~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952) W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.

#NoirvemberChallenge Favorite line of dialogue? Quoted endlessly, and for good reason: “I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960) In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.

#NoirvemberChallenge Favorite film noir dream sequence

Literary fiction requires no plot. In fact, plot is an embarrassment to the literary writer. Being caught plotting is like walking out of a restroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

#NoirvemberChallenge Coolest Film Noir Character? In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.

Explain a film plot badly: Speaking into an office dictaphone, an insurance man recalls winning a client away from the Auto Club, whose policies—while seemingly competitive—are only cheaper if you’re a member. Events transpire. Eventually his tummy ache worsens and he decides to call it a day.

For the afternoon crowd: @jdclappwrites.bsky.social 's crafted a story in the vein of Cormac McCarthy & Denis Johnson, a borderlands story of moral reckoning & quiet tragedy. Told through the eyes of a man who discovers that the hardest wounds to heal aren’t the visible ones. Yeah, it's that good

I'm writing a courtroom thriller about the trial of the sandwich vigilante. The title is 12 Hungry Men.

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948) They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.

"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: 'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..." chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...

. #FilmNoirClub 🗝️ Watch Party Tonight at 8:00 pm EDT @gabsanders6.bsky.social @kasiunia.bsky.social @tommykrasker.bsky.social @filmnoiruk.bsky.social @frankvatel312.bsky.social @chitown-pablo.bsky.social @llcglc.bsky.social @paulpar.bsky.social @philnoir.bsky.social @maurmaur8part2.bsky.social

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999) The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957) The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956) For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963) A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.

One of my favorite crime writers walks the Tightrope! Check out this beautifully evocative piece by Nils Gilbertson, published by Punk Noir Magazine. @meproctor.bsky.social punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/a...

Harry Lime is the right call, of course. But another late villain intro also deserves mention: William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005) #NoirvemberChallenge

For the evening crowd— My new story “Empire” kicked off Punk Noir magazine’s Tightrope series today. Just 1K words. If you can spare a couple minutes, give it a read. Thanks to @meproctor.bsky.social, who whipped the series into shape. punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/01/e...

~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~ Day 1: THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1940) My friend Garth flogged me for excluding Cornell Woolrich last year, so I’ll open this series with noir’s greatest revenge novel. Each of its five murder scenes is a small masterpiece of dread and sorrow.

Got a new story up at Punk Noir Magazine. This one kicks off their “Tightrope” series. Just a thousand words. If you can spare a couple minutes, give it a read. Thanks to @meproctor.bsky.social, who whipped the series into shape. punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2025/11/01/e...

One of the great moments in cinematography—when Conrad Hall, between shots, noticed the rain streaming down the prison window was reflected on Robert Blake’s face, resembling tears. They were about to shoot Blake’s monologue about his brutal father. The “tears” stayed. #TCMParty #InColdBlood

A great one-two punch—half personal essay, half illustrated flash piece—awaits you at this link, friends. The Halloween tradition Andrew discusses here is cool beyond words. So glad he decided to share.

This little shit showed up at my door and told my wife: “Make with the Snickers, doll face.”

#NoirArtist: Walter Baumhofer

@carlottadale.bsky.social employs a staggering base of knowledge—history, literature, myth, religion—in some of her stories. They often read like a way funnier version of Neil Gaiman, and I’m here for it. Check out this delightful piece, published by @literarygarage.bsky.social.

Be happy like this guy. Buy a book by @pointofimpactbooks.bsky.social! Link in the reply.

A great tradition. See you in two days, Lady K. #Noirvember

Begs the question—why haven't they produced a John Waters biopic so that Buscemi can snag that elusive Oscar?

Seems like everybody I love to read just had a work of web fiction published in the last 36 hours. WTF, people. I can only do so much reading at work before the IT nerds flag me and the account manager is informed.

Fredric Brown never disappoints me. He could write in any genre, at any length, with spellbinding results. HIS NAME WAS DEATH (1954) leverages his considerable storytelling gifts to track the escalating crimes and cover-ups of a counterfeiter. A quintessential noir, highly recommended.

The best compliment I can pay @caseystegman.com is to say how unsurprising this is. When talent leaps off the page, it just feels inevitable. Congrats, Casey. And good luck with the books!

Damn, I missed this. New fiction by @carlottadale.bsky.social is always something to get stoked about.

Autumn in our kitchen means... Pumpkin ravioli.

Hog-tied, whipped, and forced at gunpoint to pick a favorite 21st Century film noir, I’d choose A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. (Newly released by Criterion in 4K yesterday.) It’s OUT OF THE PAST filtered through Cronenberg’s fevered brain. If that’s not enough for you, we may need to go our separate ways.

Really enjoyable noir take on Faust.

ICE just ripped a woman out of a car on the south side and left the scene with her baby still in the car.

ICE’s activities have a Stasi flair. They kidnap random brown kids coming from school, hoping they’ll rat out their parents—promising money, gifts, etc. My wife & I have volunteered to be street monitors and would encourage you to contact your local school to do the same if there’s an ICE presence.

What I’ve witnessed: ICE agents loitering in vans near schools, waiting for the “right kind” of child. If they’re confronted by teachers or other adults, they hit the gas and peel out. The fact that they behave more like child molesters than police says a lot about their mission, doesn’t it?

A SEINFELD fan doing a deep dive into THE HONEYMOONERS is like a Zeppelin fan discovering Willie Dixon. You love what they did with the already existing material, but you can’t look at it the same way again.

Saw BLACK TUESDAY (1954) on #NoirAlley this weekend. Look beyond the obvious—Edward G. Robinson’s bravura turn as a prison escapee; Stanley Cortez’s bracing images—and you’ll find a rare outlaw movie that takes the consequences of violence seriously. A major film, despite its middling reputation.

Was hoping for Jackie Collins or Sidney Sheldon.

Enjoying my hash-house breakfast when an elegant man sits two stools down and opens a novel. I’m stunned by how much he resembles William Faulkner and spend the next twenty minutes surreptitiously trying to learn what William Faulkner reads at a hash house. Always a forearm or coffee mug in the way.

Chicago skies sound like London, 1940 this morning. All because some brown people are here working jobs Americans won’t do anyway. Hitler liked being shat on. Trump is in the Epstein files. Both afflicted by micropenis. Ashamed of who they are, they make everyone else pay the price.

Oh, @JohnWeagly. Absolutely love the pitiless absurdity of this. 😄😄😄

Funny how the poo isn‘t the ugliest thing in this clip.

Cool, guys. Now do that for jurists who've been accused of rape and sexual harassment.

Love how a giant U.S. Constitution appears to be crowd surfing down Columbus Drive. #GulliversTravels #NoKings #Chicago

They fear our corn. 🌽