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Dirty Noir
Dark tales of love, betrayal, murder and more. Seven short stories all with a twist to keep you guessing. Plus a sneak preview of 'Manchester Vice' - the disturbing noir thriller by Jack Strange.
65 pages, Paperback
Published November 13, 2017
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Jack Strange
26 books77 followersI'm a writer, these are my books:
http://mybook.to/ChefZombie
http://mybook.to/Zomcats
http://mybook.to/Thatchenstein
http://mybook.to/ConfessionsE
http://mybook.to/manchestervice
Take a look at my author pages with my publishers:
https://www.nextchapter.pub/authors/a...
I write as Jack D McLean. My books were originally written as Jack Strange then re-released as Jack D McLean novels.
I’ve had a very varied career.
Its included working in a morgue, digging holes for a living, shifting heavy things onto trucks and off them again, selling advertising space, writing press-releases, and being a Solicitor of the Supreme Court (in America you’d call that being a lawyer). I’ve done other stuff too.
My favourite authors include Russell H. Greenan, Jerzy Kosinski, Jim Thompson, and Simon Kernick (and a great many more – far too many to mention).
I enjoy parties and I keep myself fit.
I'm married with two adult daughters.
If you want to get in touch with me, you can email me at:
jack-strange@outlook.com
Or contact me on Twitter: @jackstrange11
How I rate books: I just rate them based on whether they had me turning the page. That's it. I don't break them down and analyse plotting, characterisation etc. Please note: there are lots of books out there that are perfectly good books, but I didn't like them. So if I give a book a bad review, don't take my word for it - read at least some of the book and exercise your own judgement!
http://mybook.to/ChefZombie
http://mybook.to/Zomcats
http://mybook.to/Thatchenstein
http://mybook.to/ConfessionsE
http://mybook.to/manchestervice
Take a look at my author pages with my publishers:
https://www.nextchapter.pub/authors/a...
I write as Jack D McLean. My books were originally written as Jack Strange then re-released as Jack D McLean novels.
I’ve had a very varied career.
Its included working in a morgue, digging holes for a living, shifting heavy things onto trucks and off them again, selling advertising space, writing press-releases, and being a Solicitor of the Supreme Court (in America you’d call that being a lawyer). I’ve done other stuff too.
My favourite authors include Russell H. Greenan, Jerzy Kosinski, Jim Thompson, and Simon Kernick (and a great many more – far too many to mention).
I enjoy parties and I keep myself fit.
I'm married with two adult daughters.
If you want to get in touch with me, you can email me at:
jack-strange@outlook.com
Or contact me on Twitter: @jackstrange11
How I rate books: I just rate them based on whether they had me turning the page. That's it. I don't break them down and analyse plotting, characterisation etc. Please note: there are lots of books out there that are perfectly good books, but I didn't like them. So if I give a book a bad review, don't take my word for it - read at least some of the book and exercise your own judgement!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 28, 2018
I had never encountered author Jack Strange (an obvious pseudonym) previously. So what do I do, sight unseen, I order three of his (presumably a he, not that it matters) books. They all arrived the same day, so I choose the book, “Dirty Noir”, to begin my reading journey into 'his' oeuvre, as it was a collection of really short stories, with a sexy title. The contents of this chapbook consists of:
05 – “Mexico”
12 - “Miguel”
19 – “Getting Over Jen”
23 – “Justice”
27 – “Inquisition”
35 – “Accident on a Suburban Drive”
43 – “Phoebe”
54 – A preview of “Manchester Vice”
61 – About the author
63 – also by Jack Strange
64 – praise for Jack Strange”
65 - copyright
Overall I did not care for this collection of stories all of which were copyright 2017, and seemed kind of amateurish, simple, predictable and derivative. The only story I really kind of enjoyed was “Phoebe” about a cross-dressing fetishist and his latex obsessions. And let's not forget about that sexy title.
05 – “Mexico”
12 - “Miguel”
19 – “Getting Over Jen”
23 – “Justice”
27 – “Inquisition”
35 – “Accident on a Suburban Drive”
43 – “Phoebe”
54 – A preview of “Manchester Vice”
61 – About the author
63 – also by Jack Strange
64 – praise for Jack Strange”
65 - copyright
Overall I did not care for this collection of stories all of which were copyright 2017, and seemed kind of amateurish, simple, predictable and derivative. The only story I really kind of enjoyed was “Phoebe” about a cross-dressing fetishist and his latex obsessions. And let's not forget about that sexy title.
June 7, 2023
As a fan of noir I instantly was lured to this book by the title. Initially I was disappointed when the book arrived at how short it seemed. The large print crosses just over 100 pages, but I figured to not judge quality against length. Despite the short length, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of storytelling. I enjoyed most of the short stories which were split between two authors. Here are a run down of my ratings for each:
Mexico: 5/5
A Small Matter of Murder 3/5
Miguel 5/5
Getting Over Jen 5/5
The Giant Rat of Sumatra & Zack 3/5
Justice 3/5
Moving On 4/5
Accident on a Suburban Drive 4/5
Millennium Bridge Conversations 5/5
Phoebe 5/5
Stories that stood out were Mexico and Miguel, both gritty stories of revenge served in different ways that display the downfall of characters through overconfidence.
Another story, Getting Over Jen, is all written via email transaction where the reader puts together a narrative that runs behind what is being told. A stroke of genius given it's short length.
Millennium Bridge Conversations is an excellent story of what situations an unprepared spy can get into when overhearing things they shouldn't.
Phoebe ends this collection on a high which is an insightful story that highlights the troubled mind of a crossdresser who is misunderstood and the character change they acknowledge with a potentially lethal set of consequences.
The ones I scored lower were either predictable for me or contained a protagonist who was a child. Although these elements did not seem viable to me, they were still well written and enjoyable narratives.
Overall I found this set of stories entertaining and well written and i'd recommend this book to fans of crime or modern day noir. Don't judge it by it's length because it's a thrilling, short read.
Mexico: 5/5
A Small Matter of Murder 3/5
Miguel 5/5
Getting Over Jen 5/5
The Giant Rat of Sumatra & Zack 3/5
Justice 3/5
Moving On 4/5
Accident on a Suburban Drive 4/5
Millennium Bridge Conversations 5/5
Phoebe 5/5
Stories that stood out were Mexico and Miguel, both gritty stories of revenge served in different ways that display the downfall of characters through overconfidence.
Another story, Getting Over Jen, is all written via email transaction where the reader puts together a narrative that runs behind what is being told. A stroke of genius given it's short length.
Millennium Bridge Conversations is an excellent story of what situations an unprepared spy can get into when overhearing things they shouldn't.
Phoebe ends this collection on a high which is an insightful story that highlights the troubled mind of a crossdresser who is misunderstood and the character change they acknowledge with a potentially lethal set of consequences.
The ones I scored lower were either predictable for me or contained a protagonist who was a child. Although these elements did not seem viable to me, they were still well written and enjoyable narratives.
Overall I found this set of stories entertaining and well written and i'd recommend this book to fans of crime or modern day noir. Don't judge it by it's length because it's a thrilling, short read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews