Book picks similar to
Broken Glass Waltzes by Warren Moore


noir
crime-fiction
english-literature
modern-crime-fiction-noir

The Screaming Mimi


Fredric Brown - 1949
    He is also a top-notch reporter. Aroused by the naked beauty of the Ripper's fourth victim--or near-victim--Sweeney pulls himself together and goes after the killer. As he puts questions and answers together, he finds himself face to face with madness and death.

The Innocents (Wil Hardesty, #1


Richard Barre - 1995
    Children -- innocents -- whose long-buried remains are uncovered by a flash-flood. No one knows who could have committed such a crime. Clues are scarce, and with the media turning the story into a law enforcement nightmare, time is short. Only Wil Hardesty, a private eye who has more in common with the case than anyone knows, is willing to push hard enough -- and dig deep enough -- to find the cruelest of killers. The killer of The Innocents...

The Badge: True and Terrifying Crime Stories That Could Not Be Presented on TV, from the Creator and Star of Dragnet


Jack Webb - 1958
    I work here, I carry a badge. The story you are about to see is true..." Before Charlie's Angels, Miami Vice, or NYPD Blue, there was Dragnet. From 1951 to 1959, Jack Webb starred as Sergeant Joe Friday in the most successful police drama in television history. Webb ("Just the facts, ma'am") was also the creator of Dragnet, and what made the show so revolutionary was its documentary-style format and the fact that each episode was "ripped" from the files of the LAPD. But 1950s television censors deemed many of the stories in the LAPD's files too violent or sensational for the airwaves. The Badge is Webb's collection of stories that could not be presented on TV: untold, behind-the-scenes accounts of the Black Dahlia murder, the Brenda Allen confessions, Stephen Nash's "thrill murders," and Donald Bashor's "sleeping lady murders," to name just a few. Case by case, The Badge takes readers on a spine chilling police tour through the dark, shadowy world of Los Angeles crime. "Some books influence a writer. Books rarely shape a writer's curiosity whole. I'm anomalous that way. I got lucky at the get-go. It was one-stop imaginative shopping. I found all my stuff in one book." -- James Ellroy on The Badge

Robbie's Wife (Hard Case Crime #29)


Russell Hill - 2007
    But what he found wasn’t solitude and peace—it was temptation. Because Maggie Barlow, the wife of the man putting him up, had something irresistible about her. Something that could drive a man to kill...

Arson Plus


Dashiell Hammett - 1923
    It is the first appearance of ''The Continental Op," a character who would eventually appear in 28 stories and two novels. Our private detective is stationed in San Francisco. Here he goes out to Sacramento County to investigate an arson at the Thornburgh house on behalf of the Continental Detective Agency's client, an insurance company. The insurance policy was very recent and the company wants to be sure it is legitimate before covering the claim. It turns out to be anything but straight forward! Librarian's note: this entry relates to the story, "Arson Plus." Collections of short stories, and each of the other individual stories by the author, can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. There are a total of 28 short stories plus one incomplete; they can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Continental Op Short Story."

Mission in Time: An incredible time-travel journey


Richard Scott - 2014
    The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was fun, as was the enjoyable A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and Jack Finney's delightful Time and Again. If you enjoyed these books, you’ll definitely want to read Mission in Time. However, after reading Mission in Time, this might be the first time you actually find yourself believing in time travel. Imagine being sent on a time-travel mission expecting to arrive in a certain period of time and finding yourself in a very different era—a major period in the history of the United States. Imagine finding yourself with people totally unfamiliar with things you’ve been accustomed to all your life: your skills, foods, views on sanitation, means of travel, kinds of recreation and even your vocabulary. Imagine, too, that despite your advantage over the people you meet in history, you find yourself learning as much from them as they learn from you. Whether you’re a time-travel aficionado or a lover of historic novels, you won’t be disappointed with Mission in Time.

True Grift


Jack Bunker - 2015
    But the plan goes horribly wrong, and as it spirals into a murderous fiasco, the grifters must deal with betrayals, shakedowns, bombs and mobsters to avoid prison… or worse, an early grave in a Southern California landfill. "If crime paid, they say, it would attract smarter criminals. Jack Bunker's TRUE GRIFT is a rollicking misadventure that might deter anyone who's ever thought about making a quick buck off an insurance company. This first novel is perfect for fans of Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen and Donald E. Westlake — which is to say, all smart readers." --Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of "The Fixer" and "Suspicion" "TRUE GRIFT is a breezy page-turner that’s fun-filled and loaded with laughs from the jump. Donald Westlake fans will love this one," Joseph Wambaugh, bestselling author of "The Blue Knight," "The New Centurions," and "The Onion Field" "First-time author Jack Bunker displays an effortless, vivid writing style reminiscent of Elmore Leonard with the satirical spin of Carl Hiaasen. It’s hard to believe this is his first book. The dialogue is brisk, quick and witty, the situations outrageous but nonetheless believable, and the plotting air tight. The scam-gone-awry with murderous consequences may be hell for the shyster, but ‘True Grift’ is heaven for the readers," Paul Levine, bestselling author of “Bum Rap” ""True Grift' is a funny, fast-paced, ever-surprising hoot that belongs beside the finest schmoes-on-the-loose novels of Elmore Leonard," Ron Hansen "With this, his first novel, Jack Bunker proves himself to be a gifted and witty author who knows the law and how the "system" can be manipulated . A great read from first page to last -- you will enjoy every superbly crafted minute of it," Sol Wachtler, former Chief Judge of the State of New York, author of "After the Madness" and "Blood Brothers" "When an insurance claims manager and a personal injury lawyer who aren't quite as smart as they think they are come up with the perfect insurance scam, what could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as you'll find out in this hilarious novel by Jack Bunker. Fans of Dan Jenkins will love this one," Bill Crider, multiple Shamus & Anthony Award-nominated author of "Outrage at Blanco" and "Between the Living & The Dead" "Jack Bunker’s TRUE GRIFT is a fast and funny read -- sharply written, imaginatively plotted, loaded with wit and local color," Peter Lefcourt, author of "Purgatory Gardens" "Jack Bunker's impressive debut novel stands out, even among releases by established pros, with t errific characters, fast-moving plot and a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming," Charles Rosenberg, best-selling author of "Death on a High Floor" "Don’t be conned. TRUE GRIFT is the real deal, hilarious and action packed, full of unforgettable characters and a wildly entertaining story," Harry Hunsicker, former Executive Vice President of the Mystery Writers of America, author of "The Grid"

