Skip to content
Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon

Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon

Noir, crime, and mystery short stories, scholarship, and so much more

  • Home
  • About
  • Index
  • NoirCon History
  • Lou Boxer’s The Writer in the Gutter
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Newsletter Archive

Category: short story

“See No Evil” by Peter DiChellis

I told the cops the truth. I didn’t see anything. But yes, the murder happened right in front of me. And yes, the killer grabbed me and pushed me out of the way to leave. But like I said, I didn’t see a thing. Nothing at all. And then my hard, angry voice screamed the […]

Read More “See No Evil” by Peter DiChellis

“A Question of Execution” by Basil Rosa

I’d heard Tiny Aria say a million times that in Fortuna, if you scratched beneath the surface, you’d only find more surface. He laid this on me again when he phoned about the Reno Morelli kidnapping. Reno managed The Gutterball, a dive where mooks, con-men, and low-level operatives met to figure out which cops weren’t […]

Read More “A Question of Execution” by Basil Rosa

“Coffin Dress Girl” by Heather Santo

“I’m looking for someone,” I said. “A girl.” “Aren’t we all?” replied the punk. He took a drag from the cigarette stub pinched between his thumb and index finger, then exhaled dramatically. I watched as the large plume of smoke rose, flashing alternating colors in the club’s strobe lights. Red, blue, green, yellow and back […]

Read More “Coffin Dress Girl” by Heather Santo

“The Coming Storm” by D. V. Bennett

Pulling up carefully on the latch handle, Jack Winslow stepped out of his Chevy Impala onto the lonely tree-lined street. The intense rain and wind would cover most sounds, but he was careful not to allow the low-register thump of his car door to cut through the din. Repossessing a motorcycle in the middle of […]

Read More “The Coming Storm” by D. V. Bennett

“Much Worse Ways” by Joseph Hirsch

This was Ant’s first time in Ohio, and he wasn’t impressed. Pennsylvania, he knew from the Poconos, but this was pure boondocks. The sticks. His passenger, Carmine, didn’t seem to like it either. The morning sun came rushing through the tinted windshield of the rental car, and Carmine spoke while playing with the rounds in […]

Read More “Much Worse Ways” by Joseph Hirsch

“White Summer” by Brian Greene

Danny was a guy who made an impression. When he came into the restaurant to apply for a job as a waiter, a couple weeks before Memorial Day weekend, he did so wearing a flashy suit. I’d been working at the place—a steak and seafood eatery on the top floor of a Holiday Inn at […]

Read More “White Summer” by Brian Greene

“One-Shot Deal” by R. Daniel Lester

At the yacht club, the dock creaked and swayed beneath my feet. There was brine in the air and the smell of money in my nose. Big money, family money. Ancient dollars that had sired so many other dollars it was exhausted and weary and just wanted to be left alone. I felt about as […]

Read More “One-Shot Deal” by R. Daniel Lester

“Bit Player” by Jim Shaffer

I sat in a small bar just off Broadway somewhere in the fifties. It was my first time there. A cold snap had descended on the city, and I just wanted to sit some place warm, relax, and have a drink. Mellow jazz crept from the jukebox. It could have been Ben Webster. It had […]

Read More “Bit Player” by Jim Shaffer

“The El Segundo Saga” by Jenean McBrearty

You might say my partner, Ronson, was killed by cherry Life Savers. “These babies helped me quit nicotine,” he’d always say when we had to stop at a drugstore to buy more. And we stopped every night on patrol. He was in Walgreens buying a roll at the same time a punk decided to rob […]

Read More “The El Segundo Saga” by Jenean McBrearty

“Make Mine Bloody” by Paul Greenberg

“That woman has the charm and personality of a mackerel. How she makes a living here, I’ll never know,” said Johnny. “And she can’t make a drink for shit. This thing tastes like a bloody nose,” said Bobby. “Hey, what the hell is this anyway?” “A Bloody Mary, extra bloody, just what you asked for,” […]

Read More “Make Mine Bloody” by Paul Greenberg

Posts navigation

Older posts

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • "Death Takes a Byline: the Interview" by D.S. Lliteras
    "Death Takes a Byline: the Interview" by D.S. Lliteras
  • "Gray" by Gerald So
    "Gray" by Gerald So
  • "Geek" by Matthew Sorrento
    "Geek" by Matthew Sorrento
  • “Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?” by Melanie Dante
    “Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?” by Melanie Dante

Authors

Andrew Nette andy rausch Ann Chernow Barry Gifford Ben Himmelfarb Bert and Dolores Hitchens Brian Greene Carol Smail Charles Rammelkamp Charles Willeford Chas Hansen Chris McGinley Chris Roy Clarinda Harris Craig Faustus Buck D.V. Bennett David Goodis David Rachels Dolores Hitchens Earl Javorsky Fabrice Poussin Gerald So Graham Wynd Heather Santo Ian McIntyre J.D. Smith J.L. Delozier Jaap Boekestein Jack Dann James O. Causey Jay Flynn Jay Gertzman Jenean McBearty Jim Nisbet Jim Ruland Jim Shaffer John McCann Jo Perry Joseph Goodrich Joseph Hirsch Ken Bruen Kent Anderson Kurt Brokaw Lance Mason Lionel White Mark Krajnak Mark Mayes Mark SaFranko Martin Goolsarran Matthew Sorrento Matt Phillips Melanie Dante Mike Madden Mitchell Grabois Nick Sweeney Patricia Abbott Paul D. Brazill Paul Greenberg Peter Rozovsky R. Daniel Lester Reed Farrel Coleman Rick Ollerman Robb T. White Robert Cooperman Sharon Dempsey Stark House Press Stephen D. Rogers Steve Hodel Steve Levi T.L. Huchu Thomas Pluck Tom Leins Vicki Hendricks Warren Moore Woody Haut

Categories

  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Fiction
  • Interview
  • More than Dead
  • noir
  • Nonfiction
  • Novel Excerpt
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • short story
  • True Crime
  • Uncategorized
  • Visual Art
Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×