Time Noir

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.

Hundreds of years in the future our civilization is shrunk down but we go on. There is advanced technology, there are robots. And there are clones. E. A. Smithe is a borrowed person, his personality an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is a piece of property, not a legal human. As such, Smithe can be loaned to other branches. Which he is. Along with two fellow reclones, a cookbook and romance writer, they are shipped to Polly's Cove, where Smithe meets a little girl who wants to save her mother, a father who is dead but perhaps not.

A man wakes to find himself below ground in the abandoned subway stations of New York City. He has no idea how he got there, no idea who he is. In his pocket he finds only a wad of blood-stained cash and a deck of playing cards. Once above ground, he rents out a cheap apartment, previously occupied by an enigmatic artist named Max Leider who’d left most everything behind—books, clothes, personal letters. But most peculiar are a series of paintings, each one of a mysterious woman hidden behind a curtain.

Oreste Pax, famed inventor of the Univiz, is in trouble. His mixed-reality glasses have replaced smartphones and computers and made him the head of the biggest technology company in the world. But after a decade at the top, his position is being challenged by disgruntled shareholders, and he needs to come up with something big to prove he should remain in charge.

Ein spannendes literarisches Städteporträt und eine tiefschwarze Liebeserklärung an eine Stadt, die vor allem eines ist: keine Sekunde langweilig. 13 Kurzgeschichten, 13 Blickwinkel, 13 Stadtviertel–und 13 faszinierende Teile eines größeren Puzzles. Das Verbrechen zieht seine blutige Spur vom noblen Grunewald bis in den tiefsten Wedding, vom beschaulichen Altglienicke über das bunte Kreuzberg bis ins lebendige Friedrichshain, spürt den tödlichen Geheimnissen der Geschichte nach und setzt die Gegenwart als dunkel schimmerndes Kaleidoskop neu zusammen.

Billy and Charlie thought their killing days were behind them. They used to be prolific life-takers, but old age finally caught up with them. Now they are ending their days in a dismal nursing home in Blackpool, with only their memories to keep them going. Memories of murder and mutilation. But when Archie turns up at the home, everything changes. Archie is a breath of fresh air, and he puts new life into Billy and Charlie—and before long, they realise that it's time to start killing again.

Joyce Davenport is a senior crime scene investigator focused on making the unjust pay, having seen thousands of scenes she can not unsee. She is determined and tenacious, and never lets a cold case sit for too long. Her most recent case follows a trail of cold cases over a century old to one that occurred just last month. There is evidence consistent amongst the murders, and she doesn’t yet know how that is possible. The location of decades-old evidence is being shared with her, something only the killer would know. She is surprised at what she learns.

Paris Minton is a man who would just as soon walk away from trouble as stand up to it. But in 1950s Los Angeles, sometimes trouble just comes and gets you. When one of L.A.'s wealthiest women hires Paris and his friend Fearless Jones to find a missing nephew, Paris steps into the a complex and terrifying corner of the black bourgeoisie, and wonders whom he should fear more - the people he's looking for or the people he's working for.

For Paris Minton, a knock on his door is often the first sign of trouble. With family like Useless, who needs enemies? Yet trouble always finds an open window, and when Useless' mother, Three Hearts, shows up to look for her son, Paris has no choice but to track down his wayward cousin.

Irish crime-fiction sensation Ken Bruen and cohorts shine a light on the dark streets of Dublin. Dublin Noir features an awe-inspiring cast of writers who between them have won all major mystery and crime-fiction awards. This collection introduces secret corners of a fascinating city and surprise assaults on the "Celtic Tiger" of modern Irish prosperity.

A year after helping the AI called the Infinet save the world from a deadly computer virus, Oreste Pax just wants things to go back to the way they were. Back to being the head of Omnitech, the biggest technology company in the world. Back to connecting the Univiz—the mixed reality glasses he invented a decade earlier—to a brain-computer interface, in hopes of transforming human cognition. When Lila Kendricks, one of the UV-BCI alpha testers, suddenly discovers she can manipulate real-world objects using just her mind, things finally seem to be back on track.

