USA Noir

Written by Johnny Temple

Narrated by Pete Bradbury, James Colby, Andrea Gallo and 3 more

Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books has published over sixty volumes in its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. Featuring Noir Series stories from: Dennis Lehane, Don Winslow, Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, Susan Straight, Jonathan Safran Foer, Laura Lippman, Pete Hamill, Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Terrance Hayes, Jerome Charyn, Jeffery Deaver, Maggie Estep, Bayo Ojikutu, Tim McLoughlin, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Reed Farrel Coleman, Megan Abbott, Elyssa East, James W. Hall, J. Malcolm Garcia, Julie Smith, Joseph Bruchac, Pir Rothenberg, Luis Alberto Urrea, Domenic Stansberry, John O'Brien, S.J. Rozan, Asali Solomon, William Kent Krueger, Tim Broderick, Bharti Kirchner, Karen Karbo, and Lisa Sandlin. " From the start, the heart and soul of Akashic Books has been dark, provocative, well-crafted tales from the disenfranchised. I learned early on that writings from outside the mainstream almost necessarily coincide with a mood and spirit of noir, and are composed by authors whose life circumstances often place them in environs exposed to crime . . . This volume serves up a top-shelf selection of stories from the series set in the United States. USA Noir only scratches the surface, however, and every single volume has gems on offer." -Johnny Temple, from the Introduction

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781470381486

Reviews for USA Noir

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure what I expected when I requested this book. Actually - I do know...I had the idea that anything with "noir" would be some kind of Sam Spade detective collection. That lend me to question why I was requesting it- I'm not a big detective novel fan. Fortunately, my understanding of noir was a little off. The stories, each with its own dark twists and turns for the most part, didn't deal with detectives. The handful that did were still enjoyable. The talent was pretty much level throughout, making the collection a nice read. I'd recommend this collection and based on the strength of the talent here, even though it's a "best of the best" situation, I'd probably pick up the collections from the different regions - or at least areas I know personally.

[5eva5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of Akashic's noir series that I read, but I have been looking at them for a long time, trying to choose which locale to go for - this one solves part of that issue, since it gathers the best of the American collections into one. And, the editor has done very well indeed - there's quite a wide spread, topic-wise, but most fit into the noir genre in their own distinct way. I've heard of the other collections that they tend to have a few great stories, a few good, and quite a lot of mediocre, but this one is the other way around; most of these stories are extremely evocative and only three of them I didn't care for at all (one of them I couldn't tell you what it was about if you paid me). Now I just have to figure which of the international collections to go for next.

[ellienyc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have generally enjoyed all of the Akashic Noir Series that I have read but this is the best of them all. The quality is the consistently high-and why not, with writers like Joyce Carol Oates and Dennis Lehane. Some of the stories are heavier on the atmosphere and others (maybe most) on the plot, occasionally, the story seems more "mystery" than noir but whether it's a man too dumb and too unlucky to pull off the "perfect crime" or a woman searching for a disappeared friend, the stories are engaging and moody (my favorite combination).

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Akashic books has an extensive series of these "noir" anthologies, each set in a different city or region. As the title suggests, this volume features selected standout stories from the previous books, excluding the ones set in places outside the US.As with any collection of stories, I liked some of these better than others, but on the whole it's an extremely high-quality anthology. (And, at 500+ pages, quite a meaty one, as well.) Some of these pieces are heavy on the plot, but I'd say most of them put more emphasis on character and atmosphere and a sense of place. Pretty much all of them are well-written. And they share a remarkably consistent feel. These are stories about the downtrodden, the damaged, and the corrupt, of people who strive hopelessly for something better or who suffer quietly under their burden of desperation until it bursts forth into violence, people who fall prey to the ugliness around them or give in and become part of it. It's actually given me a new, much more well-defined sense of exactly what that word "noir" means. Because, clearly, this is what it means.Definitely recommended, if this sort of thing sounds at all like something you'd be interested in. I might recommend not reading it through too quickly, though, as it can get pretty darned depressing.Now, I just want to know when they're going to think of my home state and come out with a New Mexico Noir. Come on, guys! Breaking Bad has left a large gap to fill!