Those Classic Collections: Part 2 -- Hard Case Crime

originally titled Mona

If you ever have a hankering for a juicy Noir crime novel, The Hard Case Crime series, an imprint of Dorchester publishing, has got your number. The series, which features classic as well as brand new hard boiled crime and mystery paperbacks, was founded in 2004 by mystery writer and internet entrepreneur, Charles Ardai and Max Phillips, Shamus award winner for the HCC title Fade To Blonde. 

originally published in 1950

The books feature wonderful 50's era pulp-style cover art by artists like Chuck Pyle and Glen Orbik. Many forgotten mysteries have been republished, some after over 30 years or dormancy, like Top of the Heap by Erle Stanley Garner of Perry Mason fame and Donald Westlake's Somebody Owes Me Money. Many volumes are brand new and published for the first time on this imprint. One such title was Steven King's The Colorado Kid, about an enigmatic murder in small town coastal Maine, which was adapted for the TV series Haven seen on on SyFy. Other new releases have been nominated for the prestigious Edgar award including Little Girl Lost written by Ardai under the alias Richard Aleas. So far 66 titles have been printed with 2 more slated for early 2011. Overall these are superlative books and will keep one in Noir for years to come. I highly recommend them all. Read your favorite authors, try them in order or pick your favorite cover and go. Just dig in, but watch out for shallow graves.

A few volumes have already begun to be released in Kindle format.
Such titles as:
A Touch of Death (Hard Case Crime)  by Charles Williams
The Valley of Fear (Hard Case Crime)  by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Quarry in the Middle (Hard Case Crime)  by Max Allan Collins

Other titles are:
The Murderer Vine (Hard Case Crime)  Shepard Rifkin
Blackmailer (Hard Case Crime)  by George Axelrod
Branded Woman (Hard Case Crime)  by Wade Miller
Kiss Her Goodbye (Hard Case Crime)  by Allan Guthrie
No House Limit (Hard Case Crime)  by Steve Fisher  
The Corpse Wore Pasties (Hard Case Crime)  by Jonny Porkpie
House Dick (Hard Case Crime)  by E. Howard Hunt  
Lucky at Cards (Hard Case Crime)  by Lawrence Block
The Guns of Heaven (Hard Case Crime)  By Pete Hamill
Night Walker (Hard Case Crime)   by Donald Hamilton

For a full list of Hard Case Crime titles go to HCC's Wikipedia's page