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A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir
An original anthology.
A collection of twenty-five original female noir stories by some of today’s top crime writers, including Vicki Hendricks, Sara Gran, Christa Faust, Naomi Hirahara, Charlie Huston, and more. Includes a special fifty-page appendix of essays on female noir pioneers.
Awards include:
Daniel Woodrell’s “Uncle”—Nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards
Cornelia Read’s “Hungry Enough”—Winner of the Shamus Award
Contents:
It's too late, baby by Annette Myers
High yellow by Libby Fischer Hellmann
The kiss of death by Rebecca Pawel
Blue vandas by Lynne Barrett
Served cold by Zoë Sharp
The chirashi covenant by Naomi Hirahara
The token booth clerk by Sara Gran
The big O by Vicki Hendricks
School girl by Lisa Respers France
Nora B. by Ken Bruen
Bumping uglies by Donna Moore
Call me, I'm dying by Allan Guthrie
Everybody loves somebody by Sandra Scoppettone
Hungry enough by Cornelia Read
Sunny Second Street by Charlotte Carter
Interrogation B by Charlie Huston
The end of Indian summer by Stona Fitch
Blooming by Sarah Weinman
Round heels by Vin Packer
Cherish by Alison Gaylin
Cutman by Christa Faust
The grand inquisitor by Eddie Muller
Uncle by Daniel Woodrell
Undocumented by SJ Rozan
Appendix : women in the dark
A collection of twenty-five original female noir stories by some of today’s top crime writers, including Vicki Hendricks, Sara Gran, Christa Faust, Naomi Hirahara, Charlie Huston, and more. Includes a special fifty-page appendix of essays on female noir pioneers.
Awards include:
Daniel Woodrell’s “Uncle”—Nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards
Cornelia Read’s “Hungry Enough”—Winner of the Shamus Award
Contents:
It's too late, baby by Annette Myers
High yellow by Libby Fischer Hellmann
The kiss of death by Rebecca Pawel
Blue vandas by Lynne Barrett
Served cold by Zoë Sharp
The chirashi covenant by Naomi Hirahara
The token booth clerk by Sara Gran
The big O by Vicki Hendricks
School girl by Lisa Respers France
Nora B. by Ken Bruen
Bumping uglies by Donna Moore
Call me, I'm dying by Allan Guthrie
Everybody loves somebody by Sandra Scoppettone
Hungry enough by Cornelia Read
Sunny Second Street by Charlotte Carter
Interrogation B by Charlie Huston
The end of Indian summer by Stona Fitch
Blooming by Sarah Weinman
Round heels by Vin Packer
Cherish by Alison Gaylin
Cutman by Christa Faust
The grand inquisitor by Eddie Muller
Uncle by Daniel Woodrell
Undocumented by SJ Rozan
Appendix : women in the dark
370 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
1010 people want to read
About the author
Megan Abbott
63 books6,316 followersMegan Abbott is the Edgar®-winning author of the novels Die a Little, Queenpin, The Song Is You, Bury Me Deep, The End of Everything, Dare Me, The Fever, You Will Know Me and Give Me Your Hand.
Abbott is co-showrunner, writer and executive producer of DARE ME, the TV show adapated from her novel. She was also a staff writer on HBO's THE DEUCE. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She has taught at NYU, SUNY and the New School University and has served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at The University of Mississippi.
She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She is currently developing two of her novels, Dare Me and The Fever, for television.
Abbott is co-showrunner, writer and executive producer of DARE ME, the TV show adapated from her novel. She was also a staff writer on HBO's THE DEUCE. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Believer and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Born in the Detroit area, she graduated from the University of Michigan and received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from New York University. She has taught at NYU, SUNY and the New School University and has served as the John Grisham Writer in Residence at The University of Mississippi.
She is also the author of a nonfiction book, The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir, and the editor of A Hell of a Woman, an anthology of female crime fiction. She is currently developing two of her novels, Dare Me and The Fever, for television.
