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

“Eight O’Clock Sharp” by James McCrone

FICTION: “What had been a general resentment of the halfway house and its rules was now a searing hatred….”

Read More “Eight O’Clock Sharp” by James McCrone

“Swamp Witch Blues” by Jason M. Tucker

FICTION: “Heavy, mud-scented air wafted in from the swamp and was warm enough to build up a sweat just sitting. It made everything a bit more miserable.”

Read More “Swamp Witch Blues” by Jason M. Tucker

“Leaving Rock Bottom” by Robb T. White

FICTION: “If there was a bottom beneath where I stood in that March wind, I didn’t want to know it.”

Read More “Leaving Rock Bottom” by Robb T. White

“Tenderloin” by Steve Carr

FICTION: “I still wear my dog tags. They remind me of who I am, or was…. No one can see the damage but me.”

Read More “Tenderloin” by Steve Carr

“Making Amends” by Julian Grant

FICTION: “And then nothing…. I explained to them the importance of making amends, the value of a rigorous moral inventory and doing the right thing….”

Read More “Making Amends” by Julian Grant

“Boilermaker” by Susan Hammerman

FICTION: “Delores didn’t want to think about what she was. Her job was done now, anyway….”

Read More “Boilermaker” by Susan Hammerman

“Sugar Water” by Charles Willeford

I. It was Sunday dinner at Saint Catherine’s Military Academy and, as usual, I was sitting next to Robbie.  It must have been some kind of a Big Deal that Sunday, because in addition to the watery soup, roast beef and mashed potatoes, there were two desserts: bread pudding and two pieces of hard candy.  […]

Read More “Sugar Water” by Charles Willeford

“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

Posts navigation

Older posts

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • "Daniel Woodrell: Pulp Outlaw and Pioneer of Rural Noir" by William Blick
    "Daniel Woodrell: Pulp Outlaw and Pioneer of Rural Noir" by William Blick
  • "Hollywood Homicide in the Seventies: The Snake and Bake Murder" by Steve Hodel
    "Hollywood Homicide in the Seventies: The Snake and Bake Murder" by Steve Hodel

Authors

Andrew Nette andy rausch Ann Chernow Barry Gifford BearManor Media Ben Himmelfarb Brian Greene Charles Rammelkamp Charles Willeford Chas Hansen Chris McGinley Chris Roy Clarinda Harris Craig Faustus Buck D.V. Bennett David Rachels Dolores Hitchens Earl Javorsky Fabrice Poussin Gary D. Rhodes Gerald So Graham Wynd Ian McIntyre J.D. Smith J.L. Delozier Jaap Boekestein Jack Dann James O. Causey Jay Flynn Jay Gertzman Jenean McBearty Jim Ruland Jim Shaffer Jim Towns John McCann John Talbird Jo Perry Joseph Goodrich Joseph Hirsch Ken Hall 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 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 Theresa Rodewald Thomas Pluck Tom Leins Vicki Hendricks Warren Moore William Blick Woody Haut

Categories

  • Blogs
  • Crime-horror
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Fiction
  • Interview
  • More than Dead
  • Noir
  • Nonfiction
  • Novel Excerpt
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • Prose Poem
  • Review Essays
  • Short Story
  • True Crime
  • Uncategorized
  • Visual Art
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon
    • Join 109 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...