A master of small-town noir, Chris Orlet is the author of the novels So Many Things to Bury (Down & Out Books), A Taste of Shotgun (Down & Out Books), In The Pines (New Pulp Press) and a contributor to Dirty Boulevard: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Lou Reed (Down & Out Books). He was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois.
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
“Finally a worthy successor to James Crumley and Newton Thornburg and Kem Nunn, the 1970’s godfathers of true noir’s long-needed revival.” Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinnati, Out of Mercy, and The Cost of Doing Business
“Classic noir! A Taste of Shotgun features craven characters creating carnage and feckless fuckwits failing and flaming out fantastically. Fuck yeah." Jedidiah Ayres, author of Peckerwood
“(So Many Things to Bury) is a REALLY good novel. Nothing I love more than a story about a loser who is driven by circumstance to find a heretofore hidden higher gear.” Jim Thomsen, The Killing Rain: Left Coast Crime Anthology
“Often very funny, and true to the “noir” tradition in that its central characters are terminal screw-ups who get themselves deeper and deeper into horrible fixes. The more they try to dig themselves out, the worse it gets.” Rory Costello, Hard Sentences: Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz
“White trash noir at its finest. Dirt balls, criminals, and other assorted living train wrecks doing crazy stupid things, and it is funny as well. What is there not to love? I look forward to other titles by this author.” Paul McBride, book reviewer
“A great view of small-time crime and its working-class in America roots as people struggle to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families.” David Nemeth, Unlawful Acts
"An enjoyable novel by an author of no small talent. Orlet has a pitch-perfect eye and ear for the woes of people just barely keeping a nostril above the surface in a never-ending struggle for financial and psychological survival." Jim Thomsen, The Killing Rain: Left Coast Crime Anthology
“Fantastic small town noir. Reminded me quite a bit of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me. Highly recommended.”
Filled with top-notch witty prose and humor until the consequences of [the narrator’s] choices leave no one laughing.” Wil A. Emerson, bestselling short story author
“A great view of small-time crime and its working-class in America roots as people struggle to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families.”
“If AMC produced an ‘after dark’ series for fans of Law & Order from the point-of-view of bad guys, [A Taste of Shotgun] would be the pilot.”
“An impressive debut into the murky world of noir, where bad things happen and luck runs out.” Edward Squires, Not Quite Novellas
