KindlePrintReviews

CIS: False Negative

Classics in September — False Negative by Joseph Koenig — Joseph Koenig was nominated for an Edgar for Floater, his first novel, back in 1986. He subsequently went on to write Little Odessa, a walk in the underbelly of New York; Smugglers Notch, a story…
Read more
Features

CIS: Deadly Image revisited

Classics in September -– George Harmon Coxe is largely forgotten now, though his career is emblematic of the development of American crime fiction. Coxe began writing crime fiction for pulp magazines in the Great Depression, one of a raft of writers churning out popular entertainment…
Read more
iBookKindlePrintReviews

The Abbey

Written by Chris Culver — When I heard that this self-published debut ebook became an Amazon bestseller and then made the New York Times bestseller list too, I have to admit I was curious to read it. As with indie film-makers, I’ve always believed in…
Read more
Features

CIS: A Raymond Chandler primer

Raymond Chandler was 44 years old when he lost his job as an oil company executive in 1932. This is one job loss we can cheer for, since it’s the reason Chandler began writing. His very first short story was printed in Black Mask, a…
Read more
Features

CIS: Interview with Charles Ardai

Classics in September — We couldn’t do a month of classic crime fiction without mentioning Hard Case Crime, could we? We’ve said it here on the site and we’ve tweeted about it – this publishing house is putting out some great throwback hardboiled and noir…
Read more
Features

CIS: The top five women of noir

Classics in September — Several months ago we discussed five of the best American novelists currently writing in the hardboiled tradition. All of the writers featured in that piece are top-notch crime authors – but they also had something else in common: they were all…
Read more
KindlePrintReviews

Father Confessor

Written by Russel D McLean — Dundee probably isn’t the first place which springs to mind when you think of hardboiled PI fiction but over the last few years Russel D McLean has made the city his own, first with the Sam Bryson stories, and…
Read more
PrintReviews

Frame Up

Written by James Phoenix – If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s a shame Robert B Parker is no longer around. If he was, he’d be mighty flattered by recent crime fiction. Ace Atkins recently took over the Spenser series, and Atkins’ Lullaby…
Read more