“Samuel knew that he was living through dangerous times – this was not the moment to simply sniffle and weep. He had left Hamburg just in the knick of time – Kristallnacht had happened just nine months earlier – the “party” in Europe […] had already begun. ”

Book Review:

Review by Friederick Knabe  (SEP 29, 2011)

Samuel Berkow, at thirty-eight, stands at the crossroads: In 1938, life in Germany is fast becoming dangerous for Jews. At the urging of his concerned uncle, he agrees to leave Hamburg and emigrate to Guatemala, where his cousin is expected to help him settle. In The Price of Escape, David Unger explores his hero’s self-conscious and stumbling efforts to put his German existence out of his mind as he prepares for a new one that carries promise but is also full of uncertainty.

The narrative quickly moves on to Samuel’s travel on the ship en route to the port town of Puerto Barrios and then focuses on his first three days on land. Guatemalan-American Unger, recognized as one of Guatemala’s prominent writers today, convincingly portrays his hero’s sense of utter confusion and helplessness as he enters, totally unprepared, a foreign world that bears no resemblance to his own. He contrasts Samuel’s former lifestyle, his self-confidence, based mostly on physical appearance and family wealth, with the poverty-ridden, appalling and at times dangerous conditions in Puerto Barrios. Thus, Unger not only builds an affecting portrait of one refugee’s complete dislocation in an unfamiliar environment and his awareness that he must cope somehow, he paints at the same time a colourful, vivid picture of a community in decline, abandoned by a corrupt political system that allows private company interests to control people’s lives and basis for existence.

As the novel unfolds, Samuel encounters a wide range of odd characters, starting with American Alfred Lewis, the dubious captain of the “tramp steamer” that brings Samuel into port. He turns out to be one of the manipulating representatives of the sinister United Fruit Company, the big corporation that has made of Puerto Barrios a “company town” but recently downgraded it to a mere reloading point for banana shipments. While Lewis warns Samuel not to linger in town and to get on the train to Guatemala City as soon as possible, he does everything to add to Samuel’s bewilderment and delay. Every time Samuel is set to make a move to leave, something or somebody interferes: the dwarf, Mr. Price, who offers himself as a guide to the one and only “International Hotel,” his bare room there, or George, the hotel clerk/manager who appears to be one of the more helpful people. Others are added to the colourful mix: a defrocked priest, the station master, an old prostitute, or various odd assemblies of people in the streets or cafes/bars… None of these may in fact behave in any way threatening, however, in his mind, Samuel cannot extricate himself from their influence so that he can get to the train station in time.

Unger creates an atmosphere of suspicion, of hidden and open threats that intermingle in Samuel’s mind with images from his past life, thereby escalating not only his uneasiness but also resulting in his own increasingly strange behaviour towards the people he meets. Personal memories from his past life, especially his short-lived disastrous marriage, still haunt him, more so than any of the recent dangerous political changes in Germany. People come at him with either sugary, even creepy, friendliness or with sarcastic comments and aggressive, even violent, behaviour, one can turn into the other without warning. Samuel appears to be caught in a vicious circle. With only basic Spanish, his communication is fraught with misunderstandings. Who is there to talk to openly and, above all, whose advice can he trust?

Unger illustrates Samuel’s increasing disorientation with scenarios and encounters that recall in some ways Kafkaesque hopeless labyrinthine struggles. Yet, here, the protagonist is responsible for much of the precarious situations he finds himself in: His fashion-conscious clothing make him a laughing stock among the locals; his inability to extricate himself safely and in time from several brewing conflicts puts him into physical danger. His reluctance to eat the local food and even drink the water results in stages of temporary mental confusion, even delirium, that make him act totally irrationally. Afterwards, he has no memory of what he said or did or why, for example, he ends up in the muddy water near the harbour, totally wet and soiled, crawling on all fours, searching for his passport…

Will Samuel manage to escape or will he be completely taken over by the locality? What is “the price” of escape – both from Germany and from Puerto Barrios? The novel’s conclusion answers these questions aptly, coincidences not withstanding. Over the course of the three-day story, Unger creates a continuous narrative tension that keeps us as readers engaged. We never quite know, what accident or confrontation awaits the protagonist next. Despite his sympathetic and expansive characterization of Samuel Berkow, I found him less than a likeable protagonist, at times arbitrarily overdrawn and his behaviour somewhat exaggerated. Readers who anticipate – given various publicity materials – that considerable attention in the novel is given to the historical situation in Germany in the nineteen thirties, will be disappointed. Unger’s primary concern is Guatemala.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 6 readers
PUBLISHER:	Akashic Books; 1 edition (April 19, 2011)
REVIEWER:	Friederike Knabe
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wikipedia page on David Unger
EXTRAS:	Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Fame: A Novel In Nine Episodes by Daniel Kehlmann Banana by Daniel Koppel

