Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, & Detective Fiction

That's it.  Join us for our last episode as we discuss The Long Goodbye and reflect on the show. Thank you to all who have listened and supported the show along the way.   Leave the show in your podcast feed if you want to be notified of our future projects.

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft. Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this series...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.  Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this serie...

Welcome to "Writing Rat Face," a Point Blank Limited Series on one writer's process of writing a 50,000 word novel first draft.  Rat Face is a post-apocalyptic crime novel set in a world ravaged by nuclear war and climate change. The main character, Rat Face, is a noir-ish hitman and delinquent looking to solve his father figure's murder before the Terror Squads find & liquidate him. In this serie...

Welcome! In this episode we discuss the film version of The Third Man. For the full plot summary and commentary on the novella, check out episode 73. We riff on our reactions to the film with the written story fresh in our minds. What a masterpiece! Truely a joy to watch, even when you know what's going to happen.   ***Sorry this one took so long to publish. As we briefly discuss in the show, we h...

Blankers!  We review Graham Greene's novella, The Third Man . Is it better than the film? Listen to hear our thoughts! Email the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Twitter: @pointblanknoir Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/point-blank-hardboiled-noir-detective-fiction/id1276038868 Support the show: Patreon:  https://www.patreon...

Blankers! Last episode we discussed James Sallis's hardboiled, neo-noir classic Drive . This time we interrogate Nicholas Winding Refn's 2011 film adaptation starring Ryan Gosling. In what ways is the film better than the novel and vice versa? Hit play to find out! Get in touch with the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Facebook Group #crimefiction #refn #gosling #jamessallis #drive #noir #neonoir

Get in and buckle up! In this episode, we cover Drive by James Sallis. It's a short work that speaks to the kind of crime fiction we love.  For the appropriate listening experience break out your classic car and crank the stereo. Get in touch with the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Facebook Group #crimefiction #sallis #jamessallis #drive #noir

For Episode 70, we visit mid-century urban America with Iceberg Slim's Pimp.  This is a gritty memoir that sold millions of copies, yet remains under discussed in crime writing circles. We will talk about the good of this book, and we also dig into the problems we had with it. Email the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction

We finally get to Elmore Leonard! We asked for recommendations and received a lot of great suggestions from our listeners. Swag delivered with a tale of two robbers trying to make a buck. If they stick to the 10 rules, what can go wrong? Email the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction

With the book fresh in our minds we take a look at the classic film "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. This is mostly a reaction episode looking at how the film diverged from the source material. Enjoy. Email: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Find us on Facebook: Point Blank: Noir, Hardboiled, and Detective Fiction

Greed. Ambition. Gold Fever. Adventure. Join us for a discussion of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" by the mysterious author B. Traven. Three men down on their luck strike out to find gold in the mountains of Mexico. Will they find their fortunes? Probably not or else it would be a boring book. While this one isn't exactly crime fiction, we think it offers a lot of the hardboiled and noir eleme...

Bienvenido a Cuba! Grab a rum and join us for Adios Muchachos by Daniel Chavarria. Alicia is a woman looking for a rich man to help her escape. She's got a plan that involves a bicycle and seduction. What she doesn't plan for is a kidnapping.  We discuss this novel, provide some short reviews, and touch on the world of Cuban Noir. Get in touch with the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Find us on Fac...

Hello, again, Point Blank Listeners! Sorry for the delay. I've been sick. Here's episode 65. We cover the bestselling, award-winning Razorblade Tears. S.A. Cosby delivers another powerful noir tale, and we get down into the grit to examine why this one is making all of the "best" lists. Justin provides a short review of the classic James M. Cain novel Mildred Pierce  , and we discuss the noir film...

Blankers! This episode we discuss Margaret Millar's terrific noir classic Beast in View. This book's got it all: murder, threatening phone calls from bar telephones, a waterproof woman, domestic drama, gender politics, unreliable narrators, and a twist that will knock your socks off.   Want to get in touch with the show? Email:  pointblanknoir@gmail.com Facebook :  https://www.facebook.com/pointbl...

We are back! Sorry for the delay. We needed an extended holiday break. In this episode, we discuss Tartan/Scottish Noir through the lens of what is considered the first Tartan Noir Laidlaw . Laidlaw  is a gritty detective novel taking place on the streets of Glasgow in the 1970s. William McIlvanney or Gus to his friends is considered the father of Scottish noir and gives us working-class fiction f...

Hey Blankers -  Kurt & I finally got around to recording Episode 62. This time we take a walk down the mean streets of Isola with Ed McBain's Cop Hater . The first novel in the acclaimed 87th Precinct series, Cop Hater (1956) set the blueprint for modern police procedurals. Does it hold up? Tune in & find out! Get in touch with the show: Email: pointblanknoir@gmail.com  Twitter: @pointblanknoir  F...

What in the world is eco-noir?  We attempt to answer that question by looking at a few texts that might be ecological noir. In the discussion, we mention: The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abby Animals by Will Staples Zodiac by Neal Stephenson The Glass Factory by Kenneth Wishnia Nature Noir by Jordan Fisher Smith Captiva by Randy Wayne White   If you'd like to get in touch with the show: Email: po...