This still ain't your Mama's anthology. Whether they crawl up from the gutters or stroll down from the mansions, the private eyes and tough guys in these stories make the mean streets meaner and the dark alleys darker. While some stories punch you full in the face, others sneak up from behind and place the cold steel barrel of a .38 against the back of your skull. Either way, you won't be able to defend yourself against the raw, gritty power between these covers. Noir never looked so dark as it does in these tales -- tales of twisted love, violence, and vengeance. Here are fourteen more hardboiled tales guaranteed to blow your hat off

THE BLUE NUDE - LaStanza Novel #7 Away from the horrors of homicide work and married to a gorgeous, wealthy woman, New Orleans Private Eye Dino LaStanza can pick and choose his cases. What starts as a simple missing person case, as photographer Ian Carnamendos seems to have disappeared, turns ugly quickly as the photographer's clients begin receiving threats that the sexy pictures taken of them are about to go public. Ian Carnamendos specializes in taking confidential, risque photos and photos of people performing sex acts. When LaStanza stumbles on nudes of his wife as a teenager, the case turns personal. The body of Ian Carnamendos is discovered, then the body of Ian's assistant and LaStanza is back on his home turf - homicide investigation. He will get to the truth, no matter what it is, no matter what it takes - no matter what he discovers about his Lizette. Born in New Orleans, O'Neil De Noux is a prolific American writer of novels and short stories. Although much of De Noux's fiction falls under the mystery genre (character-drive crime fiction primarily), he has published stories in many disciplines including mainstream fiction, children and young-adult fiction, science-fiction, suspense, fantasy, horror, western, literary, religious, romance, humor and erotica. In 2007, The Private Eye Writers of America awarded its prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY to "The Heart Has Reasons" by O'Neil De Noux. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. De Noux is also the 2009 DERRINGER AWARD winner for BEST NOVELETTE for "Too Wise." The Derringer Awards are given annually to recognize excellence in the short mystery fiction form. In 2010, De Noux made a move to eBooks and print-on-demand books, teaming with other artists in the art co-op Big Kiss Productions and published SLICK TIME, a sexy caper novel, followed by collections NEW ORLEANS MYSTERIES, NEW ORLEANS NOCTURNAL, NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL, NEW ORLEANS PRIME EVIL and BACKWASH OF THE MILKY WAY. In June 2012, De Noux's novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named 2011 POLICE BOOK OF THE YEAR by Police-Writers.com, a group that boasts of 1153 state and local law enforcement officials from 485 state and local law enforcement agencies who have written 2504 police books. A hyper-realistic crime story, JOHN RAVEN BEAU provides an intimate look into the beleaguered NOPD Homicide Division, a story that begins in the French Quarter and ends in a swamp, all within the city limits of America's eternal city, a city that cannot be destroyed - New Orleans. Earlier in 2012, after six months of intensive research and eighteen months of non-stop writing, O'Neil De Noux published BATTLE KISS, a 320,000 word epic of love and war set against the panorama of the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. So timely is the book, released as the bicentennial of the War of 1812 arrives, Mr. De Noux received an Artist Services Career Advancement Award from the Louisiana Division of the Arts for his work on BATTLE KISS. Also in 2012, Mr. De Noux's first private eye was published. ENAMORED a novel of obsession and murder, is set in 1950 New Orleans. Another crime novel, BOURBON STREET, set in 1947, was released in 2012, along with the young-adult superhero novel MISTIK. In 2012, O'Neil De Noux was elected Vice-President of the Private Eye Writers of America. In January 2013, the long-awaited return of NOPD Homicide Detective Dino LaStanza came with the publication of De Noux's crime fiction tour-de-force NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE, along with the re-issue of all the previous LaStanza novels as trade paperbacks and eBooks. Two more LaStanza novels are forthcoming. LaStanza Novels #1 GRIM REAPER #2 THE BIG KISS #3 BLUE ORLEANS #4 CRESCENT CITY KILLS #5 THE BIG SHOW #6 NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE #7 THE BLUE NUDE

LaSTANZA: NEW ORLEANS POLICE STORIES Seventeen short stories chronicle the life of a police officer from his days as a patrolman to a homicide detective back to his childhood when he caught his first killer at age eight. The characters from the LaStanza novels are all here: Bob Mason, Mark Land, Jodie Kintyre, Paul Snowood, Felicity Jones and Stan the Man Smith (the world's greatest patrolman ever - just ask him). There are also women LaStanza will never forget from Xanthe to Cora, Regina, Guinnevere, Gabrielle and of course, Lizette. Beyond stories of crime and murder are tales of lunatics, an airplane crash, a man with moon hands, a very nimble burglar, a wild horse and an icy Sicilian murderer whose body count ends in a sleazy New Orleans motel when Det. LaStanza is assigned the case. Previous novels in the LaStanza series include: Grim Reaper #1 - Lauded for its hyper-realistic description of homicide work, this novel begins the adventures of New Orleans Police Homicide Detective Dino LaStanza. The Big Kiss #2 - Detective LaStanza is drawn into a deadly confrontation with an out-of-control La Cosa Nostra hit man. Blue Orleans #3 - Throws LaStanza into the midst of a Latin American killing circle and the alluring, young daughter of a murder victim. This book received critical praise for its strong setting, compared favorably to the Bond novels of Ian Fleming. Crescent City Kills #4 - Murder victims, dumped along a barren stretch of river batture in Algiers, have one ally left, an unrelenting Det. LaStanza who refuses to quit in his dogged pursuit of justice. This novel received critical praise for its gritty portrayal of police investigations. The Big Show #5 - While pursuing a cunning rapist-murder terrorizing New Orleans, LaStanza and his partners are drawn into a racially-charged murder investigation. In Homicide, where few detectives work one case at a time, detectives push themselves to their limits to bring murderers to justice. New Orleans Homicide #6 - The Easter Weekend of 1986 is particularly violent. Three murders are deliberate acts of violence. LaStanza and his partners begin a meticulous, relentless pursuit of the killers and will use whatever deliberate acts necessary to bring justice to the victims and their families.

