236 pages
English language
Published May 2, 2009 by Akashic Books.
The good stories are very good and the others are not terrible. Fun book.
Obviously, I am going to love a book of "noir" short stories, set in my home city, edited by the legendary Lehane, and including stories from authors like Stewart O'Nan, Patricia Powell and even Lehane itself. I even love the map at the beginning of the book, which shows where each story takes place. And it didn't disappoint. Each story had a twist, usually pretty dark, and had a desirably murky ending.
Some favorites:
+ Lynne Heitman opened the book with bang, as Exit Interview ever so slowly unveiled the story, a dark twisted one. Delicious!
+ Lehane's Animal Rescue reminded me of the movie The Drop, where a dog plays an interesting part in an otherwise grim story.
+ Femme Sole by Dana Cameron was a stand out, as it was set in 1745 Boston, about a woman trying to make her way alone in a male dominated …
Obviously, I am going to love a book of "noir" short stories, set in my home city, edited by the legendary Lehane, and including stories from authors like Stewart O'Nan, Patricia Powell and even Lehane itself. I even love the map at the beginning of the book, which shows where each story takes place. And it didn't disappoint. Each story had a twist, usually pretty dark, and had a desirably murky ending.
Some favorites:
+ Lynne Heitman opened the book with bang, as Exit Interview ever so slowly unveiled the story, a dark twisted one. Delicious!
+ Lehane's Animal Rescue reminded me of the movie The Drop, where a dog plays an interesting part in an otherwise grim story.
+ Femme Sole by Dana Cameron was a stand out, as it was set in 1745 Boston, about a woman trying to make her way alone in a male dominated society. It does a good job of showcasing our long history.
+ It was in "The Cross-eyed Bear" that John Durfresne dove into the darkest corner of Boston, with a story about the Catholic Church and pedophiles. Dark stuff indeed.
+ In "The Oriental Hair Poets", Don Lee wrote the twistiest story of them all, with actions and people turning round and round themselves. Even now, I'm not really sure what happened and who did it!
So yeah, this is a must read for any noir fans, but especially Boston area ones. You won't be disappointed!
