Kansas City Noir
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Dark and gritty tales set in the “Paris of the Plains,” including Nancy Pickard’s “Lightbulb”—selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2013.
Akashic Books’ groundbreaking, globetrotting noir anthology series sets all-new stories in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective metropolitan area. Now “Kansas City, famous for its jazz, its barbecue, and its shady history, provides the venue for this solid addition” (Publishers Weekly).
This collection includes brand-new stories from J. Malcolm Garcia, Grace Suh, Daniel Woodrell, Kevin Prufer, Matthew Eck, Philip Stephens, Catherine Browder, John Lutz, Nancy Pickard, Linda Rodriguez, Andrés Rodríguez, Mitch Brian, Nadia Pflaum, and Phong Nguyen.
“Hard-used heroes and heroines seem to live a lifetime in the stories . . . Each one seems almost novelistic in scope. Half novels-in-waiting, half journalistic anecdotes that are equally likely to appeal to Kansas City boosters and strangers.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Travel has many unexpected benefits, so even if you’ve never had a reason to visit the city itself, you’ll find Kansas City Noir surprisingly well worth the price of the ticket.”—Bookgasm
“Picture steam rising from a sewer grate on a rain-slicked street. The sound of footsteps comes closer and closer behind you as you walk down a dark, downtown Kansas City alley. If this scenario entices you, then you just might enjoy Kansas City Noir.”—Kansas City Public Television
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kansas City, famous for its jazz, its barbecue, and its shady history, provides the venue for this solid addition to Akashic's acclaimed noir anthology series. Strong entries from some well-known names include John Lutz's "Thelma and Laverne," a play on the Thelma and Louise saga that offers both chills and laughs; Nancy Pickard's "Lightbulb," in which a guilt-stricken elderly woman, who failed as a girl to make more of an effort to report a child molester back in the '50s, finally takes action years later; and Daniel Woodrell's "Come Murder Me Next, Babe," which captures a marriage with one line: "She was eighteen, said she was twenty, and had every appetite, none of which he could satisfy." Also notable are Kevin Prufer's "Cat in a Box," about a cop nearing the end of the line who tries to crack a serial murder case any way he can, and Mitch Brian's "Last Night at the Rialto," in which bittersweet memories haunt the elderly projectionist of an old movie theater that the owner has decided to close down.
