We dive deep into Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not. Did we love the book? Well, that's complicated. Kurt offers a Dog-Eared Classic review: The Men From the Boys by Ed Lacy (Stark House Press) We also offer up six selections in 5 Round Burst, including Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana and Ann Aptaker's Flesh and Gold Find Us: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pointblanknoir Find our readers group on Goodreads....
May 16, 2019•1 hr 17 min
Hemingway. In this episode we tackle a big author and one of his lesser known books. We introduce To Have and Have Not , discuss Hemingway's life and address the racist language found in this work. "Milwaukee Noir," edited by Tim Hennessy and published by Akashic Books, is our featured review this episode. We return to the Midwest for some rust belt noir from the land of beer, cheese, and motorcycles. Find Us: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction Email: pointblanknoir@gm...
Apr 29, 2019•1 hr
Are you ready for our deep discussion of Horace McCoy's existential noir classic, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?? We sure are. We dig into the text, discuss Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir, talk about existentialism in the context of writers like Woolrich and Goodis, and share our latests reads in Five Round Burst. Join our Goodreads group. Find us on Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction Email us at: [email protected] Twitter: @pointblanknoir If you enjoy the show giv...
Apr 14, 2019•1 hr 4 min
In this episode we introduce They Shoot Horses, Don't They? It's also time for Philosophy 101 with Justin and Kurt as we attempt to look at Existentialism in crime fiction. Our newest segment, Dog Eared Classics looks at No Orchids for Miss Blandish by James Hadley Chase and we explore the life of Horace McCoy. Join our Goodreads group. Find us on Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction Email us at: [email protected] Twitter: @pointblanknoir If you enjoy the show gi...
Mar 23, 2019•1 hr 4 min
We might be discussing In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes, but this episode is anything but lonely. We simply loved this book and have a great time discussing it in detail. We cover quite a few reviews as well, taking a look at both books and television this time around. TV Reviews: The Expanse, Damnation, Happy!, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened Book Reviews: "A Walk Among The Tombstones" by Lawrence Block "The Green Ripper: a Travis McGee Novel" by John D. MacDonald "The Woman W...
Feb 28, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Greetings! We introduce Dorothy Hughes' noir classic In A Lonely Place, discuss alcoholism in detective fiction for Subject Unknown, and dig up what we can about who Dorothy Hughes was and what made her tick. Join our Goodreads Group: www.goodreads.com/group/show/747867-point-blank Visit our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pointblankcrime Contact Us Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction Twitter: @pointblanknoir...
Feb 05, 2019•42 min
Welcome back and happy 2019! This time we look at "Devil in a Blue Dress" by Walter Mosely, we do some reviews and we get into a bit of a controversial topic regarding the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award. *Sorry for the Delay with this episode. 2019 came with a lot of chaos on my end. Good and Bad. Kurt* Books Reviewed: "Pirata" by Patrick Hasburgh "The Dain Curse" by Dashiell Hammett "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" by George V. Higgins "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane "The Scene" by Cl...
Jan 21, 2019•58 min
Hello Again. This time we introduce Walter Mosley's "Devil in a Blue Dress." In Subject Unknown we look at the state of the podcast and where we are going, and we also have a few featured reviews. Join our Goodreads Group: www.goodreads.com/group/show/747867-point-blank Visit our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pointblankcrime Contact Us: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction Twitter: @pointblanknoir Email: [email protected] www.pointblankpodcast.com...
Dec 20, 2018•52 min
"A Flash of Green" by John D MacDonald. Well...we sure didn't love it, but that doesn't mean we don't have something to say. We dig deep to find out what does and does not work in this novel. Justin brings us another really stupid mystery. Where we are forced to ask what lurks in the shadows around Walden Pond. Of course there's also reviews!! 5 Round Burst: "Silencer" Thorn Mystery #11 by James W Hall "October Heat" by Gordon Demarco "Crimes of Southern Indiana" and "Donnybrook" by Frank Bill "...
