Noir Fiction

Niall Howell's Only Pretty Damned is a taut noir that takes you behind the big top, revealing rough and tumble characters, murderous plots, and crooked schemes designed to keep Rowland’s World Class Circus afloat for another season. When Toby, former trapeze artist turned disgruntled clown, begins seeing Gloria, a young and beautiful dancer longing for a bigger role under the spotlight, his hardboiled past resurfaces.

When Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life on a dark London night in 1929, he doesn't realize it marks the beginning of an investigation which will change his life forever. The incendiary novel which inspired the girl's abduction also seems to be linked to a series of grisly murders that are taking place on Harley's patch, and though he's delighted to be asked by Scotland Yard to help find the killer before they strike again, he could do without the local razor- and cosh-wielding mobsters thinking he's a police informant.

Two gripping novellas from the number one international best-selling author. Women Without Mercy and Truth or Dare.

Léontine Zalti, ancienne cantatrice et veuve du conte d'Andillot, fut immensément riche et admirée. Les plus grands joailliers d'Europe travaillaient pour elle comme on travaillait jadis pour les rois et les reines.

Sanday, one of Britain's northernmost islands, inaccessible when the wind prevents the ferry crossing from the mainland, or fog grounds the tiny, island-hopping plane. When human remains are discovered to the rear of an old primary school, forensic expert Dr Rhona MacLeod and her assistant arrive to excavate the grave. Approaching midwinter, they find daylight in short supply, the weather inhospitable and some of the island's inhabitants less than co-operative.

Burned out and traumatised by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Úrsula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role. But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman. A homeless man is stalking her – but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And why has the death of her father in police custody so many years earlier reared its head again?

Miles may not be great with catchphrases, but he’s world-class at breaking and preventing curses. When he takes yet another gig magically protecting a winery, he’s expecting a routine job. What he finds is a curse so complex and intricate, it could only be the work of a very powerful magician. The smart thing would be to walk away.

Sophie wasn’t expecting to find love in Sicily. But then she sees him: Emilio, a professor who works at the university where she is teaching for the summer. He’s kind, intelligent, funny, exciting and deliriously unpredictable… …maybe perfect. But paradise quickly turns to purgatory as she uncovers the haunting disappearance of Emilio’s first wife. And when she senses a shadowy character following her, watching her every move, Sophie starts to question her grip on reality. Is she being paranoid, or is nothing about her new life really what it seems?

It's Christmas Eve, 1988 and Russell and Joe are among the guests at a lavish party in a celebrity mansion in the heart of Soho. Television presenter and national treasure, Nathan Bentley has a formidable reputation for legendary parties—with wall-to-wall celebrities, drink flowing, drugs, dancing, ill-tempered Cordon-Bleu chefs laying on the food and world famous musicians providing the entertainment. What could be better for a bunch of waifs and strays on Christmas Eve?

It's 1986, and Adam Cave, lead singer of the pop sensation Loose Lips, is struggling to stay in the closet, especially as his group is going through a messy split, and media speculation about the reasons behind the break up are high. Joe Stone has been assigned to Adam as a runner for the behind-the-scenes, warts and all expose of the recording of the band's last album, and an unlikely friendship begins to form.

It's 1987, and Soho is in the grip of another hot summer. While working part-time in The Red Lion, Joe finds himself agreeing to help a notorious gangster search for her missing girlfriend. Antonia The Gecko Lagorio is daughter to the ruthless but ageing gang boss, Tony The Lizard Lagorio. When her girlfriend, Charlotte Fenwick, goes missing, Antonia turns to Joe for help, believing her to have been kidnapped by a rival gang.

It's 1988. A mild summer after a turbulent political year for LGBT rights. While working as an assistant to a successful Theatre Director, Joe Stone finds himself unwittingly embroiled in another murder investigation. Lexi Goode, a young, up and coming actress has her bright future cut short when she is found murdered in her exclusive top floor apartment in the posh end of Soho. Knowing that the police are as racist as they are homophobic, Joe and Russell inevitably take it on themselves to investigate what happened to the young woman.

It's 1985, and Joe Stone is excited to be joining his old school friend, and lifelong crush, Chris, for a long weekend in London's Soho—home to a vibrant, developing gay scene, and a million miles from the small town where Joe and Chris grew up. When Chris is found brutally murdered, the police write his death off as just another rent boy fallen foul of a bad hook up. But Joe knows his friend was killed deliberately, and joins forces with former police detective, Russell Dixon—Chris's flatmate—to find out why.

Jon Courtenay Grimwood delivers future noir of mind-bending realities and ever-changing possibilities. Iraqi war vet and part owner of an Irish pub in Tokyo, Kit Nouveau gave up on life a long time ago. But then his life is saved by a runaway, and Kit's past might be the only thing that can save him from impending disaster.

En 1979, le lagon bleu était nommé par les Islandais "le champ de lave maléfique". En pleine Guerre froide, la proximité d'une base américaine ne facilite pas les rapports entre Islandais et Américains. C'est dans ce lagon qu'est découvert le cadavre disloqué d'un homme. L'enquête, menée par le tout jeune inspecteur Erlendur et Marion Briem, s'oriente rapidement vers la base où la victime est employée comme ingénieur.

In a world of criminals, thugs, con artists, cheats, and swindlers, there must be a man to stand against the powers of darkness and corruption. A man not afraid to walk the mean streets—whether they be those of 1930s Los Angeles, an ancient fantasy realm, or some far-flung planet of a future star empire. He is a man who knows that a “good man” is not always a “nice guy”. But when the chips are down, he understands that a hero does the right thing, even if it means losing everything.

Toujours plus sombre, toujours plus dérangeant, toujours plus culte ! Après La Leçon du mal, une nouvelle plongée horrifique et jubilatoire dans les méandres de la psyché humaine, avec en arrière-plan une vision acide de la société japonaise. Dans le cabinet d'assurances où il travaille, Shinji Wakatsuki fait figure d'employé modèle. Méticuleux, rigoureux, il traque sans relâche les incohérences dans les avis de décès. Car Wakatsuki le sait : nombre d'assurés sont prêts à faire de fausses déclarations pour obtenir un dédommagement.

Après vingt-quatre années passées au bureau du shérif du comté d'Absaroka, dans le Wyoming, Walt Longmire aspire à finir sa carrière en paix. Ses espoirs s'envolent quand on découvre le corps de Cody Pritchard près de la réserve cheyenne. Deux années auparavant, Cody avait été un des quatre adolescents condamnés avec sursis pour le viol d'une jeune indienne, Melissa Little Bird, un jugement qui avait avivé les tensions entre les deux communautés.

Octogénaire, Lady M cultive l'élégance fanée des courtisanes de grande classe et les regrets de ses splendeurs passées. Chaque matin, elle entre en marchant dans la mer, au bras d'un plagiste de soixante ans son cadet. Que le jeune éphèbe en profite pour lui barboter ses bagouzes n'a rien pour déplaire à la vieille : l'arnaque bien menée fut l'affaire de sa vie, et les dispositions du mignon éveillent en elle l'idée d'en faire son élève.

When 84-year-old Ada Fenn was found dead, natural causes were easily assumed. But when the post-mortem revealed that her heart problems had nothing to do with it, a full-blown murder investigation was launched.