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Noir from the Bar: 30 Crime and Mystery Shorts

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ALL PROFITS FROM THIS TITLE WILL BE DONATED TO NHS CHARITIESThis anthology, consisting of 30 stories by crime and mystery writers from all over the world has been conceived, created, and published in a month.

All stories have been donated free-of-charge by the authors, with the vast majority of them written specifically for this very special book. Originating from Virtual Noir at the Bar, a weekly online gathering where authors — best sellers, award winners and up-and-coming — join together to read sections live from their works to the public, the organisers of that event put the word out to writers who had appeared to submit a story to help raise funds for NHS charities. The result is this book. Inside you’ll find short pieces that have nothing in common other than their quality and a general tale-from-the-bar theme.

So whatever sort of crime and mystery fiction you enjoy, you’ll find something to

Locked room mysteriesGritty noirCozy capersPsychological thrillersTwist-in-the-talesRevenge dramasShocking shortsLonger dramas to savorWith combined sales of more than three million books and awards galore, you’ll find familiar names and new finds within.Support NHS charities and treat yourself by reading this exceptional collection. 

Full list of authors included in this

Suzy Aspley, Alison Belsham (The Tattoo Thief (Sullivan and Mullins)), Simon Bewick (You Could Make a Killing), Sharon Bolton (the Lacey Flint series), Neil Broadfoot (the Connor Fraser series), Philippa East (Little White Lies), Ashley Erwin (A Ballad Concerning Black Betty or the Retelling of a Man Killer and her Machete), Derek Farrell (The Danny Bird Mysteries), Margaret Kirk (the DI Lukas Mahler series), Neil Lancaster (The Tom Novak series), Louise Mangos (Strangers on a Bridge), Danny Marshall, Chris McDonald (A Wash of Black), Kirsten McKenzie (The Old Curiosity Shop series), Effie Merryl, Phoebe Morgan (The Doll House), KC Murdarasi (Office Life (and Death)), Rob Parker (The Ben Bracken series), Robert Scragg (The Porter & Styles series), Zoe Sharp (the Charlie Fox series), Sara Sheridan (the Mirabelle Bevan series), Dave Sivers (the DI Nathan Quarrel and Archer & Baines series), Graham Smith (the Jake Boulder series), DC Smith, Eve Smith (The Waiting Rooms), Martyn Taylor (The Price of Everything), David Turton (The Malaise), Fiona Veitch Smith (The Poppy Denby Investigates series), Roz Watkins (The DI Meg Dalton series) and Olga Wojtas (The Miss Blaine’s Prefect series).More details of how you can join, free of charge, future Virtual Noir at the Bar events are included in the book.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2020

37 people are currently reading
42 people want to read

About the author

Simon Bewick

7 books9 followers

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5 stars
24 (35%)
4 stars
23 (34%)
3 stars
15 (22%)
2 stars
3 (4%)
1 star
2 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for BookJunkie.
359 reviews12 followers
June 19, 2020
Amazing book, for an amazing cause.

This book was filled to the brim with amazing stories from some amazing crime and thriller authors.

What makes this book even better that all these stories was donated.

If you love crime/thriller/mystery/suspense

This book is for you.
Profile Image for Angi Plant.
688 reviews22 followers
June 12, 2020
Fantastic range of noir

An excellent range of noir stories from some amazing authors and all for a good cause. I’d recommend to any crime/noir fans
Profile Image for S.L. Beaumont.
Author 18 books170 followers
August 23, 2020
Enjoyable short reads from writers around the world to dip in and out of. And raises money for a good cause!
Profile Image for Robert Craven.
Author 13 books30 followers
July 29, 2020
Great Summer crime read by a wonderful selection of contemporary crime writers and as a portion of proceeds go to the NHS, another good reason to purchase this. Perfect.
Profile Image for Roxie Key.
Author 1 book48 followers
September 1, 2020
What a collection! I love dipping into short stories during my lunch breaks and this is just perfect, as each story takes less than ten minutes to read. Brimming with dark, twisty and thrilling tales, Noir From The Bar is an unputdownable collection, compiled by a smashing group of authors with talent bursting from their seams.

