Noir Fiction

A man is making a crude leather mask with slits for eyes and mouth, and an iron spike fixed in the middle of the forehead. It is a 'death mask', once used by Icelandic farmers to slaughter calves. He has revenge in mind. Meanwhile, with Detective Erlendur absent, his baseball-loving colleague Sigurdur Óli is in the spotlight. A school reunion has left Sigurdur Óli dissatisfied with life in the police force. Iceland is enjoying an economic boom and young tycoons are busy partying with the international jet set.

There is not much left of the irascible Albert Evan Jasper, "dean of American forensic anthropologists," after his demise in a fiery car crash. But in accord with his wishes, his remains are installed in an Oregon museum to create a fascinating if macabre exhibit. All agree that it is a fitting end for a great forensic scientist - until what is left of him disappears in the midst of the biannual meeting of the august WAFA - the Western Association of Forensic Anthropologists - in nearby Bend, Oregon. Like his fellow attendees, Gideon Oliver - the Skeleton Detective - is baffled.

Jack Till, who has retired from the LAPD after a respected career as a homicide detective, now works as a private investigator, comfortable chasing down routine cases while visiting his 24-year-old daughter, Holly, who has Down Syndrome. But when the parents of a recently murdered young girl, about Holly's age, ask for his help when the police come up empty, Till reluctantly takes the case.

Canisia Lubrin's debut fiction is that rare work of art—a brilliant, startlingly original book that combines immense literary and political force. Its structure, deceptively simple, is based on the infamous Code Noir, a set of real historical decrees originally passed in 1685 by King Louis XIV of France defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. The original code had fifty-nine articles; Code Noir has fifty-nine linked fictions—vivid, unforgettable, multilayered fragments filled with globe-wise characters who desire to live beyond the ruins of the past.

Set in 1991, just as Star Trek: The Next Generation has rocketed the cast to global fame, the young and impressionable actor Brent Spiner receives a mysterious package and a series of disturbing letters, that take him on a terrifying and bizarre journey that enlists Paramount Security, the LAPD, and even the FBI in putting a stop to the danger that has his life and career hanging in the balance.

A woman stumbles out of the frozen woods with a gunshot wound and no memory of who she is... In the middle of a brutal winter, a near-dead woman collapses on the road into Raven’s Hollow, a remote Idaho town buried in snow. She has no ID. No phone. No memory. Just a USB drive on a cord around her neck—and a gunshot wound that should have killed her. Sheriff Jake Offerman has seen his share of strange things, but nothing like this. As a deadly storm seals the town off from the outside world, he digs into the mystery of the woman the locals are calling Jane Doe. Why was she running? Who ...

This quartet of crime stories about deadly books, penned by award-winning contemporary mystery writers, includes The Little Men, What's in a Name?, The Book of the Lion, and From the Queen.

A mix of paranormal mystery, dark humor, and supernatural crime-solving, The Dead Detective box set follows Richelle Dadd, a cop who wakes up to find herself in the middle of a murder scene—her own. Book 1: The Dead Detective Detective Richelle Dadd has seen plenty of crime scenes, but she never expected to wake up in one. Now, as an undead investigator, she’s dealing with more than just a bitter divorce—she’s also on a mission to solve her own murder. But being reanimated comes with a catch: she’s been turned into a zombie assassin, forced to carry out dangerous assignments while...

Vincent LaRue is all wrong — too polished, too pretty, and too full of secrets. But when his brother turns up dead in a motel room dressed to scandalize, he walks into detective Nash Vega’s office with blood on his hands and a plea for help. Nash should’ve walked away. He’s been burned before. But Vincent’s kiss is as dangerous as the case — and someone out there is filming their victims like it’s high art. Lies. Lust. Murder on reel. Hollywood’s dirty secrets are about to light the screen on fire.

The island city-state of Singapore harbors unique customs and traditions largely unknown to the West. A booming economy and embrace of conformity overshadow its gambling dens, red-light districts, and a collective passion for ghostly and gory tales. Now, in Singapore Noir, some of its best contemporary authors delve into its seedy side.

