The earlier 'Film Noir Readers', which now boast a combined sale of well over 30,000 copies, have all quite deliberately conveyed a sweeping overview of the genre, demonstrating how broad and inclusive noir movies are. This addition moves in a different direction. Its purpose is to identify a handful of plot elements that consistently recur within film noir and to analyse in depth the memorable pictures that, while vivid prototypes of certain cinematic themes, bend and break their moulds to find new ways to enthrall and frighten us.