Los Angeles Noir
Los Angeles Noir
Edited by Denise Hamilton
Akashic Books, May 2007, $15.95
Reviewed by Jackie Houchin for Mystery Scene Magazine
Los Angeles Noir, thirteenth in the city-noir series by Akashic Books, is a collection of devilishly dark tales set in and around the City of Angels. Of the 17 contributors, Michael Connelly is probably the best known. In “Mulholland Drive”, a police procedural about a suspicious accident on the famous road, Connelly coolly illustrates the principal of “what goes around, comes around.”
“Dangerous Days” by Emory Holmes II, is a tangled story about an undercover cop, a drug deal and a snub-nosed Colt .45 Peacemaker named Esmeralda. Holmes nails the black-rap, hood-speak dialect of South Central L.A.
In “Morocco Junction, 90210″, Patt Morrison writes about old money in Beverly Hills and the ultimate cover-up. Her skill in crafting vivid similes is remarkable.
Denise Hamilton’s “Midnight in Silicon Alley”, has all the edgy suspense of her Eve Diamond novels condensed into a tight, immensely satisfying revenge story. It’s perhaps the best story in the book.
In “The Golden Gopher”, Susan Straight paints downtown L.A. in all its decadence and opulence, as her “walking fool” strides through the Garment District, Skid Row, and along Sunset Blvd in search of a funky bar and an old friend.
The verbal cadence of Robert Ferrigno’s “The Hour When the Ship Comes In” perfectly mirrors the slowing steps of a dying man whose last wish is to board the Queen Mary.
The anthology is edited by former journalist and Los Angeles Times reporter Denise Hamilton who has, with present day settings and unlikely locations, moved classic noir into the 21st century. Hamilton cleverly clusters the stories under four headings, and includes a map marking the spot of each crime. Readers will revel in this eclectic collection of murder, desperation and obsession.