The Christmas rush is at its peak in a grand ReykjavIk hotel when Inspector Erlendur is called in to investigate a murder. The hotel Santa has been stabbed to death, and Erlendur and his fellow detectives find no shortage of suspects between the hotel staff and the international travelers staying for the holidays. As Christmas Day approaches, Erlendur must deal with his difficult daughter, pursue a possible romantic interest, and untangle a long-buried web of malice and greed to find the murderer.

In the wake of an earthquake, the water level of an Icelandic lake drops suddenly, revealing the skeleton of a man half-buried in its sandy bed. It is clear immediately that it has been there for many years. There is a large hole in the skull. Yet more mysteriously, a heavy communication device is attached to it, possibly some sort of radio transmitter, bearing inscriptions in Russian. The police are called in and Erlendur, Elinborg, and Sigurdur Olii begin their investigation, which gradually leads them back to the time of the Cold War when bright, left-wing students would be sent from Iceland to study in the "heavenly state" of communist East Germany.

Isobel Kingston is dead. Or so everyone believes. When a mysterious woman writes her last words in sand, Isobel steps out of the shadows to uncover the truth. As she plunges into a storm of betrayal, the winds are determined to throw Atticus Riot on her course, and the two detectives collide in a sea of madness and murder.

Santana Sokolov might be the one person who ties together all the mysteries of Atlantica. Which will probably get her killed. The woman has a penchant for the ancient. When Santana is approached by two enemy factions looking for the same legendary item, she partners with old friend Dick Chambers to enter the wilderness and unlock the mystery.

He was a cop. She was his daughter. One of them wasn’t walking away. James Bradford wore the badge in St. Isidore for thirty-five years. He cleaned up alleyway brawls, chased down punks with knives, and never once had to pull the trigger. Until the night his daughter came home. Amanda Petrocelli had a record longer than Main Street, a husband with blood on his hands, and two kids caught in the crossfire. When she and her killer husband came knocking—guns drawn and hearts cold—James didn’t call for backup. He reached for his gun safe. In a town where loyalty is currency and regret ...

From its launch in 1920 until its demise in 1951, the magazine Black Mask published pulp crime fiction. The first hard-boiled detective stories appeared on its pages. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner and John D. MacDonald got their start in Black Mask. The urban crime stories that appeared in Black Mask helped to shape American culture.

When a nurse is murdered on her way home from nightshift, Jack and his team go on the hunt for her killer. As more victims are uncovered, Jack finds himself tracking a murderer afflicted by a unique psychosis - one that leaves him free to maim and kill without a shred of remorse. Facing a new type of killer in an unfamiliar city, DCI Jack Logan is about to be pushed to his limits, before being forced to realize just how little he truly knows.

The first time they meet, she pelts him with bunchberries. The black wolf would suffer the sticky mess for an entire day if it meant listening to her sweet laughter and the soothing sound of her wings... but he had a job to do. ~ Priss Starwillow & the Wolf In addition to tales in the Tsuga Kingdom, featuring Priss Starwillow and her handsome black wolf, enjoy this eclectic mix of genres, characters, and worlds in this pretty collection of thirteen stories from the author of The Starlight Chronicles paranormal romance series. Meet the giant Greek god Tityus in his underground grotto, ...

A NEO-NOIR HONEYMOON IN HELL: A Suspenseful Tale of Love, Murder, and Fate John thought he had left behind his days of drinking and killing, but as he and his new bride, Cherry, embark on their honeymoon in the jungles of Malaysia and Borneo, they are haunted by ghosts from their past. The release of nihilist criminals connected to John's SAS background brings death and destruction to their luxury island resort. Just when they think they can escape the darkness, their paradise is raided by savage pirates, revealing that everything is connected and they are unable to outrun their destiny. ...

"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep." ~ John Milton, Paradise Lost. Seattle, mid-1990s: She was meant to walk the earth unseen. Some call it covert, and most people weren't supposed to notice her. But Emi Rye came to Seattle to solve a murder that didn't actually happen. At least, according to Seattle PD. They claim her best friend came here to marry a man she met on the Internet. But instead of jumping into wedded bliss, Julia took a dive off the bridge. The cops put it down as the lovesick suicide of a delusional stalker. Emi doesn't...