Bibliography (English only):

• Life in the Damn Tropics (2004)
• The Price of Escape (April 2011)

“Philadelphia noir is different from the mood, the sensibility, the dimensions of noir encountered in more glamorous American cities…In Philadelphia, we do ordinary noir – the humble killings, robberies, collars, cold cases that confront people largely occupied with getting by.” –Carlin Romano

Book Review:

Review by Chuck Barksdale  (JAN 15, 2011)

Akhasic Press’ new collection of  noir stories is Philadelphia Noir, with 15 stories based in various parts of the city and one neighboring town (Narberth, PA). Finally, after many US and foreign cities already having a collection or some cities having two, one of the US oldest, and darkest cities has a collection of its own.

The stories are provided in one of four sections – City of Bursts, City of Otherly Love, The Faker City and Those Who Forget the Past. The best section is probably the last as each story, as the section implies, has some part that is historically based. Duane Swierczynski’s “Lonergan’s Girl” seemed to stay with me the most and is my favorite in the collection. While an off duty policeman, John Lonergan rides the cold unheated one-year old Frankford El in January, 1924, he becomes worried about a female rider that he believes will need his help. However, things turn out differently when another man enters their car and asks “Wallets and purses.” Another excellent story in this section was “Reality” by Cordelia Frances Biddle where a current day re-enactment in the Old City section of Philadelphia finds the author realizing the characters from her Martha Beale series had come to life. The other two stories in this section “The Ratcatcher” by Gerald Kolpan and “Ghost Walk” by Cary Holladay are also excellent, although my distaste for rodents probably kept me from really appreciating “The Ratcatcher” and the talents of the main character in collecting and training rats. In “Ghost Walk,” a modern day tour guide tells a story of a man who collects dead bodies in his basement who becomes interested in a woman and her daughter.

“Devil’s Pocket” by Keith Gilman is one of the best stories in this collection as is “A Cut Above” by Laura Spagnoli. “Devil’s Pocket,” from the City of Bursts section, is a first person story of ex-Policeman Seamus Kilpatrick. When he finds out Millie Price, the woman who asked to meet with him to help with a problem, has been murdered, he begins his own investigation into her murder. “A Cut Above” from the City of Otherly Love section has Beth realizing how easy it is to steal from her friends and co-workers to provide her and her new boyfriend Alex some needed fun in their lives, although things may not be as fun as she thought.

Johnny Temple, the publisher and founder of Akashic Books, was honored in November, 2010 at Noircon in Philadelphia. As part of one of the panels, he was interviewed by Tim McLouglin (the editor of Akashic’s first noir collection). The panel discussion provided interesting background about Johnny Temple (part of a punk rock group Girls Against Boys) and why he founded Akashic Books. The publication of Philadelphia Noir was scheduled for Noircon and a separate panel was held with Carlin Romano, the editor and author of one story and several other authors who had books in the collection, including Meredith Anthony, Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Tafoya and Jeff Zervanos.

All of the authors have spent some time in the city and some have been lifelong residents. As a result, I think, the authors avoided the obvious references that most people not from the area would recognize, such as talking about cheesesteaks (probably referenced once) or the Phillies (referenced a few times, but that’s understandable…) Carlin Romano mentions this in his introduction:

With apologies, you won’t find the obvious here. Having served as literary critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty-five years, and written more stories on “Philadelphia Literature” than anyone living, I thank my contributors for their very limited references to hoagies, cheesesteaks, water ice, soft pretzels, and waitresses that call their customers “Hon.” There’s no glimpse of Clay Olenburg’s Clothespin or the rowers by the Waterworks, and only one passing mention of Rocky. Truth is, we don’t talk much about those things. We just live our lives.

Interestingly after just reading this introduction, I felt the first story, “Princess” by Aimee LaBrie, which was otherwise an interesting and enjoyable story, seemed to start with a few too many Philadelphia references. Nonetheless, these references are fortunately very few throughout the collection.

