Hard Boiled

Hard-boiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. Derived from the romantic tradition which emphasized the emotions of apprehension, awe, horror and terror, hardboiled fiction deviates from that tradition in the detective's cynical attitude towards those emotions. The attitude is conveyed through the detectives inner monologue describing to the audience what he is doing and feeling.

The genre's typical protagonist is a detective, who witnesses daily the violence of organized crime tha
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Most Read This Week Tagged "Hard Boiled"

The Furies (Charlie Parker, #20)
Moon Lake
Trouble Is What I Do (Leonid McGill #6)
Ozark Dogs
Lowdown Road
The Enchanters
A Man Named Doll (The Doll Series, #1)
Widespread Panic
Il Francese
More Better Deals
That Left Turn at Albuquerque
One-Shot Harry
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)
The Maltese Falcon
Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe, #2)
The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe, #6)
Red Harvest (The Continental Op #1)
The Lady in the Lake (Philip Marlowe, #4)
The High Window (Philip Marlowe, #3)
The Little Sister (Philip Marlowe, #5)
The Thin Man
L.A. Confidential (L.A. Quartet, #3)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1)
Trouble Is My Business (Philip Marlowe, #8)
The Big Nowhere (L.A. Quartet, #2)
The Black Dahlia (L.A. Quartet, #1)
Murder on Family Grounds by Susan  RowlandThose Empty Eyes by Charlie DonleaHidden Pictures by Jason RekulakDeeper Than the Dead by Debra WebbOn Her Watch by Melinda Leigh
Beach Reads - Mysteries & Thrillers
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Crime Comics & Graphic Novels
231 books — 65 voters


Raymond Chandler
From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.
Raymond Chandler, The High Window

Lawrence Block
She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.
Lawrence Block, Grifter's Game

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