Noir Fiction

What has given Greg an obsession with suicide? Why is Helen afraid of her past catching her? When did Phillip start to collect useless trinkets? Who in the British Government want all three dead? When journalist Helen Taylor lands her dream job on a national newspaper, she could never have imagined that her first assignment would become her worst nightmare. Travelling to France for a simple story, Helen encounters Phillip, a puzzling Englishman who avoids contact with anyone. When she meets him, she feels there is something dark about him, which may provide her with a major scoop. Greg, an ...

When single-mother Devon Connor hires Elvis Cole, it’s because her troubled teenage son Tyson is flashing cash and she’s afraid he’s dealing drugs. But the truth is devastatingly different. With two others, he’s been responsible for a string of high-end burglaries, a crime spree that takes a deadly turn when one of them is murdered and Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. They stole the wrong thing from the wrong man, and, determined to get it back, he has hired two men who are smart and brutal and the best at what they do.

In an alternate 2009, the United States has been a second-rate power for a quarter of a century, ever since Argentina’s victory in the Falkland’s War thanks to their development of “psychopigments.” Created as weapons, these colorful chemicals can produce almost any human emotion upon contact, and they have been embraced in the US as both pharmaceutical cure-alls and popular recreational drugs. Black market traders illegally sell everything from Blackberry Purple (which causes terror) to Sunshine Yellow (which delivers happiness).

Jim Thompson's classic The Grifters is one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for the critically acclaimed film by Stephen Frears and Martin Scorcese. To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character.

Bryson Wilde, investigator for hire, lives in an edgy world where the dames are dangerous, cigarettes dangle from ruby-red lips, and the nights are hotter than whiskey-soaked jazz. In R. J. Jagger’s riveting noir thriller, A Way with Murder, Wilde finds himself entangled in two deadly assignments, one for a young, raven-haired attorney on the run after visiting an archeological site in Mexico, and the other for a pretty, little doll-face, who is too mysterious to trust and too hypnotic to resist.

My life has room for exactly two women: my daughter Rusty and my best friend Charlotte - known to everyone as Charlie. One is a feisty, tomboyish firecracker. The other is my seven-year-old. I can’t imagine life without either. So when my ex springs a custody hearing on me, I find myself telling the judge that I’m engaged to Charlie. The only problem? I’m not. Time to fake an engagement. Pretending we’re a couple will be no big deal.

The streets are about to explode…and Puyallup’s local paranormal investigator Jimmy Kincaid is caught right in the middle of it. The neighborhood’s criminal syndicates are on the brink of all-out war, and if they go at it, the streets will run red—literally. But Jimmy’s got more problems. Someone’s sending him a particular message by sending him severed limbs. And then there’s the hitmen coming after him. Last but not least, he’s got to broker a deal between the biggest elven street gang in Seattle and a vicious Triad gang—and not get himself killed in the bargain.

For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range from a sinister James Bond to a sadistic disemboweler named Khan. And Marid Audrian has been made an offer he can't refuse.The 200-year-old godfather of the Budayeen's underworld has enlisted Marid as his instrument of vengeance. But first Marid must undergo the most sophisticated of surgical implants before he dares to confront a killer who carries the power of every psychopath since the beginning of time.

Tucker, a young veteran, returns from war to work for a bootlegger. He falls in love and starts a family, and while the Tuckers don't have much, they have the love of their home and each other. But when his family is threatened, Tucker is pushed into violence, which changes everything.

A pirate lost to time. A siren bound in chains. And a love that should have drowned—yet refuses to die. Two hundred years ago, Jack Kelly should have died at sea. Instead, a siren dragged him into the stars, remaking him into a monster. Now, cursed to wander the galaxy as a cyborg, Jack hunts for the past that was stolen from him. And then he finds her. Alien kraken princess Nerissa knew better than to save a human, but she couldn’t let Jack die. Not when she’d spent so many nights watching him from beneath the waves. Not when she knew he was meant to be hers. But love has a price, ...

