RARA-AVIS: The 150 Best Harboiled/Noir 1929-69

From: Jeff Vorzimmer ( jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com)
Date: 06 Jan 2008


After attacking Allan's list I figure I better come up with my own. Like Allan, I'll admit that the list is limited by what I've actually read, which in turn is limited by availability. The list is also weighted heavily toward some of my favorite authors. This list contains American novels only from the first 40 years of the genre. I could only come up with 150 I thought worthy of a list.

Jeff

A. A. Fair - Top of the Heap A. S. Fleischman - Look Behind You Lady A. S. Fleischman - The Venetian Blonde Charles Willeford - High Priest of California Charles Willeford - Pick-Up Charles Willeford - The Black Mass of Brother Springer Charles Willeford - The Burnt Orange Hersey Charles Willeford - The Cockfighter Charles Willeford - The Woman Chaser Charles Willeford - Wild Wives Charles Willeford - Deliver Me from Dallas (a.k.a, Whip Hand) Charles Williams - A Touch of Death Charles Williams - All the Way Charles Williams - Dead Calm Charles Williams - Girl Out Back Charles Williams - Go Home, Stranger Charles Williams - Hell Hath No Fury (a.k.a. The Hot Spot) Charles Williams - Nothing in Her Way Charles Williams - River Girl Charles Williams - Talk of the Town Charles Williams - The Big Bite Chester Himes - For Love of Imabelle (a.k.a A Rage in Harlem) Chester Himes - The Real Cool Killers Cornell Woolrich - I Married a Dead Man Cornell Woolrich - Phantom Lady Cornell Woolrich - The Black Angel Cornell Woolrich - The Black Curtain Cornell Woolrich - The Bride Wore Black Cornell Woolrich - Fright Dashiell Hammett - Red Harvest Dashiell Hammett - The Dain Curse Dashiell Hammett - The Glass Key Dashiell Hammett - The Maltese Falcon David Dodge - Plunder of the Sun David Goodis - Black Friday David Goodis - Blonde on the Street Corner David Goodis - Cassidy's Girl David Goodis - Dark Passage David Goodis - Down There (a.k.a. Shoot the Piano Player) David Goodis - Moon in the Gutter David Goodis - Night Squad David Goodis - Nightfall (a.k.a. The Dark Chase, Convicted) David Goodis - Of Tender Sin David Goodis - Street of No Return David Goodis - Street of the Lost David Goodis - The Burglar David Goodis - The Wounded and the Slain David Markson - Epitaph for a Tramp David Markson - Epitaph for a Dead Beat Davis Grubb - Night of the Hunter Day Keene - Home is the Sailor Day Keene - Framed in Guilt Day Keene - My Flesh is Sweet Donald Hamilton - Night Walker Donald Westlake - 361 Ed McBain - The Gutter and the Grave Edward Anderson - Thieves Like Us Elliott Chaze - Black Wings Has My Angel Fredric Brown - His Name Was Death Fredric Brown - Knock Three-One-Two Fredric Brown - The Far Cry Fredric Brown - The Lenient Beast Fredric Brown - The Screaming Mimi Geoffrey Homes - Build My Gallows High Gil Brewer - The Red Scarf Gil Brewer - Wild to Possess Gil Brewer - A Taste for Sin Gil Brewer - The Vengeful Virgin Harry Whittington - A Moment to Prey Harry Whittington - A Night for Screaming Harry Whittington - A Ticket to Hell Harry Whittington - Any Woman He Wanted Harry Whittington - Fires That Destroy Harry Whittington - Forgive Me, Killer Harry Whittington - The Devil Wears Wings Harry Whittington - Web of Murder Harry Whittington - You'll Die Next Horace McCoy - They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Howard Browne - Halo in Brass James M. Cain - Double Indemnity James M. Cain - Mildred Pierce James M. Cain - The Postman Always Rings Twice James Ross - They Don't Dance Much Jim Thompson - A Hell of a Woman Jim Thompson - A Swell-Looking Babe Jim Thompson - After Dark My Sweet Jim Thompson - Cropper's Cabin Jim Thompson - Nothing More Than Murder Jim Thompson - Pop. 1280 Jim Thompson - Recoil Jim Thompson - Savage Night Jim Thompson - The Criminal Jim Thompson - The Getaway Jim Thompson - The Grifters Jim Thompson - The Killer Inside Me Jim Thompson - The Transgressors Jim Thompson - Wild Town Joel Townsley Rogers - The Red Right Hand John D. MacDonald - A Key to the Suite John Franklin Bardin - The Deadly Percheron Jonathan Latimer - Headed for a Hearse Jonathan Latimer - The Fifth Grave (a.k.a. Solomon's Vineyard) Kenneth Fearing - The Big Clock Lawrence Block - Mona (a.k.a. Grifter's Game) Lawrence Block - The Girl with the Long Green Heart Mickey Spillane - I, the Jury Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me Deadly Mickey Spillane - My Gun is Quick Mickey Spillane - One Lonely Night Mickey Spillane - The Big Kill Mickey Spillane - Vengence is Mine Patricia Highsmith - A Game for the Living Patricia Highsmith - A Suspension of Mercy Patricia Highsmith - Cry of the Owl Patricia Highsmith - Deep Water Patricia Highsmith - Ripley's Game Patricia Highsmith - Strangers on a Train Patricia Highsmith - The Blunderer Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith - This Sweet Sickness Patricia Highsmith - Two Faces of January Paul Cain - Fast One Paul Cain - Seven Slayers Peter Rabe - Anatomy of a Killer Peter Rabe - Journey into Terror Peter Rabe - Kill the Boss Goodbye Peter Rabe - The Box Raymond Chandler - Farewell, My Lovely Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler - The High Window Raymond Chandler - The Lady in the Lake Raymond Chandler - The Little Sister Raymond Chandler - Playback Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye Richard Hallas (Eric Knight) - You Play the Black and the Red Comes Up Richard Matheson - Fury on Sunday Richard Matheson - Ride the Nightmare Richard Matheson - Someone is Bleeding Richard Neeley - The Plastic Nightmare (aka Shattered) Robert Edmond Alter - Carny Kill Robert Edmond Alter - Swamp Sister Ross Macdonald - The Drowning Pool Seymour Shubin - Anyone's My Name Steve Fisher - I Wake Up Screaming Vera Caspary - Laura Vera Caspary - Bedelia W.R. Burnett - The Asphalt Jungle Wade Miller - Branded Woman William Lindsay Gresham - Nightmare Alley William McGivern - The Big Heat



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