Since I was at Noircon and as a Philadelphia area resident for my entire life, I was very interested in reading this collection. Although I had heard of a few of the authors in this collection, I had actually never read anything significant by any of the contributors. After sitting through the panel discussion at Noircon, I was most interested in those authors that were present, especially those that stayed for many of the other panels, such as Duane Swierczynski and Dennis Tafoya. Although never a city resident, I’ve worked and attended college in many different parts of Philadelphia over the last 50 years. However, I still am not familiar with many parts or the specific names of the sections of the city. Each story is based on a section (neighborhood) of the city and marked under the title and marked on a helpful, although perhaps not exactly accurate, map of the city.

As is now more customary in short story collections, this book also included a short biography and photo of each author at the end of the book. Since many of these authors are not that well known it was helpful to learn more about them and where to get even more information.

Overall, this collection was excellent, but left me wanting more. Many sections of the city were overlooked and with two exceptions, the neighboring suburbs were not mentioned. Hopefully, Carlin Romano and Akashic press will be up for another collection. After all, smaller cities, such as Boston and San Francisco have already had several collections.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 2 readers
PUBLISHER:	Akashic Noir Series (November 1, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Chuck Barksdale
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wikipedia page on Carlin Romano
EXTRAS:	Akashic page on Philadephia Noir
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Moscow Noir San Francisco Noir 2 New Orleans Noir Mexico City Noir Boston Noir

Bibliography:

Books in the Akashic Noir Series (Alphabetical Order):

• Baltimore Noir edited by Laura Lippman (May 2006)
• Boston Noir edited by Dennis Lehane (Nivember 2009)
• Bronx Noir edited by by S.J. Rozan (August 2007)
• Brooklyn Noir edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2004)
• Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2005)
• Chicago Noir edited by Neal Pollack (2005)
• Copenhagen Noir edited by Bo Tao Michaelis (January 2011)
• D.C. Noir edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• D.C. Noir 2: The Classics edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• Delhi Noir by Hirsh Sawhney (August 2009)
• Detroit Noir edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking (November 2007)
• Dublin Noir : The Celtic Tiger vs. The Ugly American edited by Ken Bruen (March 2006)
• Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat (January 2011)
• Havana Noir edited by Achy Obejas (October 2007)
• Indian Country Noir edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez (June 2010)
• Istanbul Noir edted by Mustafa Ziyalan and Amy Spangler (November 2008)
• Las Vegas Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• London Noir edited by Cathi Unsworth (August 2006)
• Lone Star Noir edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd (October 2010)
• Los Angeles Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics edited by Denise Hamilton (April 2010)
• Manhattan Noir edited by Lawrence Block (April 2006)
• Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics edited by Lawrence Block (September 2008)
• Mexico City Noir edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (February 2010)
• Miami Noir edited by Les Standiford (November 2006)
• Moscow Noir edited by Natalia Smirnova & Julia Goumen (June 2010)
• New Orleans Noir edited by Julie Smith (April 2007)
• Orange County Noir edited by Gary Phillips (April 2010)
• Paris Noir edited by Aurélien Masson (November 2008)
• Philadelphia edited by Carlin Romano (November 2010)
• Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Milikin (November 2009)
• Portland Noir edited by Kevin Sampsell (June 2009)
• Richmond Noir edited by Andrew Blossom, Briand Castleberry & Tom De Haven (March 2010)
• Rome Noir edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski (February 2009)
• Queens Noir edited by Robert Knightly (January 2008)
• San Francisco Noir (October 2005)
• San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics (February 2009)
• Seattle Noir edited by Curt Colbert (June 2009)
• Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore (May 2008)
• Trinidad Noir edited by by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason (August 2008)
• Twin Cities Noir edited by Julie Schaper and Steven Horwitz (June 2006)
• Wall Street Noir edited by Peter Spiegelman (June 2007)

“I had thought I lived in one of the best neighborhoods in Moscow. Right next to the Sokol railway station and the large triangle of Bratsky Park, with its stately old lime trees. The park ends right at a lane of chestnuts, straight as an arrow, bordering an elegant square. That lane runs up to the famous Birch Grove Park, as big as a small forest. To live in a place surrounded by trees and green parks—what more could you wish for? Well, for one thing, that there weren’t sexual predators roaming around in them.”

