-a review of Kate Pilarcik's The Damp Fedora "Reading The Damp Fedora " copyright 2016 Kristin Fouquet Noir fiction evolved from the hard-boiled and crime genre fiction with origins in the 1920s, particularly the stories from Black Mask magazine. Dashiell Hammett created the suave, clever Sam Spade and the ever-charming Nick and Nora Charles. Raymond Chandler conceived tough guy, detective Philip Marlowe. In The Damp Fedora , Kate Pilarcik introduces Nelle Callahan: “ Hello there . Cop a seat. Sit a spell. They call me Nelle. Nelle Callahan. I’m a private eye with a penchant for winking trouble’s way. I can load a Luger or lead on a loser without looking over my shoulder, come the end of a coffee and doughnut day. That’s how they come to you. When you least expect it. But you knew that. You’re no flimflam or chump. You’re jake.” Nelle’s first person account eases into third person for the remainder of the “noirvella,” but her lingo, her cracking wise, n...