Crime writer Julia Gooden has just completed the most important story of her life - a book about her beloved brother's childhood abduction and how she found his killer after 30 years. But that hasn't taken her focus off her day job - especially with what looks to be a serial killer terrorizing the city. Female runners are being snatched off jogging trails, then slaughtered in abandoned churches. As Julia begins investigating, with help from Detective Raymond Navarro, she realizes just how personal this case has become.

Kathryn Walters is faced with this dreadful decision when her daughter, Shelley, is found dead in her boyfriend's flat. Despite the best efforts of the Crown Prosecution barrister, Sarah Newby, it seems possible that the boyfriend, David Kidd, may be acquitted. Should her family tolerate this? Or seek their own form of justice through revenge?

Megan Carver, diciassette anni, è una studentessa modello di una normale famiglia di Londra. La sua è una vita tranquilla, senza frequentazioni pericolose. Ma un giorno scompare. Nessun indizio, nessun testimone. Dopo sei mesi, le indagini della polizia sono a un punto morto. La famiglia, disperata, decide di rivolgersi al detective David Raker.

Dopo la morte di sua moglie, portata via da un tumore improvviso, l'ex reporter David Raker cerca di rimettere insieme i pezzi della propria vita risolvendo su commissione i casi di persone scomparse. Il caso di Alex Towne è uno di questi. Ma Alex Towne non è semplicemente scomparso: Alex Towne è morto in un incidente d'auto, così brutalmente che gli inquirenti hanno dovuto identificare il suo cadavere dall'impronta dentale.

Londra, 16 dicembre. In una mattina apparentemente simile alle altre, Sam Wren sale sulla metropolitana, ma non fa più ritorno a casa. Nessuno lo ha visto e non è rimasta alcuna traccia del suo passaggio, nemmeno nei filmati delle telecamere di sicurezza. Dopo sei mesi di angoscia, la moglie Julia decide di rivolgersi a David Raker, che già in passato ha fatto luce su altri casi di scomparse misteriose.

Interno notte. Le luci accese, la cena pronta, una tazza di latte rovesciata, forse nel corso di una colluttazione. Questa la scena che si presenta agli occhi di Emily Kane quando entra nell'appartamento di sua sorella Carrie. Della donna, invece, non c'è traccia. E insieme a lei sono scomparsi anche il marito e le due figlie. Un'intera famiglia cancellata, come non fosse mai esistita. I mesi successivi a quella maledetta notte vedono le indagini arrivare a un binario morto.

The way Inspector Hanzō Shimura had it figured, it was just another case. Sure, it was sick, twisted, but those were human traits he’d grown accustomed to. A hardened veteran of two wars, there was little left on Earth that could faze a man like him. But what didn’t sit well with him was that this case’s blood-trail led him home. All the way to Nagasaki, where he’d lost his wife and daughter to the atom bomb, nine years before.

It’s the middle of a long hot summer on the French Mediterranean shore, and the town is teeming with tourists. Sebag and Molino, two tired cops who are being slowly devoured by dull routine and family worries, deal with the day’s misdemeanors and petty complaints at the Perpignan police headquarters. But then a young Dutch woman is found murdered on a beach at Argelès, and another one disappears without a trace in the alleys of the city. Is it a serial killer obsessed with Dutch women? Maybe. The media senses fresh meat and moves in for the feeding frenzy.

Just when Neil's life seems bleakest, his oldest friend, racehorse breeder Jason Keys, is murdered. And Neil becomes the prime suspect. To avenge his friend, clear his name, and rescue a missing championship thoroughbred, Neil infiltrates the dark underworld of horse theft and illegal breeding. Neil's friends - his attractive writing teacher, his cooking colleagues, and a freckle-faced teenage horsewoman - offer their support. But their cheers quickly turn to gasps when Neil becomes the hunted.