Rapacious defined - aggressively greedy, ravenous, plundering, taking by force, subsisting on live prey. New Orleans, 1947 It starts as a wandering daughter case when a sexy widow hires New Orleans Private Eye Lucien Caye to find her twenty-two year old daughter. The date is April 10, 1947, and Helen Croix walks into Caye's office with a picture of her missing daughter, a note her daughter left saying she plans to kill a man and then herself, along with a list of fifty-six names of her daughter's lovers. Helen and Lucien go through the list, eliminating names. The hours after that are spent on the over-sized sofa in his office as they give in to their mutual lust. After, Helen warns Lucien about her daughter, knowing he'll be tempted when he finds the alluring, strawberry-blond, temptress. Madelyn Croix will most likely seduce him. Helen describes her daughter as rapacious. Lucien has to look up the word to discover it means avaricious, greedy, ravenous - subsisting on live prey. On the list of names, Lucien comes across a love-sick lawyer, a photographer specializing in nude pictures of women, a suspicious psychiatrist, a jealous husband. Included in the story is the worst private eye in New Orleans, a mischievous black kitten and a bevy of pretty women more than willing to bed Lucien. Shortly after the love-sick lawyer is murdered, Madelyn Croix comes to Lucien one night with that curvaceous body and Prussian-blue eyes that blinks ever so slowly, precisely, like a falcon and he realizes - rapacious, like a raptor, a bird of prey. Madelyn hires Lucien to protect her. Someone is trying to kill her. This first novel in the Lucien Caye Series precedes ENAMORED (2012), which was nominated for the SHAMUS AWARD by the Private Eye Writers of America for BEST INDIE PRIVATE EYE NOVEL. The collection of Lucien Caye short stories, NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL (2010), features eleven stories, including two award-winning stories: "Too Wise" - awarded The Short Mystery Fiction Society's DERRINGER AWARD for BEST NOVELETTE and "The Heart Has Reasons" - awarded The Private Eye Writers of America's SHAMUS AWARD for Best Short Story. A third novel in the series will be out soon.

Being Different Is Lonely ... Until You Find Another Like You A troubled, seventeen year old boy finally admits to himself he is different from other boys. Marc LeRoux is the finest athlete in his high school, but his abilities go far beyond what he's demonstrated on the gymnastics team. On a lonely walk along the neutral ground (medians are called neutral grounds in New Orleans) not far from his home, Marc is attacked by two men, one with a gun. He turns on the muggers and uses his powers to knock both out and escape. It is exhilarating and he feels good for the first time in a long time. From his mother, he learns the family's secret. Marc is an 'advanced human', a leap in human evolution which gives him super-human strength and magnifies his five senses. He can see, hear, smell, taste, and his sense of touch is better than any human. His sense of balance is most acute. Learning the family's hereditary secret, Marc (of ancient French-Creole ancestry) must give up his dream of college athletics and the Olympics. Torn between two worlds, Marc must learn to live as an 'advanced human' in a world of humans. A freak, someone to be feared, Marc needs to vent his energy. He takes to the rooftops of the New Orleans French Quarter in a super-hero costume and quickly meets another 'advanced human', the beautiful, alluring sixteen year old Alyssa Lupo. The mutual attraction he feels for this haunting girl is challenged by others, those bent on using their powers for evil purposes. The star-crossed romance between Marc and Alyssa is the central focus of the novel. Strong on setting, our tale takes place primarily in the French Quarter, where this young super-hero in a black costume, calling himself MISTIK, prowls the roofs and lacework balconies in search of villains. A teenager, MISTIK's powers are still evolving and he will use them to right wrongs, because he can. Born in New Orleans, O'Neil De Noux is a prolific American writer of novels and short stories. Although much of De Noux's fiction falls under the mystery genre (character-drive crime fiction primarily), he has published stories in many disciplines including mainstream fiction, children and young-adult fiction, science-fiction, suspense, fantasy, horror, western, literary, religious, romance, humor and erotica. In 2007, The Private Eye Writers of America awarded its prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY to "The Heart Has Reasons" by O'Neil De Noux. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. De Noux is also the 2009 DERRINGER AWARD winner for BEST NOVELETTE for "Too Wise." The Derringer Awards are given annually to recognize excellence in the short mystery fiction form. In 2010, De Noux teamed with other artists in the art co-op Big Kiss Productions and published SLICK TIME, followed by collections NEW ORLEANS MYSTERIES, NEW ORLEANS NOCTURNAL, NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL, NEW ORLEANS PRIME EVIL and BACKWASH OF THE MILKY WAY. De Noux's novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named 2011 POLICE BOOK OF THE YEAR by Police-Writers.com, a group that boasts of 1153 state and local law enforcement officials from 485 state and local law enforcement agencies who have written 2504 police books. Earlier in 2012, after six months of intensive research and eighteen months of non-stop writing, O'Neil De Noux published BATTLE KISS, a 320,000 word epic of love and war set against the panorama of the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. So timely is the book, released as the bicentennial of the War of 1812 arrives, Mr. De Noux received an Artist Services Career Advancement Award from the Louisiana Division of the Arts for his work on BATTLE KISS. Also in 2012, Mr. De Noux's first private eye was published. ENAMORED a novel of obsession and murder, is set in 1950 New Orleans. Another crime novel, BOURBON STREET, set in 1947, was released in 2012. In 2012, O'Neil De Noux was elected Vice-President of the Private Eye Writers of