There's a little bit of something for everyone, including locked room mysteries, gritty noir, cosy capers, psychological thrillers, twist-in-the-tales, revenge dramas, shocking shorts and longer dramas to savour. The theme of bars and alcohol trickles cleverly throughout each story, and what's not to love about that? With all profits generously donated to our fabulous NHS, you'd be mad not to own a copy.
Profile Image for Jamie Bowen.
1,142 reviews33 followers
August 16, 2020
An excellent short story collection of crime fiction and all in aid of the NHS! An excellent way of discovering new authors as well.
215 reviews
September 26, 2020
Brilliant! I loved every story. I would definitely recommend if you love crime, thrillers and suspense and also raises money for a good cause.
Profile Image for Claire Reviews.
1,029 reviews42 followers
July 24, 2024
📖 Book Review/Spotlight

Noir From The Bar - 30 Crime and Mystery Shorts
Independently published, 4th June 2020

This anthology, originating from Virtual Noir at the Bar, a weekly online gathering where authors — best sellers, award winners and up-and-coming — join together to read sections live from their works to the public, was been conceived, created, and published in a month.

All stories were donated free by the authors, with the vast majority written specifically for this book. The organisers of Virtual Noir put the word out to writers who had appeared to submit a story to help raise funds for NHS charities. The result is this book.

So whatever sort of crime and mystery fiction you enjoy, you’ll find something to appeal:
Locked room mysteries
Gritty noir
Cosy capers
Psychological thrillers
Twist-in-the-tales
Revenge dramas
Shocking shorts
Longer dramas to savour

Full list of authors included in this anthology:
Suzy Aspley, Alison Belsham, Simon Bewick, Sharon Bolton, Neil Broadfoot, Philippa East, Ashley Erwin, Derek Farrell, Margaret Kirk, Neil Lancaster, Louise Mangos, Danny Marshall, Chris McDonald, Kirsten McKenzie, Effie Merryl, Phoebe Morgan, KC Murdarasi, Rob Parker, Robert Scragg, Zoe Sharp, Sara Sheridan, Dave Sivers, Graham Smith, DC Smith, Eve Smith, Martyn Taylor, David Turton, Fiona Veitch Smith, Roz Watkins, and Olga Wojtas.

This book was guest reviewed by Samara, who says:
On the whole, I found this to be an entertaining selection of short stories. There was plenty of thematic variety and different literary styles, with some great unexpected twists and turns in the tales.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thanks to Simon Bewick for sending the paperback copy from his Twitter/X giveaway; this resulting review is unbiased.

#NoirFromTheBar #CrimeShortStories #Mystery #MysteryShorts #CrimeFiction #BookReview
40 reviews
July 22, 2022
A Shocker indeed!

Saw this and bought it. Some of the stories are good, some not so good . Last story, though, elevated the collection from the pedestrian to the scary. I won't be able sit in a dentist's chair for a while after reading it. Bravo!
Profile Image for Gabriela Galescu.
210 reviews3 followers
November 26, 2024
More good than bad

More good stories than bad ones. No memorable writing, but only two stories I couldn’t be bothered to finish. All in all, not a bad collection.
Profile Image for Zoe Radley.
1,685 reviews23 followers
June 13, 2020
I am sorry to say but this is a pretty bad collection of stories. Apart from the first one. It’s all a bit cliched and the editing was appalling. Some of the stories were just dull and sorry to say doesn’t interest me. I am glad I sent something for the NHS but I am disappointed in the result of me not enjoying this set of whatever’s.
Profile Image for Mark.
25 reviews
February 11, 2023
I picked this up because I'm a fan of Chris McDonald's Stonebridge Mysteries and he contributed to this collection of crime and mystery shorts. Not only was McDonald's contribution strong but the other 29 were as well. The best part is that the proceeds go to a good cause. I would also suggest that if you are a fan of this book, you check out the work of Chris McDonald as well
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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