Noir(ish) novel favorites/inspirations

Explore a curated list of noir(ish) novel favorites and inspirations. Discover gripping tales of mystery, crime, and shadowy intrigue that define the genre's best works.

The Big Sleep Cover
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The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler

The renowned novel from the crime fiction master, with the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times), Philip Marlowe. • Featuring the iconic character that inspired the film Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in. “Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.” —The New York Times Book Review
The Long Goodbye Cover
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The Long Goodbye

by Raymond Chandler

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • The renowned novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, with the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times), Philip Marlowe • Featuring the iconic character that inspired the film Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson. In noir master Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye, Philip Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, whom he divorced and remarried and who ends up dead. And now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazy gangster are after Marlowe.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Cover
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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

A masterpiece ahead of its time, a prescient rendering of a dark future, and the inspiration for the blockbuster film Blade Runner One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They’ve even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and “retire” them. But when cornered, androids fight back—with lethal force. Praise for Philip K. Dick “The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world.”—John Brunner “A kind of pulp-fiction Kafka, a prophet.”—The New York Times “[Philip K. Dick] sees all the sparkling—and terrifying—possibilities . . . that other authors shy away from.”—Rolling Stone
A Scanner Darkly Cover
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A Scanner Darkly

by Philip K. Dick

Substance D is not known as Death for nothing. Undercover narcotics agent Bob Arctor is desperate to discover the ultimate source of supply, but to find any kind of lead he has to pose as a user. Without realising what is happening, he is soon as addicted as the junkies he works among.
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The Speed Queen Cover
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The Speed Queen

by Stewart O'Nan

A drug-addled, bisexual Bonnie to her husband's Clyde--accompanied by her lover, Natalie--Marjorie Standiford winds up on death row despite her protestations of innocence, with a lucrative book deal to sweeten the pain. Reprint. Reprint.
The contortionist's handbook Cover
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The contortionist's handbook

 

No summary available.
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The Maltese Falcon Cover
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The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett

FEATURING THE CHARACTER THAT INSPIRED THE AMC SERIES MONSIEUR SPADE STARRING CLIVE OWEN ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME Detective Sam Spade is a private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. When his partner is killed during a stakeout, he is drawn into the hunt for a fantastic treasure with a dubious provenance—a golden bird encrusted with jewels. Also on the trail are a perfumed grifter named Joel Cairo, an oversized adventurer named Gutman, and Spade’s new client Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett’s coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted generations of readers. *With a new introduction by Richard Russo*
Gun, with Occasional Music Cover
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Gun, with Occasional Music

by Jonathan Lethem

In a bizarre, noirish world shared by people and intelligent animals, Conrad Metcalf, a human private detective, finds one of his cases has drawn him into a conflict between gangsters and the Inquisitor's office. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.
Motherless Brooklyn Cover
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Motherless Brooklyn

by Jonathan Lethem

When Lionel's friend is killed, he is forced to delve into the complex, shadowy web of relationships, threats, and favors that make up the Brooklyn world he thought he knew so well.
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The Fever Kill Cover
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The Fever Kill

by Tom Piccirilli

Seventeen years ago, a kidnapped child died at the hands of the police, and the ransom intended to save her was nowhere to be found. Now the cop accused of slaughter is dead and his son wants answers - the truth for his father and redemption for himself. But the town of Hangtree has secrets to keep and some fine lowlifes to keep them. The fever burns through Crease as he unravels the only case that means anything to him, but he has to watch his step. He's losing ground to a mentor of a more dangerous stripe with his own vendetta to see satisfied. Can Crease put it together before he's torn apart? A dusty neo-noir murder mystery, The Fever Kill expertly blends flavors of hardboiled crime and modern literature. Tom Piccirilli provides a thrill ride for pulp connoisseurs and the uninitiated mainstream alike.
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