Lethal Injection


Jim Nisbet - 1987
    In a bleak Texas prison Royce, an alcoholic doctor administers Bobby Mencken's last "high," convinced that the convicted killer was innocent. When Royce's marriage crumbles he takes off for Dallas to search for the real killer.Of Nisbet, Germany's Die Welt wrote, "Neither Norman Mailer nor Truman Capote has in their writing been able to produce such an intensity as Nisbet has achieved."With sharp humor and a poet's ear for language, Nisbet's world may be bleak, but it is frighteningly real. Overlook is proud to bring him to a new generation of readers.

The Storm Without


Tony Black - 2012
    This is a new novel by the acclaimed Scottish writer Tony Black who Irving Welsh described as his "favorite British crime writer."

The Quest of the Sacred Slipper


Sax Rohmer - 1913
    With frontispiece by Walter DeMaris. Rohmer (Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward) was a prolific English mystery writer, best known for his character the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu and his opponents Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. Petrie (named after the Egyptologist Flinders Petrie) and the beautiful Karamaneh (the source of Petrie's daydreams). He also wrote under the name Michael Furey. The book begins: I was not the only passenger aboard the s.s. Mandalay who perceived the disturbance and wondered what it might portend and from whence proceed. A goodly number of passengers were joining the ship at Port Said. I was lounging against the rail, pipe in mouth, lazily wondering, with a large vagueness. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Blue Blood Runs Cold


M.A Wallace - 2015
     When the blizzard passes that collapsed the roof of Ravney Hall and claimed the life of a student, a storm of even greater danger is only just beginning to brew. Students rebel. A cop is killed. Detective Michael Ross of the Shippensburg Borough Police Department and his partner, William “Billy” McGee, are called to the scene. It appears as an open-and-shut case, but soon it becomes a discovery beyond what anyone ever imagined possible at this small university in Pennsylvania. It seems whoever steps foot on “The Ship” has a chance of never making it back out alive… including Michael Ross.

Build My Gallows High


Geoffrey Homes - 1946
    Living in Nevada, bothered by nobody, he runs a little gas station, gets in a lot of fishing, and might even be falling for a local girl. Then, out of the blue, his past comes back to haunt him. Blackmailed into doing just one more job, he's forced to revisit the life he fled—in particular, the seductive Mumsie McGonigle. It's not long before Bailey realizes that a trap has been set for him. The novel, scripted by the author, went on in the hands of Jacques Tourneur to become the cinema's most celebrated work of "film noir," starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, and Jane Greer.The Film Ink series presents the novels that inspired the work of some of the most celebrated directors of our time. While each novel is first and foremost a classic in its own right, these books offer the dedicated cinephile a richer understanding of the most illustrious films of American and European cinema.

Fast One


Paul Cain - 1933
    Nothing more has been heard of him. Gerry Kells, the antihero of his shocking, brutal novel, is equally mysterious. A loner with a reputation but without a visible past, Kells simply appears, arranges the lives of the Los Angeles underworld, and then is heard no more.Only the strong prosper in the world of the depression. Seemingly amoral, Kells does prosper. He strikes to survive, kills without conscience, with­out time for conscience. But he never becomes a mere killing machine. His integrity, his humanity, abides in a code demanding that he pay for all services: those rendered for him, those rendered against him.Fast paced and very readable, the novel limns a true character who should take his place in our national literature, if only for his representation of the individual will to survive in one of the toughest times in American life.

More Short Fuses (Four Free Short Stories)


Stephen Leather - 2014
     The short stories are: Rules of Engagement (where Spider Shepherd has to help a friend who is in serious trouble with the police), The Constituency Meeting (where a group of old folks decide to commit a murder), Ghost Kids (where a holidaymaker takes more home from Thailand than he expected) and Massage Therapy (where the massage skills of a Thai masseuse change a man's life forever). There are also tasters of five of his bestselling novels, including Hard Landing, The Stretch and The Tunnel Rats. Stephen Leather is one of the UK’s most successful thriller writers, an eBook and Sunday Times bestseller and author of the critically acclaimed Dan “Spider’ Shepherd series and the Jack Nightingale supernatural detective novels. Before becoming a novelist he was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mirror, the Glasgow Herald, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He is one of the country’s most successful eBook authors and his eBooks have topped the Amazon Kindle charts in the UK and the US. In 2011 alone he sold more than 500,000 eBooks and was voted by The Bookseller magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the UK publishing world. Born in Manchester, he began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written for television shows such as London’s Burning, The Knock and the BBC’s Murder in Mind series and two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were filmed for TV. You can find out more from his website www.stephenleather.com and you can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenleather

Solomon's Vineyard


Jonathan Latimer - 1941
    In this classic noir novel, a private eye from St. Louis, who likes his steak rare, his liquor hard, and his women fallen, arrives at the small town of Paulton to protect his wealthy client's daughter from a suspicious religious cult. Throughout the span of the case, he confronts Paulton's mob boss, avenges his partner's death, and falls for a classic femme fatale named Princess.