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My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby
Not to sound dramatic but I feel betrayed. Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears managed to be gripping and gritty reads that managed to pack an emotional punch. The only nice thing I can say about My Darkest Prayer is that it attests to Cosby having grown as an author. My Darkest Prayer reads like a…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, amateur detective, America, Black & Black heritage authors, Contemporary, CRIME, funeral homes, grit lit, male authors, men who are sleazy, men who do not seem to know how to write women, MURDER, My Darkest Prayer, MYSTERY, Noir, published in 2019, read in 2023, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, THRILLER, violence -
Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto
Tokyo Express presents its readers with an intriguing set-up that is somewhat let-down by the story giving away too much too soon. The premise made me think that this would be a whodunnit with some noir undertones, but it soon became apparent that the mystery driving the narrative was more of the whydunnit variety. There…
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Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
DISCLAIMER: as I did not like Velvet Was the Night my review will be, alas, a negative one. If you are a fan of SMG or you happen to love this novel, congratulazioni. Please, don’t @ me just because I don’t feel the same way as you do, I get it, YMMV. If you are…
1970s, 2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, drama, female authors, latin america, latin american, latinx author, mexican, MEXICAN AMERICAN AUTHOR, Mexico, missing girls, missing persons, My reviews, MYSTERY, Noir, Not Like Other Girls, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, slow pacing, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, Velvet was the Night -
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
that sex scene was 💀 Having enjoyed two of Mosley’s latest novels (Trouble Is What I Do and Blood Grove) I was looking forward to delving into his earlier work. Devil in a Blue Dress is the first book in his Easy Rawlins series and, while it has many of Mosley’s best traits, overall it…
1940s, 1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, CRIME, DETECTIVE, Devil in a Blue Dress, Easy Rawlins, HISTORICAL FICTION, los angeles, male authors, missing persons, missing women, My reviews, MYSTERY, Noir, private investigator, published in 1990, RACE, read in 2021, reading, THRILLER, Walter Mosley -
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
With its strong sense of place and dynamic dialogues Bluebird, Bluebird makes for a solid Southern Noir, one that will definitely appeal to fans of crime authors such as Walter Mosley, Dennis Lehane, and S.A. Cosby. Bluebird, Bluebird follows Darren Mathews, a Black Texas Ranger. After helping out a friend in need Darren’s job as…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Attica Locke, Black & Black heritage authors, Bluebird Bluebird, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, CRIME, female authors, HARD-BOILED, Highway 59 #1, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, Noir, PUBLISHED IN 2017, RACE, read in 2021, reading, rural setting, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, texas, THRILLER -
Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene
I am always hesitant to read books by youtubers or other public figures I like as alas they tend to disappoint (and then I kind of guilty for not liking their stuff). Luckily, Daniel Green’s debut is promising indeed. Set over the course of one day, Breach of Peace begins with one of our main…
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Blood Grove by Walter Mosley
“Life is one long side street with about a million crossroads, Sorry used to tell me when I was a boy. Every hour, sometimes every minute, you got to make the choice which way to go. Some of them turns don’t matter but don’t let that fool ya. The minute you start to think that…
1960s, 1st pov, 20th century, 4 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, CRIME, DETECTIVE, HARD-BOILED, HISTORICAL FICTION, los angeles, male authors, MYSTERY, Noir, place as character, private investigator, prostitution, published in 2021, read in 2021, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, terrific prose, THRILLER, war related ptsd -
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
“You were never out of the Life completely. You were always looking over your shoulder. You always kept a gun within reach.” Blacktop Wasteland is a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled read that gives a fresh new take on the One Last Job™ premise. S.A. Cosby’s pitch-perfect sophomore novel is brutal, twisty, and very gritty. Blacktop Wasteland will…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, American, Black & Black heritage authors, Blacktop Wasteland, cars, Contemporary, CRIME, DEATH, family, fatherhood, fathers & sons, grit lit, heist, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, male authors, Noir, published in 2020, read in 2020, rural setting, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, THRILLER, violence, virginia -
The Less Dead by Denise Mina — book review
The Less Dead is a gripping, if bleak, piece of tartan noir. When sex workers, drug addicts, migrant workers, and otherwise marginalised groups are victims of murder, they are called the ‘less dead’. Their deaths are less important, not as ‘impactful’. Denise Mina’s novel, in a similar vein to recent releases such as Long Bright…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, ADOPTION, BOOK REVIEW, cheating, class, Contemporary, CRIME, dark, dead girls, Denise Mina, female authors, lgbtq+ side, mothers & daughters, netgalley, Noir, obsession, Poverty, prostitution, published in 2020, rape, read in 2020, REVIEW, scotland, scottish author, serial killers, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, SUSPENSE, Tartan Noir, The Less Dead, THRILLER, violence against women -
Trouble Is What I Do by Walter Mosley — book review
“I was so hardened to suffering that somehow even the casualties of history fell outside the borders of my self-imposed sovereignty.” In spite of its short length Walter Mosley’s Trouble Is What I Do packs a punch. This is noir at its finest. Mosley doesn’t waste words, and we can tell that by the fact…
1st pov, 4 STARS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, CRIME, DETECTIVE, male authors, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, Noir, private investigator, published in 2020, RACE, read in 2020, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, THRILLER, Trouble Is What I Do, Walter Mosley
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