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Classic and Modern Noir Novels: A Personal View

" First you dream, then you die"
Our crime fiction fanatic looks at the roman noir, and comes up with 107 of the best classic and contemporary noir fiction.
7/7/23 Note: It should have been 108. How the hell I left James Ellroy's "The Big Nowhere" off this list, I do not know. It's my favorite of the "L. A. Quartet "; it should be here. Mea Culpa.
176 users · 1,580 views
 
made by James Loranger
avg. score: 10 of 107 (9%)
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52 Pick-Up
52 Pick-Up
1
After Dark, My Sweet (Jim Thompson)
After Dark, My Sweet
2
Jim Thompson
American Tabloid (James Ellroy)
American Tabloid
3
James Ellroy
The Asphalt Jungle
The Asphalt Jungle
4
Berlin Noir
Berlin Noir
5
The Big Clock (Kenneth Fearing)
The Big Clock
6
Kenneth Fearing
The Big Sleep (Chandler)
The Big Sleep
7
Chandler
Black Alibi (Cornell Woolrich)
Black Alibi
8
Cornell Woolrich
The Black Angel (Woolrich)
The Black Angel
9
Woolrich
The Black Curtain (Cornell Woolrich)
The Black Curtain
10
Cornell Woolrich
The Black Dahlia (James Ellroy)
The Black Dahlia
11
James Ellroy
The Black Echo
The Black Echo
12
The Black Path of Fear (Cornell Woolrich)
The Black Path of Fear
13
Cornell Woolrich
Blood's a Rover (James Ellroy)
Blood's a Rover
14
James Ellroy
The Bride Wore Black (Woolrich)
The Bride Wore Black
15
Woolrich
Brighton Rock (Graham Greene)
Brighton Rock
16
Graham Greene
Build My Gallows High(Out of the Past) (Geoffrey Homes)
Build My Gallows High(Out of the Past)
17
Geoffrey Homes
The Burglar (David Goodis)
The Burglar
18
David Goodis
Clandestine (Ellroy)
Clandestine
19
Ellroy
The Cold Six Thousand
The Cold Six Thousand
20
The Dain Curse (Dashiell Hammett)
The Dain Curse
21
Dashiell Hammett
A Dance at the Slaughterhouse
A Dance at the Slaughterhouse
22
Dark Passage (David Goodis)
Dark Passage
23
David Goodis
Deadline at Dawn (Cornell Woolrich)
Deadline at Dawn
24
Cornell Woolrich
Death Is My Dancing Partner (Cornell Woolrich)
Death Is My Dancing Partner
25
Cornell Woolrich
Devil in a Blue Dress
Devil in a Blue Dress
26
Double Indemnity
Double Indemnity
27
The Drowning Pool
The Drowning Pool
28
Eight Million Ways to Die
Eight Million Ways to Die
29
Fallen Angel (Holland)
Fallen Angel
30
Holland
Farewell My Lovely (Chandler)
Farewell My Lovely
31
Chandler
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
32
Generation Loss (Elizabeth Hand)
Generation Loss
33
Elizabeth Hand
The Getaway (Jim Thompson)
The Getaway
34
Jim Thompson
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
35
Stieg Larsson
The Glass Key (Hammett)
The Glass Key
36
Hammett
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
37
Gillian Flynn
Gone, Baby, Gone (1998)
Gone, Baby, Gone (1998)
38
The Grifters (Jim Thompson)
The Grifters
39
Jim Thompson
Hardcase (Dan Simmons)
Hardcase
40
Dan Simmons
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