Stark House Press

02/12/2025

01/13/2025

In December we lost our good friend Barry Malzberg who passed away in hospice care after a series of health complications. We have been celebrating his unique style and singular vision for the past ten years with reprints of almost 40 of his novels and short story collections here at Stark House. An...

12/20/2024

The world lost one of its gracious gentlemen today with the passing of Barry Malzberg. Besides being one of our favorite writers, Barry was incredibly generous as a person, and we are proud to have known him. We miss him already. He leaves the world a lesser place for his passing.

12/17/2024

Lorenz Heller is one of our favorite discoveries here at Stark House. And this month we've published two of his more obscure works, DESPERATE BLONDE and DUNGAREE SIN. James Reasoner reviewed the first book on his "Rough Edges" site, and we would be remiss if we didn't share it.... https://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/2024/12/review-desperate-blonde-lorenz-heller.html

Available, as you might suspect, wherever books are being sold.

12/14/2024

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are upon us, that another year has slipped by—so quickly, if not quietly. Stark House has celebrated 25 years in business, and we’re looking forward to year 26. But while it’s still 2024, we offer five more books for your reading pleasure for the month ...

12/14/2024

The Stark House Black G*t book for December is TOO RICH TO DIE by H. Vernor Dixon, a California author who set most of his books in the Monterey area, including this one. Here is what Richard Krauss at Larque Press has to say about it: https://larquepress.com/

Available wherever books are being sold.

12/09/2024

Our lead title for December is a rare Orrie Hitt novel written under the pen name of Fred Martin. It is the only time Hitt used this name. The book is called HIRED LOVER, and if you missed it, here is a link to this week's "Paperback Warrior" review: http://www.paperbackwarrior.com/2024/12/hired-lover.html

In his introduction, Jeff Vorzimmer explains how he determined that this is truly an Orrie Hitt book, as writers like James Reasoner had theorized in the past. If you find yourself intrigued by all this, HIRED LOVER has been paired with SUMMER HOTEL and is available wherever books are being sold.

11/27/2024

THE NUREMBERG PAPERS by Jonathan Lewis begins with the disappearance of Klaus Wagenmann...

It had been three days since Larsen and MacFarlane had transported a handcuffed Wagenmann back to Frankfurt. Private Roberts, visibly relieved that his role in the whole affair was over, had dropped them off at the nearest American military airfield.

From there, the two men took a Curtiss C-46 Commando transport plane from Nuremberg to Frankfurt. Their journey continued with a bumpy ride in the back of a U.S. Army supply truck, driven by an unusually gregarious black serviceman from Mississippi who nonetheless knew better than to ask who the "package" was.

They then rode from an airfield outside Frankfurt and into the still largely ruined central city district where broken glass and scattered debris lined the streets. When the diesel truck squealed to a stop at its final destination, two men in suits and one with a black sack over his head emerged from the back of the truck and promptly disappeared deep within the confines of a medium-sized office building.

From that moment on, the man known as Klaus Wagenmann officially ceased to exist.

This new thriller plus all the rest of the Stark House print editions are available at our website for 25% off. No Black Friday Sale here, Our readers get an entire month's worth!

11/17/2024

Newsletter time!

It’s not often we get a chance to second guess the paperback publishers of the past. But this month David Laurence Wilson has given us a chance to make two 1960s W. R. Burnett books available in their original versions. Fawcett published these two books as paperback originals. But the Fawcett edit...

11/15/2024

Don't forget! 25% off all print books (ebooks not included) for the entire month of November at starkhousepress.com

11/01/2024

Our lead title for November is a 2-fer of W. R. Burnett thrillers, NIGHT WITHOUT MORNING and ROUND THE CLOCK AT VOLARI'S. The special deal here is that David Laurence Wilson went back to Burnett's original manuscripts, which the Fawcett editors changed when the two books were first published back in the 1960s.

In fact, with NIGHT WITHOUT MORNING they changed the title as well, publishing it as THE COOL MAN. Now at last, you can read pure, unadulterated Burnett. Here's what the "Booklist" reviewer had to say about it...

If you’ve never read the mysteries of W. R. Burnett (awarded the Grand Master distinction by the Mystery Writers of America in 1980), you’re probably still familiar with his work from the
screenplays he wrote independently or adapted from his novels, like the tough guy dramas Little Caesar, High Sierra, and The Asphalt Jungle. This is a republication of two late works by Burnett.
Night without Morning (1968) focuses on the sole survivor of a bank heist (the others are dead or in jail), who five years later, still flush with money, finally feels safe—but the reader knows that
his pursuers are closing in. The switch between the criminal’s point of view and that of his pursuers is chilling. The second, Round the Clock at Volari’s (1961) features criminals of another sort: lawyers and politicians who frequent a Hades-like bar and who wait for the other shoe (or body) to drop. With a fascinating Introduction to Burnett’s life and works by critic David Laurence Wilson.
— Connie Fletcher

Available soon wherever books are being sold!

10/31/2024

Just a quick reminder...

RETURN OF THE 25% SALE

Reaction to our June 25% off sale celebrating 25 years of Stark House was such a success, we decided to repeat it once more before year’s end. So we’re going to make the same offer throughout the month of November—time enough to order holiday gifts as well as personal purchases. And this time, we’re going to make all the print editions 25% off, including the $7 overstock sale books (sorry, no discount on ebooks).

It's a good time to stock up on Stark House. All November orders will be sold at 25% off! Go wild.

10/18/2024

If you enjoy a good prison novel, look no further than Jerome Odlum's classic, EACH DAWN I DIE, our 11th Staccato Crime release. Here's what Richard Krauss at Larque Press has to say about it: https://larquepress.com/2024/10/01/each-dawn-i-die-by-jerome-odlum/

The story of the author in David Rachels' introduction is almost as fascinating as the book.

And while you're at it, check out the 1939 film with James Cagney and George Raft!

Available wherever books are being sold.

10/18/2024

Out now, SILVER MOON RISING, the 2nd Detective Bourque mystery by A. M. Potter. Here's what "Publishers Weekly" had to say...

Silver Moon Rising (Detective Bourque #2)
A.M. Potter. Stark House, $15.95 trade paper (248p) ISBN 979-8-88601-100-5

Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Massachusetts Cape & Islands Detective Unit (after The Color Red) is even better than its predecessor. At the outset, Bourque is called to Martha’s Vineyard to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel floating in the water with a knife in his heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales. His protest methods occasionally got him in trouble with the law and courted controversy. When more people—some linked to Daniel—are stabbed to death, Ivy must figure out which of Daniel’s enemies, including Massachusetts politicians and corporate whaling interests, are angry enough to kill. Potter spends worthwhile time illustrating how Ivy’s background in organic chemistry benefits her investigative work, and evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. (Sept.)

Available now wherever books are being sold! And check out Bourque #1, THE COLOR RED, at starkhousepress.com while you're at it.

10/14/2024

Reaction to our June 25% off sale celebrating 25 years of Stark House was such a success, we decided to repeat it once more before year’s end. So we’re going to make the same offer throughout the month of November—time enough to order holiday gifts as well as personal purchases. And this time,...