originals written by Gil Brewer in the 1950s, it has a plot that mostly recycles James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice but also adds some very effective gear changes. Roy Nichols has been … Continue reading
Try This One for Size (1989) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film
This amusing comedy-thriller was the first of a quartet of films starring Michael Brandon derived from the work of euro noir legend, James Hadley Chase. Set in the double-dealing world of smugglers and dodgy art dealers, this one brought Paradise City detective Tom … Continue reading
NUDE ON THIN ICE (1960) by Gil Brewer
This thriller comes in a new volume comprising two previously hard-to-find titles by paperback maestro Gil Brewer from those very nice people at Stark House Press, the imprint specialising in new and classic crime fiction. Originally entitled ‘Naked on Ice,’ … Continue reading
THE VENGEFUL VIRGIN (1958) by Gil Brewer
This is a ripe piece of pulp noir, from its alliterative, catchpenny title to the de rigeur cover art featuring piles of cash, a disrobed woman and a gun. One of the many paperback originals written by Gil Brewer in … Continue reading
NOTHING IN HER WAY (1953) by Charles Williams
“Charles Williams remains the best kept secret in noir fiction” – Max Allan Collins Charles Williams (1909-1975), one of the masters of the 1950s paperback original, has gone through a long period of neglect, probably more read in translation on … Continue reading
THE GIRL WHO HAD TO DIE (1940) by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
A belated Fedora welcome to 2013, which this year opens with a review of this fine book by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889-1955), who after a brief dalliance with romance novels became a specialist in psychological suspense and thrillers. The Girl … Continue reading
NIGHTMARE (1941) by Cornell Woolrich
During the 1940s Cornell Woolrich was one of the true masters of the psychological suspense yarn, as adept at creating ingenious and outlandish plots as painting an atmosphere of universal dread and irrationality. This is a case in point with … Continue reading
THE BEAST OF THE CAMARGUE by Xavier-Marie Bonnot
Dr Xavier-Marie Bonnot, author of the Commandant de Palma series, is the focus of this week’s Alphabet of Crime entry, which is reaching its always fairly head-scratching conclusion now that most of the ‘easier’ letters, shall we say, have been … Continue reading
SALT RIVER by James Sallis
An author of compact mysteries rooted in the Deep South, poet and novelist James Sallis saw his profile rise last year after the release of the critically acclaimed Ryan Gosling movie Drive, an adaptation of his eponymous novel. Otherwise best … Continue reading
NIGHTMARE CRUISE (1961) by Wade Miller
The phrase ‘cook’s tour’ takes on a rather sinister meaning in this unjustly neglected maritime thriller, first published in 1961 as an Ace paperback original from the team of Robert Wade and Bill Miller. It was their penultimate book though a … Continue reading
ROUGH RIDERS by Charlie Stella
Courtesy of those very nice people at Stark House Press, I have in my hands an advance copy of the new novel by Charlie Stella, purveyor of humour, violence, complex plots and double crosses aplenty. Although this zesty thriller is told … Continue reading
Posted in Charlie Stella, Noir, North Dakota, Stark House Press
4 Comments
QUEENPIN by Megan Abbott
After my somewhat underwhelming first encounter with Lee Child, my 2012 Library Challenge continues with high hopes for another author I have heard lots of good things about. Indeed, this novel by Megan Abbott won the Edgar for best paperback … Continue reading
Tipping My Fedora 