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February 16, 2019Contents:
001 - Forward - Val McDermid
004 - Introduction - Megan Abbott
Minxes, Shapeshifters and Hothouse Flowers
009 - "It's Too Late, Baby" by Annette Myers
025 - "High Yellow" - by Libby Fischer Hellmann
040 - "The Kiss of Death" by Rebecca Pawel
051 - "Blue Vandas" by Lynne Barrett
074 - "Served Cold" by Zoë Sharp
Housewives,Madonnas and Girls Next Door
091 - "The Chirashi Covenant" by Naomi Hirahara
104 - "The Token Booth Clerk" by Sara Gran
109 - "The Big O" by Vicki Hendricks
126 - "School Girl" by Lisa Respers France
Gold-Diggers, Hustlers and B Girls
139- "Nora B." by Ken Bruen
147 - "Bumping Uglies" by Donna Moore
155 - "Call Me, I'm Dying" by Allan Guthrie
171 - "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Sandra Scoppettone
Working Girls, Tomboys and Girls Friday
183 - "Hungry Enough" by Cornelia Read
192 - "Sunny Second Street" by Charlotte Carter
205 - "Interrogation B" by Charlie Huston
213 - "The End of Indian Summer" by Stona Fitch
226 - "Blooming" by Sarah Weinman
Hellcats, Madwomen and Outlaws
237 - "Round Heels" by Vin Packer
251 - "Cherish" by Alison Gaylin
261 - "Cutman" by Christa Faust
268 - "The Grand Inquisitor" by Eddie Muller
282 - "Uncle" by Daniel Woodrell
288 - "Undocumented" by SJ Rozan
203 - Appendix : Women In the Dark.
Megan Abbott (born August 21, 1971)
001 - Forward - Val McDermid
004 - Introduction - Megan Abbott
Minxes, Shapeshifters and Hothouse Flowers
009 - "It's Too Late, Baby" by Annette Myers
025 - "High Yellow" - by Libby Fischer Hellmann
040 - "The Kiss of Death" by Rebecca Pawel
051 - "Blue Vandas" by Lynne Barrett
074 - "Served Cold" by Zoë Sharp
Housewives,Madonnas and Girls Next Door
091 - "The Chirashi Covenant" by Naomi Hirahara
104 - "The Token Booth Clerk" by Sara Gran
109 - "The Big O" by Vicki Hendricks
126 - "School Girl" by Lisa Respers France
Gold-Diggers, Hustlers and B Girls
139- "Nora B." by Ken Bruen
147 - "Bumping Uglies" by Donna Moore
155 - "Call Me, I'm Dying" by Allan Guthrie
171 - "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Sandra Scoppettone
Working Girls, Tomboys and Girls Friday
183 - "Hungry Enough" by Cornelia Read
192 - "Sunny Second Street" by Charlotte Carter
205 - "Interrogation B" by Charlie Huston
213 - "The End of Indian Summer" by Stona Fitch
226 - "Blooming" by Sarah Weinman
Hellcats, Madwomen and Outlaws
237 - "Round Heels" by Vin Packer
251 - "Cherish" by Alison Gaylin
261 - "Cutman" by Christa Faust
268 - "The Grand Inquisitor" by Eddie Muller
282 - "Uncle" by Daniel Woodrell
288 - "Undocumented" by SJ Rozan
203 - Appendix : Women In the Dark.
Megan Abbott (born August 21, 1971)
July 26, 2022
A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir is a terrific collection of 24 original short stories that generally involve women, some drawn very bad, who dip their toes in illicit activity. Published in 2007, the contributors who I was familiar with are Sara Gran, Daniel Woodrell, Naomi Hirahara, Alison Gaylin and Christa Faust. Their stories are among the best, but one of the things I love about books like this--compiled by Megan Abbott, who pens an introduction--is discovering writers I was unfamiliar with.
Five stars for:
-- The Chirashi Covenant, Naomi Hirahara. My favorite story concerns Helen Miura, a Los Angeles woman who married while interned in a "relocation center" during World War II. Helen is the daughter of a fisherman and a master with a knife, skills which come in handy when her lover, a Caucasian realtor, turns obsessive. I love a female character with a rarified skill set and Hirahara's glimpse into the Japanese American community of L.A. always make her stories pop. Her contribution to Los Angeles Noir was one of my favorites in that book too.
-- The Big O, Vicki Hendricks. Noir + Florida = jackpot. An unnamed narrator gets tired of her boyfriend smacking her and flees with their infant son. She hides out at the Touch of Class Trailer Park in Lake Okeechobee, "the Big O," where a drug peddler, his stash and an incoming hurricane present an opportunity. I loved the details, the voice and the sleazy atmosphere Hendricks conjures.