–from “The Coat that Smelled Like Earth” by Dimitri Kosyrev (Master Chen).

Book Review:

Review by Sudheer Apte (JUN 1, 2010)

Akashic Books has become the Starbucks of noir, with new locations in their Noir Series franchise opening every day. Moscow Noir is a story collection set in Moscow. Each story is set in a particular location in the city, and there is a small, hand-drawn map at the beginning showing where these neighborhoods are. These particular stories are originally in Russian, each translated into English for the collection.

Apart from their beat, what is common to all these stories is their dark and menacing subject matter. Thomas Hobbes wrote in the seventeenth century Leviathan that, in the natural state of mankind, a man’s life is “solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.” These adjectives would all apply to these stories set in today’s Russian Federation. Sordid crimes, gangsters and other underworld characters, sometimes supernatural themes, and a hefty body count characterize most of them.

Russia, and Moscow in particular, has a multi-layered and long history of suffering, offering up a rich mine of trauma, oppression, and unresolved conflict. It also has a long literary tradition. The best stories in the collection have some reverberations of a hoary past on the everyday life of a neighborhood. My favorite is “The Coat that Smelled Like Earth,” by Dimitri Kosyrev (Master Chen), where a Sherlock Holmes-like protagonist, a psychiatrist who is an amateur sleuth, tries to dig into a series of sexual assaults near his home, and unearths strange connections to Soviet-era buildings and bomb shelters under an abandoned military airport.

The book’s two editors together run an agency in Saint Petersburg for Russian writers worldwide, and their selections reflect a wide range. Among the fourteen stories, no author is represented twice. Some stories are set on a large-scale epic canvas, evoking the old deprivations of the two World Wars, when entire populations were displaced by hunger and war. Others are more intimate: in “Daddy Loves Me” by Maxim Maximov, a schoolteacher who lives in her old father’s apartment poisons him. In true Russian fashion, the poison does not work as promised by her underworld contacts, and she has to take matters into her own hands.

It is hard to over-emphasize the power of the locations described in some of these stories. The city of Moscow is itself quite a character in real life. The particular neighborhood described in the Kosyrev story, on the northern segment of the Zamoskvoretskaya metro line, is a typical mixed-use neighborhood. Small wooden stalls selling flowers, vegetables, and money changing services jostle for space with big retail stores along the four-lane divided highway called Leningradskiy Prospekt. Leafy but crowded residential apartment blocks sit right next to them, sharing dusty streets with huge, ugly buildings of an aeronautical part maunfacturer, while the subway rumbles underneath. The anonymity of a big, twenty-first century city here lives uneasily with a past, not long ago, when these same buildings were part of a military-industrial complex close to an airport.

The young gum-chewing women and men descending the giant escalators into Sokol metro station today probably never think about that past. These stories might force them to.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 2 readers
PUBLISHER:	Akashic Books (June 1, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Sudheer Apte
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Natalia Smirnova and Julia Goumen
EXTRAS:	Publisher Page on Moscow Noir
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Philadelphia Noir San Francisco Noir 2 New Orleans Noir Mexico City Noir Boston Noir

Bibliography:

Books in the Akashic Noir Series (Alphabetical Order):

• Baltimore Noir edited by Laura Lippman (May 2006)
• Boston Noir edited by Dennis Lehane (Nivember 2009)
• Bronx Noir edited by by S.J. Rozan (August 2007)
• Brooklyn Noir edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2004)
• Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2005)
• Chicago Noir edited by Neal Pollack (2005)
• D.C. Noir edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• D.C. Noir 2: The Classics edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• Delhi Noir by Hirsh Sawhney (August 2009)
• Detroit Noir edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking (November 2007)
• Dublin Noir : The Celtic Tiger vs. The Ugly American edited by Ken Bruen (March 2006)
• Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat (January 2011)
• Havana Noir edited by Achy Obejas (October 2007)
• Indian Country Noir edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez (June 2010)
• Istanbul Noir edted by Mustafa Ziyalan and Amy Spangler (November 2008)
• Las Vegas Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• London Noir edited by Cathi Unsworth (August 2006)
• Lone Star Noir edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd (October 2010)
• Los Angeles Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics edited by Denise Hamilton (April 2010)
• Manhattan Noir edited by Lawrence Block (April 2006)
• Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics edited by Lawrence Block (September 2008)
• Mexico City Noir edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (February 2010)
• Miami Noir edited by Les Standiford (November 2006)
• Moscow Noir edited by Natalia Smirnova & Julia Goumen (June 2010)
• New Orleans Noir edited by Julie Smith (April 2007)
• Orange County Noir edited by Gary Phillips (April 2010)
• Paris Noir edited by Aurélien Masson (November 2008)
• Philadelphia edited by Carlin Romano (November 2010)
• Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Milikin (November 2009)
• Portland Noir edited by Kevin Sampsell (June 2009)
• Richmond Noir edited by Andrew Blossom, Briand Castleberry & Tom De Haven (March 2010)
• Rome Noir edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski (February 2009)
• Queens Noir edited by Robert Knightly (January 2008)
• San Francisco Noir (October 2005)
• San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics (February 2009)
• Seattle Noir edited by Curt Colbert (June 2009)
• Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore (May 2008)
• Trinidad Noir edited by by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason (August 2008)
• Twin Cities Noir edited by Julie Schaper and Steven Horwitz (June 2006)
• Wall Street Noir edited by Peter Spiegelman (June 2007)

