This re-issued Elliott Chaze novel offers up a delicious trip into the noir past, and holds you in its grip. Originally published in 1954, the first-person narrator of Black Wings has all the sardonic humour of Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe, but instead of a PI he’s criminal Tim Sunblade. That’s not his real name, of course, but then his recently acquired girlfriend Virginia isn’t who she says she is, either. Both are on the lam and about as trustworthy as a pair of loaded dice. Chaze’s plot is strong and atmospherics are top-notch. Our full review is here.

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