6 Historical Noir Reads with Pulse-Pounding Mysteries

Welcome to old Hollywood, the setting of some of the greatest historical noir. Taking place in 1949 Los Angeles, Denise Hamilton’s THE LAST EMBRACE follows Lily Kessler as she arrives in L.A. to find her late fiancé’s sister Kitty—an actress who is newly missing from her Hollywood boardinghouse. It isn’t long before the “missing persons” case becomes what appears to be a homicide. When the cops ignore Lily’s requests for a more thorough investigation, she elects to do the dirty work herself. Luckily Lily, a former stenographer and spy for the Office of Strategic Services, has the chops to take the case, but as readers quickly come to realize, she’ll also need the stomach for it. Encountering some of Hollywood’s most devious personalities, including over-eager starlets, violent gangsters, and movie backlot eccentrics, Lily must untangle the web that seemingly ensnared Kitty . . . before she becomes the next victim. With colorful characters and a pulse-pounding plot, THE LAST EMBRACE depicts the ugly side of old Hollywood while outlining a blockbuster storyline fit for the big screen. You won’t want to miss it.

Shifting from a historical setting to a noir novel revolving around a historical figure, Rashad Harrison’s gripping debut, OUR MAN IN THE DARK, follows an FBI informant in the period leading to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. John Estem isn’t exactly an informant by choice. Hired as a bookkeeper for Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Estem stumbles upon an erroneous contribution that he decides to pocket, but when agents from Hoover’s FBI, who’ve been monitoring the SCLC, learn of Estem’s actions, they pressure him into playing spy. Seeking to expose King and the SCLC as a communist organization, the FBI agents and Estem look to take advantage of King’s newly revealed sexual infidelities and undermine his credibility. With a beautiful depiction of Dr. King, as described through fictional conversation, readers won’t be able to resist the drama of this debut. OUR MAN IN THE DARK is historical noir featuring one of the most important Americans and his tragic demise.

Sometimes history is personal. For James Lee Burke and his work, EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD, the crime drama that unfolds is semi-autobiographical as it depicts a writer grieving the death of his daughter. Author Aaron Holland Broussard is haunted by the loss of Fannie Mae after her abrupt passing from a deadly combination of alcohol and medication. In the aftermath, Aaron seeks peace but (naturally) finds himself surrounded by a set of sudden murders in the local town. State police officer Ruby Spotted Horse is eager to solve the cases and take advantage of Aaron’s insights—some of which seem to be coming from the ghost of Fannie Mae, seeking to guide her father. What’s more, in addition to visits from Fannie, Aaron is plagued by visions of a historic massacre of indigenous people that took place in the late nineteenth century. But perhaps the ghosts of the past can help him and Ruby solve the crimes of the present. EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD is yet another hit from Burke and offers a unique spin on the historical noir genre.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2015, LEAVING BERLIN is Joseph Kanon doing what he does best: a thrilling historical noir set in one of the world’s darkest periods. Berlin native and Jewish writer Alex Meier never intended on returning to the place of his birth. Having fled the Nazis for America in the years before the war, Alex, now in 1948, is facing trouble in the US for his politics. Hoping to clear his record, he agrees to return to Germany as a spy following top CIA targets like a Russian who just so happens to be romantically involved with a woman Alex once loved—and may still have feelings for. But their rocky reunion is just the start of Alex’s tenure as a spy, which quickly involves a failed kidnapping, a killing, and an escapee from a labor camp. What’s left for Alex is a choice: whether to stay true to his promise to the CIA in an effort to clear his name or switch sides for the only woman he’s ever loved. It’s all here in Joseph Kanon’s thrilling novel that brings to life a shadowy period of history to entertain us with every last page.

Sometimes a historical noir is at its best when operating through family dynamics. THE GLASS FOREST by Cynthia Swanson does just that. Taking readers back to 1960, we meet Angie Glass and her idyllic life in Wisconsin. Married to a handsome man, Paul, and mother to a six-month-old, all is well until a phone call from Paul’s niece Ruby comes in. It seems that Paul’s brother, Henry, has killed himself and that Henry’s wife, Silja, is now missing. Springing into action, Paul and Angie travel to New York in an effort to take care of Ruby and whatever her parents left behind in their sprawling, ultra-modern home in the woods. But it’s not long before Angie notices Ruby’s resistance to their affection and discovers the nefarious role she may have played in her parents’ marriage. Told from three different perspectives, readers are treated to family dynamics from the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, as we learn of the Glass woman’s previous relationships. Suspenseful and, at times, shocking, THE GLASS FOREST is a delicious take on the genre.

It feels appropriate to round out our list with María Dueñas’ international bestseller THE TIME IN BETWEEN. In what feels like a staple of the historical noir genre, this novel features an unassuming bystander-turned-spy for the Allies in their efforts to defeat the evil Nazis in World War II. Sira Quiroga grew up sweeping the floors of a clothing maker, but it wasn’t long before she picked up the skills of the trade herself. And just as she’s beginning to come into her own as a seamstress in Madrid, she’s whisked away to Morocco by love and war having met a handsome man and seeking to escape the brewing Spanish Civil War. When she’s ultimately abandoned by her lover and left penniless in Morocco, Sira, again, works her way to the top only this time her goal is high society, where she quickly becomes a designer to some of the most powerful women . . . including those married to or affiliated with the Nazis. It’s not long before Sira is taking advantage of her unique position, absorbing the gossip and strategic insights and feeding them to British Intelligence. Her role as spy only gets more serious when she’s convinced to return to her native Spain and operate in espionage for the Allies on the front lines of World War II. Masterfully written and perfectly paced, THE TIME IN BETWEEN is the definition of great historical noir, perfect for your next beach trip.