“I’ve said many times that statistics reveal a surprising city; one that has more movie theatres than Paris, more abortions than London, more universities than New York. Where nighttime has become sparse, desolate, the kingdom of only a few. Where violence rules, corners us, silences us into a kind of autism. Shuts us in our bedrooms with the TV on, creates that terrible circle of solitude where no one can depend on anyone but themselves.”

Book Review:

Review by Guy Savage (MAR 11, 2010)

As a fan of author Paco Ignacio Taibo II, the founder of the Mexican neodetective story, I knew I had to read Mexico City Noir released 2/10 by Akashic books. I am addicted to Taibo’s series detective novels which feature the philosophical one-eyed detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne. Hector’s favoured modus operandi is to snoop around and to be a big enough pain that someone somewhere breaks ranks and rattles loose with a clue or two. It’s a method that gets Taibo into a great deal of trouble (hence the one-eye), and keeps him poor, but he never loses his sense of humour. Anyway, add me to the legion of Taibo’s fans who’d read this writer’s shopping list if he bothered to write it on a piece of toilet paper.

So…this brings me back to Mexico City Noir a collection of 12 stories written by some of Mexico’s hottest talent (I should add here that Taibo was born in Spain but has lived in Mexico since 1958). Mexico City Noir is part of Akashic’s Noir Series. Each book in the series is set in either a distinct neighbourhood or location: hence Mexico City Noir. I haven’t read Akashic’s Paris Noir, but when I hear the title, I can’t help but see some elegant, suave noir characters (I’m thinking Jean Gabin or Alain Delon here…), but Mexico City Noir…well…you know it’s going to be hardcore.

The wonderful, insightful introduction written by Taibo sets the scene for what to expect from the rest of the book. Taibo clearly loves Mexico City, and he calls it “the best city on the planet in spite of itself.” Many of Taibo’s introductory, wry observations about the city are affectionate, but others analyze the insurmountable corruption. He recounts how he met a policeman who works a particular corner; it’s “his” corner, and that translates to mean he must pay his supervisor what amounts to a weekly “rent”– a portion of whatever fines he can extract from those who cross his corner. Corruption is everywhere and on every level:

“Survey question: how many citizens do you know who, when assaulted on the street, will call the police? A few, none; maybe one of those boys in blue who patrols the intersections of this newly democratic city? A secret cop? Not on your life. What do you want to be assaulted twice?

How big is the Mexico City police force? They say fifty-two squads. How many are officially sanctioned? How many bodyguards, paramilitary forces, armed groups associated with this or that official unit are there?

You wake up one morning with the uneasy feeling that the law of probabilities is working against you.”

Frankly I expected that Taibo’s story would be my favourite from the collection. Sorry Taibo, no hard feelings, but you come a very close second here. My first pick story is “Violeta Isn’t Here Anymore” written by Myriam Laurini, followed by Taibo’s “The Corner.” Third: (and this is because I am sucker, at least in fiction, for a really rotten dame), Bernardo Fernandez’s “Private Collection.” Yes, there’s money for some in Mexico City and this story goes to show that it’s perhaps bad for your health to question the source of great wealth.

