Tag: Books

Twenty-Twenty

Twenty Private Eye Novels from Hard Case Crime's First Twenty Years   In 2024, feisty little Hard Case Crime , founded by Charles Ardai and Max Phillips back in 2004, celebrated its twentieth anniversary, but its mission statement remains the same, to bring you "the best in hard-boiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces … Continue reading Twenty-Twenty →

The Big Reads

The Longest Private Eye Books Back in the good old days (whenever the hell that was) private eye yarns rarely took over 200 pages to tell. They were tight and right, punchy and potent, lean and mean and they got the job done. Think of all those beloved paperbacks that could once legitimately be named … Continue reading The Big Reads →

Mysterious Profiles

Biographical Quickies from Mysterious Press/Open Road A gimmick, for sure, but an intriguing one. Launched in April 2022, this series of digital quickies from MysteriousPress/Open Road, available on Kindle. Nook, Kobo, etc., offers a new spin on self-promotion: short but in-depth takes (30-40 digital pages) on beloved fictional detectives, written by the authors themselves. Some are actual … Continue reading Mysterious Profiles →

Free Books!

After a lifetime of reading and a couple of decades of The Thrilling Detective Web Site, I've ended up with a house full of books. Way too many books. Books from sea to shining sea: ARCs, gifts, ones I've actually bought myself. New books, old books, special editions, books I already have two or more … Continue reading Free Books! →

Deck the Mean Streets with Boughs of Holly

Christmas Eyes "Christmas was coming... Brenda Lee had been rockin' round the Chritmas tree so long store cashiers were on suicide watch." -- opening to Midnight Lullaby by James D.F. Hannah "Ah, sweet Christmas!" -- Luke Cage    SHORT STORIES "A Hard-Boiled Christmas" | Read it now! By Stephen Reid (December 23, 1989, The Globe and … Continue reading Deck the Mean Streets with Boughs of Holly →

Banned! The Naughty List

Detective, Crime and Mystery Novels That Have Been Banned at One Time or Another   The following hard-boiled and noir crime novels and/or authors have all been banned or restricted at one time or another by countries, schools, libraries and other  guardians of alleged decency. Not that they necessarily stopped anyone from reading them, but … Continue reading Banned! The Naughty List →

The Name Game: Series Title Gimmicks

Colours Both the Pat and Jean Abbott series by Frances Crane, and the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald use colours in their titles, although Frances thought of it first, scooping John by over twenty years. Examples: The Turquoise Shop, The Golden Box and The Yellow Violet by Crane, and The Deep Blue Goodbye, … Continue reading The Name Game: Series Title Gimmicks →

Death is Not the End (The Long, Long Goodbye)

Private Eyes Who Just Won't Stay Dead (Even If Their Creators Are) "No question about it. Once you die, you really start losing control of things." --Mike Hammer in Murder, My Love (2019), by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins That whirring sound coming from the mystery section of the local cemetery these days? It … Continue reading Death is Not the End (The Long, Long Goodbye) →

Mark Savage Says…

The Mark Savage Books by Stephen J. Cannell "She had a figure that could get them off the marble slab of the morgue." -- Mark Savage says... The greatest producer of private eye television was undoubtedly Steven J. Cannell. The obvious marker is The Rockford Files,  but when you toss in everything else he created, … Continue reading Mark Savage Says… →