Nov 26, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Hello again from Point Blank! Join us as we head on down to Florida to introduce "A Flash of Green" and John D MacDonald. We'll explore what's lurking in the shadows of the magic kingdom as we discuss Florida Crime Fiction and all that it entails. Our featured review this episode is Joe Clifford's hardboiled drug fueled tale "Junkie Love." We have a new Goodreads discussion group created by one of our listeners, Geoff. Thanks, Geoff. It's a great place to discuss all of the books we talk about a...
Nov 11, 2018•1 hr
Step right into the sauna as we discuss The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo our first look at Nordic Noir. We go back in time for a really stupid mystery series from the age of the Vikings. As bonus pillage you also get 5 reviews in 5 Round Burst: "Rhode Island Red" by Charlotte Carter "Noir" by Christopher Moore "Miami Purity" by Vicki Hendricks "Jar City" by Arnaldur Indridason "Roseanna" by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo Contact Us: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir and Detective Fiction Email:...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr
Cold, Rocky, Windswept. We discuss Nordic Noir, Stieg Larsson, and introduce "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." Vikings, The Nordic Model, and exposing the extreme right. Grab some aquavit, lutefisk, and lefsa and join us for this trip to the north. Find Us On: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction Email: [email protected] Twitter:@pointblanknoir
Sep 26, 2018•50 min
Welcome to our special summer episode. We joined forces in San Francisco to walk in the footsteps of Sam Spade and Dashiell Hammett. This was an experimental episode for us, I hope you enjoy. View the photos on Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction
Aug 28, 2018•29 min
All Abbott! All Queenpin! We discuss this wonderful neo-noir tale from one of the "Queens of Noir." There are spoilers, as we do discuss the whole book, but we believe this one is worth more than one read. Get in touch with the show: Email: [email protected] Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction Twitter: @pointblanknoir
Aug 08, 2018•46 min
Discussion! Reviews! Antiheroes! We introduce Megan Abbott's "Queenpin," talk films, review a few books, and have an interesting talk about antiheroes thanks to a listener question. Books Reviewed: "Paradise Travel" by Jorge Franco "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford "She Rides Shotgun" by Jordan Harper "Lamentation" by Joe Clifford "Dark Harbor: The War for the New York Waterfront" by Nathan Ward "XXX Shamus" by Red Hammond Contact Us: Email: [email protected] Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboi...
Jul 15, 2018•52 min
Look at this dingus! It's "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. This episode we dive deep into the falcon while discussing the book, '80's cartoons, Communist presses, and gunsels. I'm sure we got some things wrong so call us out on it. Get in touch with the show at: Twitter: @pointblanknoir Email: [email protected] Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction
Jun 30, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Look at this dingus! It's part 1 of our discussion of The Maltese Falcon, perhaps the most well known book in all of crime fiction. In this episode we tease out a few of our initial thoughts on the book and suggest you give it a read before part 2. We discuss the lost Hammett tale "The Glass That Laughed." A new segment where we do a featured review of the excellent book "North and Central" by Bob Hartley and of course 5 Round Burst. Books featured in 5 Round Burst: "Bangkok 8: A Royal Thai Dete...
Jun 16, 2018•38 min
Greetings! Welcome to part 2 of our discussion of Ross Macdonald's “The Doomsters.” We run down the basic plot of the book, discuss Macdonald's life and dig deep into the themes and characters in this important transition novel in the Archer series. “The Doomsters” may not be the best known of the Archer novels, but we enjoyed it as it provides an important look into Macdonald as a writer and Archer as a character. Connect with us: Facebook: Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction T...
