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
...more

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)
Blacksad by Juan Díaz CanalesFatale, Vol. 1 by Ed BrubakerBatman by Jeph LoebAmerican Vampire, Vol. 1 by Scott SnyderCriminal, Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker
Crime Comics & Graphic Novels
231 books — 65 voters

A.I. Capone by Paul PonceThe Ronin of Vine Street by W.H.  MitchellNeuromancer by William GibsonTitanium Noir by Nick HarkawayDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Tech Noir
12 books — 4 voters
The Big Sleep by Raymond ChandlerThe Maltese Falcon by Dashiell HammettA Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice BurroughsTarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice BurroughsThe Best of H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft
Best of the Pulps
380 books — 202 voters

The Hunter by Richard StarkThe Man With The Getaway Face by Richard StarkThe Outfit by Richard StarkThe Mourner by Richard StarkThe Score by Richard Stark
Richard Stark's Parker
26 books — 6 voters


Haruki Murakami
Kindness and a caring mind are two separate qualities. Kindness is manners. It is superficial custom, an acquired practice. Not so the mind. The mind is deeper, stronger, and, I believe, it is far more inconstant.
Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

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

More quotes...
Hardboiled American Crime and Worldwide Noir Fiction Started somewhat as a reaction to the British cozy mystery of the Agatha Christie style (think M…more
184 members, last active 38 days ago
MidnightReader Jeff Funk's MIDNIGHT READER Forbidden Book Buzz syndicate lives on @12AMpulpBUZZ, @CRIMEpulpBUZZ…more
6 members, last active 14 years ago
Point Blank Noir, hardboiled and pulp. This is the reading group linked to the Point Blank podcast. If you…more
135 members, last active one year ago
ThreeCrow Publishing Welcome to the Three Crow Books community! We’re here to discuss books published on threecrowboo…more
1 member, last active 2 months ago