I drove down the strip, reading names that would've been attractive if I'd seen them in the Yellow Pages. Lakeside Haven, Quiet Waters Retreat, Jenny's Big O Fish Camp, Water's Edge RV--sure, there was water, a canal that flowed behind the trailers, but the fifteen-foot dike behind the canal, surrounding the lake like an Indian burial mound, didn't give a peek at Lake Okeechobee. The berm, as they called it, kept the lake from drowning thousands at every hurricane, like I heard happened in the Twenties, when the water flowed over farms. Even so, I was wondered how all these tin cans had made it through the last hurricane season. I pictured them in a big blow, rolling and bouncing into each other, corners smashed and contents banging around like pebbles in a rock tumbler. I'd seen the wreckage of a trailer park near the coast, a few homes untouched through sheer luck, amid fifty or more smashed and resting on their sides, soggy insulation hanging out in clumps. But here were many survivors, thank god--cheap, crusty boxes, perfect housing for an unemployed alcoholic single mother.
-- The End of Indian Summer, Stona Fitch. Kate Hands is a Cherokee who works as a waitress at a roadside coffeeshop in Oklahoma called the Redskin Cafe. She hooks up with a cocky truck driver who fills her ears with all sorts of assurances. When he turns to beating her, Kate draws on two qualities she inherited from her mother--her knowledge of flowers and the ways of men.
-- Cherish, Alison Gaylin. Myra Wurtz is a movie theater usher who becomes obsessed with a male screen idol she feels a special connection with. Myra believes he wants her to get rid of the co-star he's recently backed out of an affair with and who threatens his marriage. Gaylin gets into the head of her crazed lone assassin, who seems like she stepped out of an Edwin Hopper painting.
-- Uncle, Daniel Woodrell. The unnamed narrator lives in fear of her vile uncle, who's in the habit of capturing and raping women whose canoes deposit them on the banks near their land, bullish that the law won't come out that way to ask him too many questions. Fans of Winter's Bone will recognize the stark Appalachian setting and its tyrannical men, along with another young woman trying to survive both.
Uncle culled these girls from down on the river, which they came here for, and flows just yonder over our ridge and down a steep hill. They come here from where there are crowds of people bunched in tight to loll along our crystal water in college shirts and bikinis, smoking weed and drinking too much, laughing all the way while their canoes spin on the river like bugs twirling in a spider's web. Mostly they don't know what they're doing, but the river is not too raging or anything. Everybody thinks they can do that river when they stand looking at it up at Heaney Cross, where they rent the canoes and the water is smooth. Uncle dicks them when he catches them, on the smelly damp hay in the old barn, with the open spots above leaking light on his big behind bouncing white and glary on some girl whose eyes won't blink anymore.
-- Round Heels, Vin Packer. An unnamed narrator recounts the one that got away, or perhaps she was lucky got away, in New York of the early 1950s. While this could be classified a "psycho ex-girlfriend" tale as opposed to noir, the tableau that Packer (a pseudonym for Marijane Meaker) draws of the lesbian community in NYC of the '50s is wonderful and she packs an impressive amount of suspense into her story.
-- The Token Booth Clerk, Sara Gran. At 5 pages, this is not only one of the shortest stories in the book but also the least "noir." The unnamed narrator is a token booth attendant in the New York subway. Fiercely antisocial and caustic, she becomes obsessed with tracking down a friendly female neighbor who moves out of their building after one too many shouting matches with her boyfriend. Gran disregards every staple of noir to quickly and vividly draw a real person.
If I were a creative writing instructor, A Hell of a Woman would be my textbook. It's fascinating to study how writers of different skill levels interpret their assignment: a female noir story 5-7 pages in length. The best writers resist familiar surroundings or outcomes to turn on historical or cultural details that set them apart. Some, like Gran and Hirahara, barely write what would be considered female noir at all. It's just compelling literature. I'd ask my class which stories were their favorites and why and the assignment would be to write their own female noir story. I'm available to teach at your school if you're interested.
