Tag Archives: noir

California Rain – Frank McAdams

Posted on November 20, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Set against the backdrop of 1950s America, California Rain delivers a gripping noir thriller that blends the intrigue of political scandal, the fight for justice, along with the glamour of old Hollywood. With an evocative sense … Continue reading →

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Blood and Mascara – Colin Krainin

Posted on July 17, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…all the women he had known and loved, the idea of them was there in front of him…and once he had come to love then, had he not carried them about within him forever after, like … Continue reading →

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Busted Valentines and Other Dark Delights – Frank De Blase

Posted on February 14, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “‘Twas the night before the night before Christmas and Jack Frost was pissed.” That’s the intro to my favorite story, “The Night Before the Night Before Christmas” in Busted Valentines and Other Dark Delights. But … Continue reading →

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The Dark Remains – William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin

Posted on September 9, 2021 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) October 1972, Glasgow –Detective constable Jack Laidlaw is reassigned to the Glasgow crime squad. Though he has a sixth sense on what is happening on the streets, the higher ups feel he needs “handling”, as he … Continue reading →

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Nairobi Noir (Akashic Noir Series) – edited by Peter Kimani

Posted on June 22, 2020 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) > “In this concrete jungle, the hunters and herders live on. As do the hunted…” This summarizes the essence of Nairobi Noir, a collection of fourteen stories released early this year from the Akashic Noir Series. … Continue reading →

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Berkeley Noir (Akashic Noir Series) edited by Jerry Thompson and Owen Hill

Posted on May 12, 2020 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “I arrived in Berkeley, back in 1991. A Berkeley that seemed to be still living off the fumes of the late sixties, which were fumes so strong you might just want to breathe them in all … Continue reading →

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Fatal Beauty (A Cleve Hawkins Detective Novel) – R.C. Hartson

Posted on April 2, 2020 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) A serial killer is terrorizing Chicago, and the victims are young women. However, when private investigator Cleve Hawkins’ new client wants him to locate her sister, he initially thinks that she just doesn’t want to be … Continue reading →

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To Hell with Johnny Manic -Andrew Diamond

Posted on February 23, 2020 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “I’d still have to be Manis in name. I had his license, his passport, and his spotless record with the law. Manis was employable. Tom Gantry, the fugitive embezzler who’d violated parole in Illinois, was not.” … Continue reading →

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Sydney Noir (Akashic Noir Series) – John Dale (Editor)

Posted on January 27, 2020 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Noir is as much a part of Sydney’s character as frangipanis and cockroaches, rusted iron lace and sandstone terraces, torrential rain and potholed roads.” “Crime and Sydney have always been inseparable: a deep vein of corruption … Continue reading →

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Amsterdam Noir (Akashic Noir Series) -René Appel and Josh Pachter (Editors), Josh Pachter (Translator)

Posted on May 22, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “It wasn’t until he’d come to see me a dozen times that he told me he wanted to concentrate on women who looked like the victims who’d escaped from him his first time around.” This man … Continue reading →

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