In the city, two young members of rival street gangs meet in a basement for a game of Russian roulette, a “Smith & Wesson .38 Police Special” set on the table between them. In rural Maine, a ...

“They threw me off the hay truck about noon.” The first line of “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” James M. Cain’s brilliant 1934 novel, captures so much of why we read noir fiction. Who are “they” and ...

Looking for a good read with a twist or two? Or three? Here it is: New York Times best-selling author Laura Lippman’s edgy new novel, Sunburn, is a neo-noir, multi-layered game of hide-and-seek that ...

Nordic noir fiction can be divided into two periods. Before the girl and after the girl. The girl being "The Girl." You know, the one with the dragon tattoo. Late author Stieg Larsson's 2008 novel ...

Anybody who cares about noir fiction should read Domenic Stansberry’s scathing rebuke to the calcification of the genre. (And since noir is the fundamental inspiration for a ton of urban fantasy right ...

Friday February 11th, 2022, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM (New York) / 6:30-8:30 PM (Paris) What is crime and noir fiction? Qu’est-ce que le polar? Within the genre of detective fiction this question comes back ...

As I was listening to Timothy Egan talk about his Dust Bowl account, “The Worst Hard Time,” a few weeks ago, comparisons with our current economic troubles came to mind, along with memories of ...

Noir exposes the underbelly of a place. In film or fiction, characters live in the shadows, denizens of a night where every good intention is punished. Noir found its natural home in New York City and ...