Tough guys and gals in dark and sinister worlds, with bleak atmospheres and outlooks. Contains some of crime fictions strongest voices.

Cherry

By |2019-12-19T20:13:24+00:00January 20th, 2020|2019 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

Cherry Mysterious Book Report No. 362 by John Dwaine McKenna Every person in America today who pays attention to the news and current events is aware that we’re dealing with an unprecedented drug and opioid crisis.  The numbers are staggering . . . and the statistics sobering . . . there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during the year 2017, according to the latest

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My Bad ; A mile high noir

By |2019-10-13T22:11:44+00:00October 25th, 2019|Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

My Bad, A Mile High Noir  Mysterious Book Report No. 264 by John Dwaine McKenna The word noir (pronounced NWAR) comes from the French. Its literal translation is black, but it can be interpreted as dark or wicked. As it applies to the Mysterious Book Report, it’s a type of crime fiction that’s characterized by cynicism, fatalism and moral ambiguity. The noir genre has become so popular over the

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Potter’s Field

By |2019-10-18T18:06:08+00:00October 21st, 2019|Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

Potter’s Field Mysterious Book Report No. 348 by John Dwaine McKenna Three years ago, a new writing talent appeared and lit up the hard-boiled crime scene like machine-gun fire on a moonless night.  The author’s name was Rob Hart, and his character, Ash McKenna, is a tough guy who—like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe—gives bad-assiveness a good name.  Happily, he’s now back in his fifth adventure. Potter’s Field, (Polis Books,

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Dancing With The Tiger

By |2019-12-12T21:03:19+00:00September 11th, 2019|2017 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

Dancing With The Tiger Mysterious Book Report 271 by John Dwaine McKenna Today, in nearly every corner of the world, works of art are being stolen, forged or destroyed by persons of the criminal classes. They are rapacious, greedy, ignorant and uncaring of the fact that their crimes are against all of humanity—for all time—because each piece of art is unique and cannot be replaced. And nowhere is this

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The Line That Held Us

By |2019-09-01T21:43:58+00:00January 14th, 2019|Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

The Line That Held Us Mysterious Book Review No. 357 by John Dwaine McKenna The MBR is kicking off the New Year with an elegant—and stunning—tale of Appalachian noir that combines elements of kinship and friendship, absolute love and total retribution, death, revenge and redemption.  It is a novel you’ll find yourself thinking about long after finishing the last chapter and reaching the astonishing conclusion, because it leaves several

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The Force

By |2019-12-12T21:16:09+00:00September 11th, 2017|2017 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

The Force Mysterious Book Report 301 by John Dwaine McKenna According to Dwight, one of my retired cop buddies, only a few crime fiction writers Really get it, when writing about the demands, the stresses and the effect—on marriages, children and personal lives—of being a police officer in America today. It’s a career that is rewarding, exciting, sometimes monotonous, and always dangerous enough to take your breath away. Not

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American Static

By |2019-12-12T21:12:56+00:00September 7th, 2017|2017 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

American Static Mysterious Book Report No. 300 by John Dwaine McKenna The Mysterious Book Report has reached another milestone with this, our 300th review. It’s taken a little more than six years and a couple of hundred thousand words to get to this point, so we wanted to mark the occasion with something special . . . something out of the ordinary . . . something so memorable that

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The Far Empty

By |2019-12-12T21:03:47+00:00May 5th, 2017|2017 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

The Far Empty Mysterious Book Report 276 by John Dwaine McKenna This week’s MBR is written on the day after what’s already being called The most dramatic Super Bowl ever played: number LI, or fifty-one in Arabic numerals. It was the greatest comeback in playoff football history . . . and an apt comparison to what has to be one of the best, and most dramatic noir debut novels

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Cambodia Noir

By |2019-12-17T21:54:13+00:00February 20th, 2017|2016 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

Mysterious Book Report No. 256 Cambodia Noir by John Dwaine McKenna Nestled between south Thailand and south Vietnam is the small Asian nation of Cambodia.  Fronted on the Gulf of Thailand and bisected by the Mekong River, the capitol city is Phnom Penh.  It’s a transit point for the opium-producing region known as the Golden Triangle.  As such, it’s a lawless place where corruption is rampant, drugs are plentiful

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Fever City

By |2019-12-17T21:43:23+00:00January 23rd, 2017|2016 Best Books of the Year, Hard-boiled/Noir, Mysterious Book Report|

Mysterious Book Report No. 252 Fever City by John Dwaine McKenna The joke’s on me . . . Some weeks ago I was queried by a publicist for Europa Editions in New York City: “Would I review a noir novel of theirs if they sent a copy?” I noted that it had a September release date and said, ‘Sure,” then got an ARC (advance review copy) in the mail

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