Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Chris Orlet's books

113 ratings | 32 reviews | avg rating:4.64

Chris’s Year In Books

Chris’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Chris’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Chris’s 2025 Year in Books

Chris Orlet’s Followers (33)

Chris’s Bookshelves

to-read (333)
currently-reading (1)
read (111)
did-not-finish (1)
black-humor (3)
crime (2)
dark-humor (2)
favorites (3)
grit-lit (0)
humor (0)
See all bookshelves »

Chris’s Friends (27)

Jim Thomsen

1,889 books | 135 friends

Marietta

2,639 books | 46 friends

Joe Schwart

1 book | 132 friends

Cathy

239 books | 42 friends

Kent Gowran

698 books | 166 friends

Katrina Orlet

2 books | 1 friend

Angela Kelly

239 books | 90 friends

Clare

134 books | 52 friends

More friends…

Chris Orlet

Goodreads Author

Born

Belleville, Illinois

Genre

Crime, Thriller, Humor and Comedy

Influences

Richard Brautigan; Larry Brown; Flannery O'Connor; Charles Portis; ...more

Member Since

June 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/psota

edit data

Chris Orlet is the author of the true crime book Sun Gone Down: The Story of the Richmond Spree Murders, and the novels Jacks Fork (Down & Out Books); So Many Things to Bury (Down & Out); A Taste of Shotgun (Down & Out); In The Pines (New Pulp Press) and a contributor to Dirty Boulevard: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Lou Reed (Down & Out). He was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois.

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING

"Chris’s books are among my favorite noir reads. I can't wait to sink into his next one.” –Jim Thomsen, The Killing Rain: Left Coast Crime Anthology

“Finally a worthy successor to James Crumley and Newton Thornburg and Kem Nunn, the 1970’s godfathers of true noir’s long-needed revival.” Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinna ...more

0 posts
Chris Orlet's Blog

Chris Orlet hasn't written any blog posts yet.

Combine Editions
Chris Orlet’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 73 ratings · 21 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Taste of Shotgun 3.75 avg rating — 28 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dirty Boulevard: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Lou Reed by David James Keaton (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Reed Farrel Coleman (Goodreads Author), Alison Gaylin (Goodreads Author) 3.88 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	So Many Things To Bury 4.67 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Pines 4.22 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jacks Fork 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sun Gone Down: The Story of the Richmond Spree Murders 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2023 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Chris Orlet…

Chris is Currently Reading

Chris Orlet is currently reading

Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics

by Stephanie Hare

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 14, 2026 07:02AM

rss
Chris’s Recent Updates

Chris Orlet wants to read Reporting at Wit's End: Tales from the New Yorker by St. Clair McKelway	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12 hours, 41 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reporting at Wit's End by St. Clair McKelway. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reporting at Wit's End by St. Clair McKelway <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet wants to read Monty Python's Big Red Book by Graham Chapman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13 hours, 11 min ago · like
Chris Orlet wants to read Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields by Charles Bowden	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 26, 2026 07:40PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Murder City by Charles Bowden. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Murder City by Charles Bowden <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet wants to read Is God Happy? Selected Essays by Leszek Kołakowski	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 24, 2026 05:51AM · like
Chris Orlet wants to read Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? by Leszek Kołakowski	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 24, 2026 05:50AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? by Leszek Kołakowski. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? by Leszek Kołakowski <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet joined the group The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group
Aug 18, 2026 05:41AM · like
Chris Orlet and 2 other people liked Jim Thomsen's review of A Reckoning Up Black Cat Hollow: "A Novel of Ugly Beauty Dark, brutal, soulful, soulless, lyrical, a drug-addled fever-dream in novel form, unforgettable. This Appalachian noir, soaked in gothic horror and ruinous realism, is hard to take. And harder to chase out of your veins once yo" Read more of this review »
Aug 18, 2026 05:35AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Reckoning Up Black Cat Hollow by Matthew F Jones. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Reckoning Up Black Cat Hollow by Matthew F Jones <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet wants to read Farmer by Jim Harrison	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 14, 2026 01:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Farmer by Jim Harrison. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Farmer by Jim Harrison <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet liked a quote “We have become a civilization based on work—not even “productive work” but work as an end and meaning in itself.” David Graeber
Aug 14, 2026 08:51AM · like · more quotes by David Graeber · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chris Orlet started reading Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics by Stephanie Hare	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 14, 2026 07:02AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Technology Is Not Neutral by Stephanie Hare. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Technology Is Not Neutral by Stephanie Hare <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Chris's books…

Quotes by Chris Orlet (?)

“Man this getting out of prison sucks.”
― Chris Orlet, A Taste of Shotgun

tags: crime, noir-style, prisoner

0 likes

“Pinning one's hopes on politicians is like pinning one's hopes on last year's lottery.”
― Chris Orlet

0 likes

Chris’s Quotes

“A noir story is where the protagonist starts out screwed--and ends up screwder.”
― Rick Ollerman, Down & Out: The Magazine Volume 1 Issue 1

tags: noir-fiction

0 likes

“You know they ain't bad people. They're just uneducated, unsophisticated, untraveled, immoral, and uncivilized. Plus stupid." -The Missing”
― tim gautreaux

12 likes

“Nothing I like to do pays well.”
― Charles Portis, True Grit

118 likes

“Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.”
― Margaret Mead

52 likes

“The writer is doomed to live in an atmosphere of perpetual failure.”
― Graham Greene

1 likes

More of Chris’s quotes…