“Violeta Isn’t Here Anymore” is interesting in part due to the fact the story unfolds via cassette tapes of recorded sessions with various witnesses in an investigation of the murder of a well-liked elderly lady. Taibo’s introduction mentions that a “shared element in the stories…is an interest in experimentation, in crossing narrative planes, points of view” and this is apparent in this diverse collection of stories which reflect the harshness and also the brittle brilliance of life in Mexico City.

These Akashic Noir collections are a great way to pick up new authors, and to complement this idea, there are brief bios of the writers at the back of the book. (Translated by Achy Obejas.)

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 2 readers
PUBLISHER:	Akashic Books (February 1, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Guy Savage
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Paco Ignacio Taibo II
EXTRAS:	Akashic Books website
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Visit our Paco Ignacio Taibo II page Review our review of: Philadelphia Noir San Francisco Noir 2 New Orleans Noir Boston Noir Moscow Noir

Bibliography:

Books in the Akashic Noir Series (Alphabetical Order):

• Baltimore Noir edited by Laura Lippman (May 2006)
• Boston Noir edited by Dennis Lehane (Nivember 2009)
• Bronx Noir edited by by S.J. Rozan (August 2007)
• Brooklyn Noir edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2004)
• Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2005)
• Chicago Noir edited by Neal Pollack (2005)
• D.C. Noir edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• D.C. Noir 2: The Classics edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• Delhi Noir by Hirsh Sawhney (August 2009)
• Detroit Noir edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking (November 2007)
• Dublin Noir : The Celtic Tiger vs. The Ugly American edited by Ken Bruen (March 2006)
• Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat (January 2011)
• Havana Noir edited by Achy Obejas (October 2007)
• Indian Country Noir edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez (June 2010)
• Istanbul Noir edted by Mustafa Ziyalan and Amy Spangler (November 2008)
• Las Vegas Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• London Noir edited by Cathi Unsworth (August 2006)
• Lone Star Noir edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd (October 2010)
• Los Angeles Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics edited by Denise Hamilton (April 2010)
• Manhattan Noir edited by Lawrence Block (April 2006)
• Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics edited by Lawrence Block (September 2008)
• Mexico City Noir edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (February 2010)
• Miami Noir edited by Les Standiford (November 2006)
• Moscow Noir edited by Natalia Smirnova & Julia Goumen (June 2010)
• New Orleans Noir edited by Julie Smith (April 2007)
• Orange County Noir edited by Gary Phillips (April 2010)
• Paris Noir edited by Aurélien Masson (November 2008)
• Philadelphia edited by Carlin Romano (November 2010)
• Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Milikin (November 2009)
• Portland Noir edited by Kevin Sampsell (June 2009)
• Richmond Noir edited by Andrew Blossom, Briand Castleberry & Tom De Haven (March 2010)
• Rome Noir edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski (February 2009)
• Queens Noir edited by Robert Knightly (January 2008)
• San Francisco Noir (October 2005)
• San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics (February 2009)
• Seattle Noir edited by Curt Colbert (June 2009)
• Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore (May 2008)
• Trinidad Noir edited by by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason (August 2008)
• Twin Cities Noir edited by Julie Schaper and Steven Horwitz (June 2006)
• Wall Street Noir edited by Peter Spiegelman (June 2007)

“One of the recurrent themes of noir has always been the search for home. Not home in the physical sense – though that does happen – but in the irrational, emotional sense. The heroes and heroines of noir are usually chasing something they couldn’t hold even if they caught up to it. Some part of them understands the futility of the chase even as another part clings to the need for it. This is probably why, if only to alleviate the pain of waiting, they chase something else in the meantime – a lover, a bank job, the murder of an inconvenient spouse. Yet the home being searched for in these pages might be Boston, and the journey to find it – however fruitless that goal may turn out to be – is as rich and varied, as hilarious and sad, and ultimately as engaging as the city itself.”
From Dennis Lehane’s Introduction

Book Review:

Review by Chris C.T. Terry (NOV 5, 2009)

Boston Noir is one of the latest releases in Akashic Books’ mighty Noir Series. Each collection offers around a dozen new short stories from a city’s literary luminaries. The stories are all tough, bleak and crime-related and they have specific neighborhood settings in the featured city.

Boston Noir is edited by Dennis Lehane, a masterful crime writer whose work transcends the shackles of genre fiction to become plain ol’ great literature. Two of his novels, Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, have been made into movies and he has written for the HBO television series The Wire. He also contributes a piece to this collection, “Animal Rescue,” a story about a Dorchester tough guy who finds an abused dog.