Dashiell Hammett's Best Stories of the Continental Op is a gripping collection of classic hard-boiled detective fiction, featuring the iconic Continental Op. These tales, including Who Killed Bob Teal?, Crooked Souls, Bodies Piled Up, It, and others, showcase Hammett's mastery of sharp dialogue, intricate plotting, and atmospheric storytelling. Set in a gritty world of crime and deception, the stories follow the unflinching, unnamed detective as he unravels mysteries and confronts dangerous adversaries.

Red Harvest is a hardboiled classic that set the standard for gritty, no-nonsense crime fiction. Written by Dashiell Hammett, this explosive novel follows an unnamed detective—referred to only as “The Continental Op”—as he arrives in a corrupt industrial town known as “Poisonville.” Hired to clean up the city, he quickly finds himself in the middle of a brutal gang war. Betrayals, double-crosses, and brutal power plays spiral into chaos as the Op’s relentless quest for justice leads to a blood-soaked reckoning.

It has been three years since Detective Jonathan Stanton solved the most brutal murder in San Diego's history, and as a result found himself in the middle of the worst police corruption scandal in memory. Choosing a less high-profile position, Stanton is nevertheless reluctantly dragged into the violent world of The Sandman. The Sandman is clever, ruthless, and cautious. He leaves no evidence in his wake and takes a morbid interest in those that chase him. Believing Stanton to be his parallel, he finds an affinity for the detective. One that Stanton may not survive.

New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two—but they’d been equally desperate.

Now that he's married to Merrill Darling, daughter of billionaire financier Carter Darling, attorney Paul Ross has grown accustomed to New York society and all of its luxuries: a Park Avenue apartment, weekends in the Hamptons, bespoke suits. When Paul loses his job, Carter offers him the chance to head the legal team at his hedge fund. Thrilled with his good fortune in the midst of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression, Paul accepts the position. But Paul's luck is about to shift....

Lies, Lust, and always, Consequences Cathy and Phil, high school sweethearts, reunite after years apart, reigniting a love that refuses to die. The catch? They're married. But not to each other. As their passion ignites, Cathy confides in her best friend Jan, only to discover Jan's hidden secrets. Cathy's own marriage to Tom holds another enigma. In this captivating short story, the delicate balance between truth and deception unravels, leaving readers questioning the lies we tell ourselves and the ones we keep hidden. Can love survive when secrets threaten to shatter it all?

His protection has a price. And I'll pay for it in bed. A night out with my best friend turns into something deadly. And I wind up in the crossfire of two rival MC’s. Preacher saves me. He's a soldier for the Wayward Kings Motorcycle Club. He’s brutal. A killer. And he's in town for a little payback. Preacher’s six feet and change of tattooed terror and he's got his sights set on me. I know he’s trouble. I know he’s dangerous. I should run away and never look back. But his voice sets my body on fire. His touch makes me beg for more. He acts like he owns me. I can’t walk away. ...

Twenty years ago, student Daisy Harrington went out for the evening and never came home. Her body was found a week later. The killer was caught. Case closed. Now, on what would have been her fortieth birthday, her five university housemates are invited to a weekend gathering. None of them want to go. But none of them can refuse—the invitation makes it clear that if they don’t attend, the past they’ve spent two decades hiding will finally come to light.

Professor Claire Lane’s students are always close to her heart. When one disappears into fells and becks of the Lake District in Northwest England, she is not convinced the woman has gone to meditate on Scafell Pike. A talented and gifted writer, Bo Huan, a Chinese National follows her dream. Claire in desperation seeks help from her fiancé Lord Ralph McGinniss, known for his uncomplicated investigations as a Senior Detective at Scotland Yard. The Lake District is meant for walking and enjoying nature, not murder and international spying. Ralph and Claire join forces to solve a delicate ...

In a remote Polish village, Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her 60s, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. She is reclusive, preferring the company of animals to people; she’s unconventional, believing in the stars; and she is fond of the poetry of William Blake, from whose work the title of the book is taken. When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, Duszejko becomes involved in the investigation.