Most Read This Week In Noir

[close] This group was created by a group of indie authors. We write books, good books, sometimes great books, and we read each other's books. This group is a way for us to introduce new titles, discuss popular indie books, and is open to both indie authors and readers who are looking to "go indie". We invite other indie authors, and while we focus on mystery, crime and noir, really we want to talk about good books with a little grit to them.

[close] Started somewhat as a reaction to the British cozy mystery of the Agatha Christie style (think Murder She Wrote), there came a demand for something more real, action where the stakes were higher, the participants (good and bad) sleazier, the police on the take, the ladies fatal for any would-be patsy. Thus was born, largely in the 1920s, and often in the pulps (foremost among them Black Mask), the American answer to Sherlock Holmes, the genre that in turn became the basis for the film noir revolution of the 1940s. Our original big three writers in this genre are Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain. This modest beginning spawned an international phenomenon with writers in other countries picking up the tropes, some adhering to original themes, others blending in other genres such as science fiction dystopia or urban fantasy, to craft a new literature known simply as noir. These writers and settings come from communities as diverse and complex as can be found throughout the modern world. Half our focus is on original hardboiled crime fiction, its formation in the middle third of twentieth century United States. The other half is on modern noir throughout the world as it has developed since. Join in on the fun as the outsider champion of justice tries to bring its criminal elements to account, won't you?

[close] A place to discuss Scandi Crime novels, which includes novels from: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark. Whether it's Smilia from Peter Hoeg's Smilia's Sense of Snow or Lisbeth Salander from Steig Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon's Tattoo we want to discuss it. Who's your favorite Scandinavian author? Jo Nesbø, Anne Holt, Arnaldur Indriƌason, Yrsa Sigurƌardóttir, Leena Lehtolainen, Harry Nykänen, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Peter Høeg, Stieg Larsson, or Håkan Nesser and many more. Masthead is Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall

[close] This group is dedicated to an appreciation of important works of literature, both classic and contemporary... that happen to fall into the category of Dark Fiction. We tend to avoid the big, banal blockbusters (and the more lurid fare) in favor of beautifully written explorations of the unknown, many of them obscure, all of them extraordinary. [Note from the Moderator: A couple of years ago, we changed our group name from "Literary Horror" in order to expand our sphere of interests (and dislodge a few embedded trolls). Our enthusiasms embrace Gothic, Weird Fiction, and Noir, as well as much that might be classified as Horror, but we also appreciate literary fiction that cannot be easily fitted into a marketing niche. In fact, this latter group of titles has evolved into our primary focus. Most serious fiction deals (to some extent) with darker themes, and many works of distinction have employed supernatural, surreal or existentialist elements. These books have power. They endure, because they appeal to serious readers and provide thoughtful entertainment. Come. Explore them with us.]