Blame it on her Dad
This list first appeared in the March 24, 2025 issue of The New York Times, with Gran, the creator of the private eye Claire DeWitt and the author of the 2003 horror classic Come Closer, opining on her favourite noir novels.
“Some people use noir to mean a spare writing style; others, a type of plot that tends toward deceit and despair, gran explains in her intro, “But it’s maybe best described as a place where no one wants to end up, literally or metaphorically.”
“It’s probably my favorite genre. I first got into noir through my father’s Black Lizard Press paperbacks,” she adds. “My father was not a criminally-minded man, but he gave me what every writer needs: good taste and a difficult childhood. Miss you, Dad.”
“These books will thrill you enough that you ought not to start them before bedtime — you won’t want to stop. But don’t look for happy endings here, or inspiration, unless you, too, want to be a be a writer whose work leaves people shellshocked.”
None of these are private eye novels (although a few, notably Gringos, come close), although almost all the authors of the books on this list will be instantly familiar to most of you, and c’mon —it’s Gran, man!
- The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
- Miami Purity by Vicki Hendricks
- Parishioner by Walter Mosley
- Creation Lake by Rachel Kushne
- Shella by Andrew Vachss
- Gringos by Charles Portis
- They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? by Horace McCoy
- The Expat by Hansen Shi
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Eight Great Noir Thrillers by Sara Gran (March 24, 2025, The New York Times)
FRespectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