Five stars for:
-- The Chirashi Covenant, Naomi Hirahara. My favorite story concerns Helen Miura, a Los Angeles woman who married while interned in a "relocation center" during World War II. Helen is the daughter of a fisherman and a master with a knife, skills which come in handy when her lover, a Caucasian realtor, turns obsessive. I love a female character with a rarified skill set and Hirahara's glimpse into the Japanese American community of L.A. always make her stories pop. Her contribution to Los Angeles Noir was one of my favorites in that book too.
-- The Big O, Vicki Hendricks. Noir + Florida = jackpot. An unnamed narrator gets tired of her boyfriend smacking her and flees with their infant son. She hides out at the Touch of Class Trailer Park in Lake Okeechobee, "the Big O," where a drug peddler, his stash and an incoming hurricane present an opportunity. I loved the details, the voice and the sleazy atmosphere Hendricks conjures.
I drove down the strip, reading names that would've been attractive if I'd seen them in the Yellow Pages. Lakeside Haven, Quiet Waters Retreat, Jenny's Big O Fish Camp, Water's Edge RV--sure, there was water, a canal that flowed behind the trailers, but the fifteen-foot dike behind the canal, surrounding the lake like an Indian burial mound, didn't give a peek at Lake Okeechobee. The berm, as they called it, kept the lake from drowning thousands at every hurricane, like I heard happened in the Twenties, when the water flowed over farms. Even so, I was wondered how all these tin cans had made it through the last hurricane season. I pictured them in a big blow, rolling and bouncing into each other, corners smashed and contents banging around like pebbles in a rock tumbler. I'd seen the wreckage of a trailer park near the coast, a few homes untouched through sheer luck, amid fifty or more smashed and resting on their sides, soggy insulation hanging out in clumps. But here were many survivors, thank god--cheap, crusty boxes, perfect housing for an unemployed alcoholic single mother.
-- The End of Indian Summer, Stona Fitch. Kate Hands is a Cherokee who works as a waitress at a roadside coffeeshop in Oklahoma called the Redskin Cafe. She hooks up with a cocky truck driver who fills her ears with all sorts of assurances. When he turns to beating her, Kate draws on two qualities she inherited from her mother--her knowledge of flowers and the ways of men.
-- Cherish, Alison Gaylin. Myra Wurtz is a movie theater usher who becomes obsessed with a male screen idol she feels a special connection with. Myra believes he wants her to get rid of the co-star he's recently backed out of an affair with and who threatens his marriage. Gaylin gets into the head of her crazed lone assassin, who seems like she stepped out of an Edwin Hopper painting.
-- Uncle, Daniel Woodrell. The unnamed narrator lives in fear of her vile uncle, who's in the habit of capturing and raping women whose canoes deposit them on the banks near their land, bullish that the law won't come out that way to ask him too many questions. Fans of Winter's Bone will recognize the stark Appalachian setting and its tyrannical men, along with another young woman trying to survive both.
Uncle culled these girls from down on the river, which they came here for, and flows just yonder over our ridge and down a steep hill. They come here from where there are crowds of people bunched in tight to loll along our crystal water in college shirts and bikinis, smoking weed and drinking too much, laughing all the way while their canoes spin on the river like bugs twirling in a spider's web. Mostly they don't know what they're doing, but the river is not too raging or anything. Everybody thinks they can do that river when they stand looking at it up at Heaney Cross, where they rent the canoes and the water is smooth. Uncle dicks them when he catches them, on the smelly damp hay in the old barn, with the open spots above leaking light on his big behind bouncing white and glary on some girl whose eyes won't blink anymore.
-- Round Heels, Vin Packer. An unnamed narrator recounts the one that got away, or perhaps she was lucky got away, in New York of the early 1950s. While this could be classified a "psycho ex-girlfriend" tale as opposed to noir, the tableau that Packer (a pseudonym for Marijane Meaker) draws of the lesbian community in NYC of the '50s is wonderful and she packs an impressive amount of suspense into her story.
-- The Token Booth Clerk, Sara Gran. At 5 pages, this is not only one of the shortest stories in the book but also the least "noir." The unnamed narrator is a token booth attendant in the New York subway. Fiercely antisocial and caustic, she becomes obsessed with tracking down a friendly female neighbor who moves out of their building after one too many shouting matches with her boyfriend. Gran disregards every staple of noir to quickly and vividly draw a real person.