Other highlights of the collection include Russ Aborn’s George V. Higgins-esque 1970s robber caper “Turn Speed,” the kidnapping in Jim Fusilli’s “The Place Where He Belongs,” the feuding writers in Don Lee’s “The Oriental Hair Poets,” and the camaraderie between convict and citizen in “Dark Water” by Patricia Powell.

The stories are set across Boston and even in some suburbs. Beacon Hill, Roxbury, Brookline and the North End all appear on the page. The characters range from bourgeois black artists, to Catholic priests, to knucklehead gangsters, to classic private eyes.

Boston is one of the oldest cities in the country, and its rich history is mined for material, too. The gumshoe in” The Dark Island” by Brendan Dubois is a recent veteran of World War II, and the innkeeper in Dana Cameron’s “Femme Sole” probably remembers the American Revolution.

I had my own favorite stories in Boston Noir, but those are stories that stuck with me because of my own tastes and interests, not because the other stories were lacking in any way. Boston Noir is a worthy read for any fan of crime writing, especially someone with an attachment to Boston. This book is a perfect gift for that hard-to-shop-for friend from New England who still drops their R’s even though they’ve lived in Seattle for fifteen years. And hey, if you’ve got a friend from another city, have a look at the list of Akashic’s other Noir titles. Their hometown is probably represented.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 15 readers
PUBLISHER:	Akashic Books (November 1, 2009)
REVIEWER:	Chris “C.T.” Terry
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Official website for Dennis Lehane
EXTRAS:	Akashic Books website
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Visit our Dennis Lehane page Read our review of: Philadelphia Noir San Francisco Noir 2 New Orleans Noir Mexico City Noir Moscow  Noir

Bibliography:

Books in the Akashic Noir Series (Alphabetical Order):

• Baltimore Noir edited by Laura Lippman (May 2006)
• Boston Noir edited by Dennis Lehane (Nivember 2009)
• Boston Noir 2: The Classics (November 2012)
• Bronx Noir edited by by S.J. Rozan (August 2007)
• Brooklyn Noir edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2004)
• Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics edited by Tim McLoughlin (June 2005)
• Chicago Noir edited by Neal Pollack (2005)
• D.C. Noir edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• D.C. Noir 2: The Classics edited by George Pelecanos (February 2006)
• Delhi Noir by Hirsh Sawhney (August 2009)
• Detroit Noir edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking (November 2007)
• Dublin Noir : The Celtic Tiger vs. The Ugly American edited by Ken Bruen (March 2006)
• Haiti Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat (January 2011)
• Havana Noir edited by Achy Obejas (October 2007)
• Indian Country Noir edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez (June 2010)
• Istanbul Noir edted by Mustafa Ziyalan and Amy Spangler (November 2008)
• Las Vegas Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• London Noir edited by Cathi Unsworth (August 2006)
• Lone Star Noir edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd (October 2010)
• Los Angeles Noir edited by Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce (May 2008)
• Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics edited by Denise Hamilton (April 2010)
• Manhattan Noir edited by Lawrence Block (April 2006)
• Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics edited by Lawrence Block (September 2008)
• Mexico City Noir edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II (February 2010)
• Miami Noir edited by Les Standiford (November 2006)
• Moscow Noir edited by Natalia Smirnova & Julia Goumen (June 2010)
• New Orleans Noir edited by Julie Smith (April 2007)
• Orange County Noir edited by Gary Phillips (April 2010)
• Paris Noir edited by Aurélien Masson (November 2008)
• Philadelphia edited by Carlin Romano (November 2010)
• Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Milikin (November 2009)
• Portland Noir edited by Kevin Sampsell (June 2009)
• Richmond Noir edited by Andrew Blossom, Briand Castleberry & Tom De Haven (March 2010)
• Rome Noir edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski (February 2009)
• Queens Noir edited by Robert Knightly (January 2008)
• San Francisco Noir (October 2005)
• San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics (February 2009)
• Seattle Noir edited by Curt Colbert (June 2009)
• Toronto Noir edited by Janine Armin and Nathaniel G. Moore (May 2008)
• Trinidad Noir edited by by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason (August 2008)
• Twin Cities Noir edited by Julie Schaper and Steven Horwitz (June 2006)
• Wall Street Noir edited by Peter Spiegelman (June 2007)