Category Archives: #yeahnoir

Queen, King, Ace by Olivia Hayfield – 2024

Posted on January 31, 2024 by alysonebaker

“Britain needs someone to believe in right now” – its citizens still reeling from the aftermath of Brexit and the badly managed Covid-19 pandemic. Ace Penhalagon, who has risen to Wimbledon and Olympic glory, appears to be their knight in … Continue reading →

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His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave – 2023

Posted on November 18, 2023 by alysonebaker

Sheriff James Cohen is struggling with an aged and impaired father, a recalcitrant teenaged son, a wife who loves him but who has left him, and growing legal and financial woes. Then local crime-writer/heavy-drinker Peter Conner calls in to say … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | 1 Comment

Ritual of Fire by D.V. Bishop – 2023

Posted on August 18, 2023 by alysonebaker

Ritual of Fire continues the exploits of Cesare Aldo, an officer of the Otto, a criminal court in 16th Century Florence. The stench of the city and the corruption of the wealthy have followed Aldo out to the nearby Tuscan … Continue reading →

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Blue Hotel by Chad Taylor – 2022

Posted on July 5, 2023 by alysonebaker

If you want to cruise through a tale of classic noir, Blue Hotel is the book for you. The late 1980s, a busted up “old fashioned reporter”, an underbelly of sex-traps and blackmail, characters being hidden away in a mysterious … Continue reading →

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The Words for Her by Thomasin Sleigh – 2023

Posted on July 1, 2023 by alysonebaker

The words are pouring out of Jodie Pascoe, she is desperate to get them down, to tell her story. She needs to describe her daughter Jade. The words are for her blind father, who always wanted her to “to tell … Continue reading →

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Pet by Catherine Chidgey – 2023

Posted on June 21, 2023 by alysonebaker

“We would have done anything for her”: Mrs Price, a glamorous teacher in a Catholic primary school in the 1980s, who has her students in thrall. They yearn to be her pet – a position bestowed randomly on a chosen … Continue reading →

Posted in #yeahnoir, Book Review | 2 Comments

Home Before Night by J.P. Pomare – 2023

Posted on May 21, 2023 by alysonebaker

Lou is a good judge of character – she was a Customs Officer at the airport before yet another wave of “the virus” sent Melbourne back into lockdown, and she was made redundant. Her life now revolves around her nineteen-year-old … Continue reading →

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Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent – 2023

Posted on March 15, 2023 by alysonebaker

Sally Diamond lives on the outskirts of the village of Carricksheedy, Ireland. Peter Geary is living in Rotorua, Aotearoa New Zealand. Sally is in her 40s, she has been living with her father since her mother died when Sally was … Continue reading →

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A Respectable Veneer by Rachel Doré – 2023

Posted on March 11, 2023 by alysonebaker

“When she and Edie had stepped out of the railway station, she’d stepped into a different country. Palmerston North seemed an innocent, shallow place.” Ruby has fled Auckland with her ten-year-old daughter, hoping to start afresh. But with little money … Continue reading →

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Expectant by Vanda Symon – 2023

Posted on March 2, 2023 by alysonebaker

When an atrocious murder of a pregnant woman is committed in Dunedin, Detective Sam Shephard’s boss wants her off the investigation – he doesn’t believe “because of your own advanced state of pregnancy, that you would be able to remain … Continue reading →

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