crime and spy fiction from Poe up to 1950

Killing Cousins is a 1961 novel by Fletcher Flora which could have been noir fiction is instead rather too whimsical and light-hearted to be genuine noir. It is however quite a bit of fun.

Here's the link to my review.

The Frightened Man is a 1952 private eye novel by Laurence Meynell, one of those writers who enjoyed quite a bit of success in his day only to later disappear into complete oblivion. It's bright and breezy, moderately hardboiled in an English sort of way and with some humour. It’s the kind of competently executed harmless entertainment low-key thriller that was so typical of its time and I enjoyed it.

Here's the link to my review.

Robert van Gulik's The Chinese Nail Murders was the fifth of his Judge Dee mysteries, set in Imperial China during the Tang Dynasty. It was published in 1961. As in most of the Dee novels there are three separate cases being investigated simultaneously.

Nobody ever did historical mysteries better than van Gulik. This is terrific stuff.

Here's the link to my review.

The Three-Way Split is a 1960 pulp noir title by Gil Brewer. It's a kind of character-driven adventure noir and it's pretty good.

Here's the link to my review.

Seven Clues in Search of a Crime is a very clever and intriguingly unconventional 1941 mystery by Bruce Graeme and it’s a very bookish mystery - the amateur detective hero is a bookseller and aspiring crime writer. It's great stuff.

Here's the link to my review.

Sexton Blake Versus the Master Crooks is a collection of three ripping yarns about master detective Sexton Blake, published between 1919 and 1921. And they're outrageous but great fun.

Here's the link to my review.

Evelyn Piper’s Bunny Lake Is Missing was published in 1957. It’s a reasonably effective suspense novel with some domestic and psychological melodrama thrown in.

Here's the link to my review.

Booty for a Babe is an early (1956) moderately hardboiled Carter Brown crime thriller. If you don't take it too seriously it's a wildly enjoyable ride.

Here's the link to my review.

R. Austin Freeman’s The D’Arblay Mystery is a 1926 Dr Thorndyke mystery with a very clever plot. It's more of a howdunit than a whodunit, and it's terrific.

Here's the link to my review.

Lawrence Block's Borderline (a very early book written in 1962) is either a sleaze novel with significant noir fiction overtones or a noir novel with signifiant sleaze overtones. It should satisfy hardboiled noir fans.

Here's the link to my full review.