May 27, 2018•56 min
Welcome to the new format! Part 1 of our discussion of Ross Macdonald's "The Doomsters.' We introduce the book, give some short reviews, discuss the writing life of Ross Macdonald aka Ken Millar and Margaret Millar, and go bird-watching in a really stupid mystery series. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, or send us an email at [email protected]
May 15, 2018•38 min
Ring! Ring! It's “The Postman Always Rings Twice” by James M. Cain. We discuss this excellent work and just how much is packed into this little novel. Great plotting, interesting characters, and cats! Hungry? James Cain also wrote extensively about food including a love of muskrat and midnight spaghetti. We talk about his culinary legacy or lack there of. Books Reviewed in 5 Round Burst: “White Jazz” by James Ellroy “The Hard Bounce” by Todd Robinson “The Lawn Job” by Chuck Caruso “Gun, with Occ...
Apr 20, 2018•1 hr 26 min
Like the looming dread in a Cornell Woolrich novel we are back with another episode. Is Woolrich really the master of noir suspense that so many have claimed? We discuss this point while looking at the book Night Has A Thousand Eyes . Of course we also do some reviews and Kurt talks about investigative gaming. Books Reviewed in 5 Round Burst: "The Guards" by Ken Bruen "The Bloody Black Flag" by Steve Goble "Poisonville" by Massimo Carlotto & Marco Videtta "Virgin Cay/A Night Out" by Basil He...
Mar 23, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Welcome to the lost episode. Plagued by technical problems, we are happy to finally be able to bring you episode 6. "The Real Cool Killers" by Chester Himes. Himes was a revolutionary writer and thinker in crime fiction and was an influential contributor to 20th Century African-American fiction. His work deserves to be better known. Books Reviewed for 5 Round Burst: "The Moving Target" by Ross Macdonald "Nobody Move" by Denis Johnson "Cop Hater" by Ed McBain "Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail!...
Feb 21, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Join us for the dark wonderful tale that is "Shoot the Piano Player" by David Goodis. A story we both loved! Plus reviews, discussion, a really stupid mystery, and a discussion of the East Vs. the West coast in crime fiction. Find us on Facebook at Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, and Detective Fiction
Jan 24, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Join us as we look at a collection of short stories from the pages of Black Mask Magazine. The Black Mask Boys covers some of the key writers from the golden years of the genre's most important magazine. We also discuss Blade Runner 2049 and it's connection to neo-noir, technology, and a changing world. Reviews include an excellent anthology based on the songs of Johnny Cash and we discuss short stories vs. the longer forms in Subject Unknown.
Dec 31, 2017•1 hr 29 min
Guy and Bruno meet on a train and things go poorly. We roll right along with Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. As always we review some books, discuss somethings, and even have a really stupid mystery.
Nov 21, 2017•1 hr 12 min
Episode 4: Scorpion Reef by Charles Williams We discuss the nautical noir of Charles Williams, Kurt gets annoyed in 5 Round Burst, and we discuss Seattle as a noir setting. 5 Round Burst Books: “Hot Stuff” by Charles Williams “Mucho Mojo” by Joe R. Lansdale “The Blood Strand” by Chris Ould “The Killing Bay” by Chris Ould “Low Life” by Luc Sante Visit us on Facebook. Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, & Detective Fiction Send us an email at [email protected] Www.pointblankpodcast.com...
Oct 23, 2017•1 hr 11 min
We discuss Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, the detective as a modern knight, yogurt, Albuquerque as a Noir setting, and Chandler's poetry! Find a list of books we discuss on Facebook . Visit our website at: www.pointblankpodcast.com Send us comments or questions at: [email protected]
Sep 25, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Welcome to Episode 2! This episode we cover Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest. 5 Round Burst Books: The Cartel by Don Winslow Savage Season by Joe R Lansdale After Dark, My Sweet by Jim Thompson Seattle Noir Akashic Books The Invention of Murder: How the Victorian's Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders For full show notes visit us at www.pointblankpodcast.com Find us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/pointblankpodcast/...
Sep 09, 2017•59 min
In each episode of Point Blank we discuss, analyze, and review works of crime fiction. We focus on the hardboiled, noir, and detective fiction sub-genres covering a featured novel each episode. Join us as we stroll down the dark, rain soaked alleys and into the dangerous corners of literature. For more information and show notes please visit our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pointblankpodcast/
Aug 27, 2017•1 hr 16 min
