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David Goodis

A Question of Choice in Noir Fiction

By Gregory Galloway

October 12, 2021

Who’s in control of your life? You? Or someone or something else? It’s a heady question, asked about as long as humans have thought about anything, and it’s at the heart of crime fiction, especially noir. Much of crime fiction is predicated on inevitability (chances are the detective is going to solve the case, order…

Crime Fiction Hall of Fame: David Goodis

By Brian Greene

January 18, 2018

Although David Goodis (1917-67) led a fascinating life (fascinating to some of us, anyway), I’m not going to spend a lot of time here discussing his personal story. Instead, I’ll focus on his writing and some of the movies that were made from his novels. But a few notes on the man behind the books:…

Book Review: Cannibals: Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens

By Thomas Pluck

May 16, 2016

Cannibals: Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens by Jen Conley is a collection of short stories set in central Jersey, with linked characters searching for the meaning in their lives and the humanity in themselves (Available today!). New Jersey gets a bad rap. Not that my home state ISN’T full of aggressive, profanity-loving…

Bogie and Bacall: Dark Passage (1947)

By Jake Hinkson

September 13, 2014

In tribute to the late Lauren Bacall, we’re looking at the four classic films she made with husband and screen partner Humphrey Bogart between 1944 and 1948: To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo. Last week we looked at Hawks’ The Big Sleep. Today we’ll look at Delmer Daves’…

Somewhere Between French and American: Shoot the Piano Player (1960)

By Brian Greene

July 31, 2014

We know about the appreciation of, and contributions to, noir film and fiction by the French. We know that they celebrated the likes of Jim Thompson when the now-revered American noir author was kicked to the curb in his home country. And in 1960 another striking example of U.S. noir being recognized by the French…

Pulp Nonfiction: A Guide to Studying Hardboiled Crime

By Jake Hinkson

May 11, 2014

You know you’re officially a mystery fanatic when you start reading books about books. Luckily, over the years many studies of hardboiled and noir crime fiction have been published to meet the needs of just these kind of fanatics. Here’s a short guide to some of the best. 1. “The Simple Art of Murder” by…

Fresh Meat: The New Black: A Neo-Noir Anthology edited by Richard Thomas

By Brian Greene

May 7, 2014

The New Black: A Neo-Noir Anthology, edited by Richard Thomas, is a collection of twenty dark and twisted tales from assorted genres: horror, crime, fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, and the grotesque (available May 13, 2014). I tend to not get bogged down with defining genres. I’m sure some would question whether all or even…

Lost Classics of Noir: Scratch a Thief by John Trinian

By Brian Greene

March 27, 2014

In the last of these columns I wrote about an author whose work I said would have to be represented in any of list of the great heist novels of all time. This time I’m covering another scribe who demands a place on that list. But John Trinian’s 1961 story Scratch a Thief (later re-titled…

Tropical Summer Reads

By Kristin Centorcelli

May 25, 2013

Summer is right around the corner, and how better to pass the time than with some reads set in exotic locales or, just as fun, on the beach? Whether you’re looking for something light and breezy or a walk on the darker side of summer, no worries, we’ve got you covered! If it’s a light,…

Lost Classics of Noir: Hill Girl by Charles Williams

By Brian Greene

April 3, 2013

Brothers shouldn’t get involved with the same woman. There could be a whole subgenre or books/movies in which this scenario is involved, and I feel confident stating that tragedy would be a common theme. Bob Crane (no, not that Bob Crane), narrator of Hill Girl—Charles Williams’s excellent work of farmyard pulp from 1951—never had any…

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