I’ve read three books like this—The Lazarus Effect by H. J. Golakai, Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey, and The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey.
You all know what urban fantasy is—they take place in a city and most people in that environment don’t believe in the supernatural/magic, but it does exist.
The protagonist is either a private detective or some other job that means they are in regular contact with people in the city’s seedy underbelly—cat burglar, investigative reporter, etc. The protagonist smokes too much or drinks too much, they are cynical and embittered usually due to their traumatic past (or just bad things that happened to them that didn’t quite reach trauma levels), they have zero or very few friends, they usually have an ex that they still carry a torch for who will probably pop up in the book at some point, and they probably have a quirky sense of humor that no one around them appreciates because they frequently bust it out at inappropriate times.
I realized halfway through The Everything Box that I could read every urban fantasy noir book ever and still not get sick of it. I just love it.
Sci-fi noir is also appreciated. Cyberpunk as a genre is basically inherently sci-fi noir, but I’d especially love stories that really lean into the noir protagonist and checks all the boxes I listed above, like Juno Steel from The Penumbra Podcast (not a book, I know).
Thank you!!!
by PromiseThomas