“I Have No Toys” by Samuel Murphy

I have no toys.

I was hoping that at this stage of my life, as both husband and father, I would have some pretty cool toys. But I don’t. Instead I have four daughters, and this is why I have no toys . . .

“Tiburon, CA” by George Masters

Tedesco was dead, frozen and wrapped in a tarp in the back of the Chevy Suburban when Berlin stopped for coffee in Tiburon . . .

The Drop, based on Dennis Lehane’s story from Boston Noir, is now in theaters!

Dennis Lehane’s short story “Animal Rescue” — originally published in Boston Noir and also featured in USA Noir — has been adapted into a major motion picture, starring Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini.

EVENT ALERT: Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine!

Join Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde as they celebrate the release of Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine: Insight into Primus and the World of Les Claypool, the definitive oral history of Primus compiled by journalist and author Greg Prato. On Thursday, September 18th, at 7:00 PM, stop by Tattered Cover (2526 E. Colfax Ave.) in […]

“First Time, Last Time” by Robert M. Detman

Harry glances around the room, the trim freshly painted. Someone with money owns the place. Maybe Christiane’s family.

“Does anyone live here?” Harry asks.

Gem sneers at this pretense of familiarity.

“You ask too many questions, man . . .”

Join us for ringShout’s Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event, featuring Elizabeth Nunez!

Join us on Tuesday, September 16th at 7:00 PM for ringShout’s 5th Annual Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event, featuring Akashic author Elizabeth Nunez.

Joyce Carol Oates’s Introduction to Prison Noir

To celebrate the release of Prison Noir, the latest in Akashic’s Noir Series, we’re pleased to bring you this decidedly dark sample from the anthology: editor Joyce Carol Oates’s introduction, “Seeds for Next Year.”

“Hana” by Frederick Foote

Hana Irene Carter is showing her fourteen-year-old Asian-black ass this afternoon. She walks through my house and into my kitchen, ignoring me, her grandmother Irene, and four of her other relatives, only smiling at and kissing Emma, my black sheep cousin, on the cheek. She then opens the refrigerator and takes out a beer. She pops the top, takes a long swig, and burps, looking directly at me with an in-your-face, self-satisfied grin.

Before I can act, Irene is up. She pulls the can out of her granddaughter’s hand and dumps the beer out in the sink . . .