8/08/2014

Book Review: USA Noir




USA noir, edited by Johnny Temple, Akashic Books, 2013

If you're at all a fan of noir fiction, you've probably seen at least one or two volumes of the City Noir anthologies published by Akashic Books. There have been over fifty by this point, so reading them all is a pretty daunting task. USA noir is a "Best Of" selection from the volumes set in USA cities and locales; the separate volumes have pretty good reputations for quality on their own, so USA noir is damn good.

There were a few stories included that left me cold, but almost all were enjoyable reads, with a good number outstanding, Highlights: Dennis LeHane's "Animal Rescue", George Pelecanos' "The Confidential Informant", Maggie Estep's "Alice Fantastic", Tim McCoughlin's "When All This Was Bay Ridge", Reed Farrell Coleman's "Mastermind", Domenic Stansberry's "The Prison", William Kent Krueger's "Bums", T. Jefferson Parker's "Vic Primeval", and Jeffrey Deaver's "A Nice Place To Visit".

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