John Knoerle's Blog
RSS
May.16.2013
Eight great lines from the Poet Laureate of hardboiled fiction, Raymond Chandler.
I’m an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard.
- The King in Yellow
I felt lousy. I felt like an amputated leg.
- Trouble is My Business...
Continue Reading »
May.01.2013
Here are my five fave passages from “The Proxy Assassin,” Book Three of the American Spy Trilogy. Former OSS spy Hal Schroeder has been recruited by CIA covert ops chief Frank Wisner to parachute into Transylvania and liaise with anti-Communist insurgents…
It’s November 1948 and I have somehow...
Continue Reading »
Apr.26.2013
The first time I visited Hollywood was 1965. I was sixteen and my parents were keen to show me and my three younger sibs ‘The Beckoning El Dorado.’ I had been weaned on my mother’s stories of her maiden voyage down the palm-lined streets in the early 40s – lunch at the Brown Derby, a...
Continue Reading »
Apr.17.2013
My five fave passages from “A Despicable Profession,” Book Two of the American Spy Trilogy. It’s 1946 and former OSS agent Hal Schroeder has been lured to Berlin by his former boss, General Wild Bill Donovan, to work for something called Global Commerce LTD…
I had never flown on a commercial...
Continue Reading »
Apr.12.2013
My three fave passages from “A Pure Double Cross,” Book One of the American Spy Trilogy.
Cynical OSS agent Hal Schroeder returns from behind-German-lines WWII service to be recruited for a sting operation by the FBI…
I thought all G-men were jut-jawed tough guys who ate nails and pissed...
Continue Reading »
Apr.08.2013
"The Violin Player" is the story of a wealthy Chicago trader, Walt Sumner, whose idyllic family life is shattered by a phantom stalker.
It is my one-and-only attempt to write a mainstream best seller. The book won the Mayhaven Award for Fiction ten years ago.
Let’s not mince words, shall we...
Continue Reading »
Apr.05.2013
I’ve had fun compiling favorite lines from hardboiled fiction and the films noir. People seem to enjoy the effort. So I says to myself, hey, do some compiling of yer own stuff, dumbo. I’ll throw together three fave lines or brief scenes from each of my first two books, then conclude next week with...
Continue Reading »
Apr.02.2013
I would like to add one final flick to my week-long list of lesser known noir gems…
“Nightmare Alley” – (1947) Starring Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell. I can think of no finer example of film noir’s undergirding premise – fate has got you in the crosshairs – than this tale of a young carny huckster...
Continue Reading »
Apr.01.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.30.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.29.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.28.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.27.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.26.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
Mar.25.2013
Just about every film buff and mystery fan knows the classic films noir - “The Big Sleep”, “Murder My Sweet”, “Out of the Past”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” But here are a few not-quite-so-famous noirs that are also worth a look. (I’ll be posting one...
Continue Reading »
The thing to be learned about the spy business is that the least likely is the most probable.”
—Sir Dick White, former Director of MI6
About John
My first novel, "Crystal Meth Cowboys", was optioned by Fox TV. My second novel, "The Violin Player", won the Mayhaven Award for Fiction. I have just completed "The Proxy Assassin", Book Three of "The American Spy Trilogy", my first foray into first person...
Connections
Causes John Knoerle Supports
The USO
Paralyzed Veterans of America
St. Labre Indian School
John’s Favorite Books
"Farewell My Lovely"
"The Thin Man"
"The Tears of Autumn"
"Flashman"
"New Hope for the Dead"