If I were a creative writing instructor, A Hell of a Woman would be my textbook. It's fascinating to study how writers of different skill levels interpret their assignment: a female noir story 5-7 pages in length. The best writers resist familiar surroundings or outcomes to turn on historical or cultural details that set them apart. Some, like Gran and Hirahara, barely write what would be considered female noir at all. It's just compelling literature. I'd ask my class which stories were their favorites and why and the assignment would be to write their own female noir story. I'm available to teach at your school if you're interested.
February 26, 2008
If there's one thing in this world that I'm sure of, it's that any project with Megan Abbott's name on it may as well be stamped with the damn Good Housekeeping Seal. Well, maybe -- if that Seal was sepia-toned and smeared with a few bloody fingerprints, and if the woman throwing it into her shopping cart had dark circles under her eyes, and a few darker secrets behind them.
The noir world is scattered with the corpses of pretty young things, femme fatales, and brassy, boozy hellcats, mostly portrayed in thin, played-out sketches, mostly by men. Abbott's work (Die a Little, The Song Is You, Queenpin) has consistently turned these stock noir caricatures on their heads, and the exceptional work collected in A Hell of a Woman does that, and then some.
The section headings that situate the collection's 24 stories draw upon these character types ("Minxes, Shapeshifters and Hothouse Flowers," "Housewives, Madonnas and Girls Next Door," "Gold-Diggers, Hustlers and B Girls," "Working Girls, Tomboys and Girls Friday," and "Hellcats, Madwomen and Outlaws); however, if you think you know these women, you don't. The greatest joy of this collection is watching each author defy conventions of the genre, and create characters that are fresh and unique, yet quintessentially noir.
The book's contributors are a varied bunch, from critically acclaimed veterans like Sandra Scoppettone, Ken Bruen, and SJ Rozan to relative newcomers like Lisa Respers France and Sarah Weinman; however, there's nary a dud to be found. I found myself lingering over each story, and thinking about them, sometimes uneasily, as I fell asleep.
Particular standouts include "Blue Vandas" by Lynne Barrett, a terrific Hollywood whodunit about bit actresses, bigshot producers, and a lowly gardener who learns more about the seedy underbelly of show business than she'd bargained for. If you're a fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
"Cherish" by Alison Gaylin, the story of a mentally ill movie theatre usher and her unhinged obsession with a movie star is unforgettably disturbing, and made more so by its knockout twist of an ending.
However, the book's best plot twist comes in Donna Moore's "Bumping Uglies," about a purse snatcher who discovers a murder plot in a Prada handbag. When she decides to blackmail the purse's owner, things get delightfully nasty.
And then just when it looks like the fun is over, there's more. The book's appendix includes 36 odes to the women of noir -- actresses, characters, and authors. There are some well-known inclusions like Phyllis Dietrichson, the iciest blonde ever to hatch an insurance scheme, and Patricia Highsmith, but also some obscure and overlooked gems, such as noir writers Delores Hitchens and Helen Nielsen, both of whom I'm now eager to track down.
Busted Flush Press has a real winner in A Hell of a Woman -- it's simply one of the strongest, tightest fiction collections I've read in a very long time.
The noir world is scattered with the corpses of pretty young things, femme fatales, and brassy, boozy hellcats, mostly portrayed in thin, played-out sketches, mostly by men. Abbott's work (Die a Little, The Song Is You, Queenpin) has consistently turned these stock noir caricatures on their heads, and the exceptional work collected in A Hell of a Woman does that, and then some.
The section headings that situate the collection's 24 stories draw upon these character types ("Minxes, Shapeshifters and Hothouse Flowers," "Housewives, Madonnas and Girls Next Door," "Gold-Diggers, Hustlers and B Girls," "Working Girls, Tomboys and Girls Friday," and "Hellcats, Madwomen and Outlaws); however, if you think you know these women, you don't. The greatest joy of this collection is watching each author defy conventions of the genre, and create characters that are fresh and unique, yet quintessentially noir.
The book's contributors are a varied bunch, from critically acclaimed veterans like Sandra Scoppettone, Ken Bruen, and SJ Rozan to relative newcomers like Lisa Respers France and Sarah Weinman; however, there's nary a dud to be found. I found myself lingering over each story, and thinking about them, sometimes uneasily, as I fell asleep.
Particular standouts include "Blue Vandas" by Lynne Barrett, a terrific Hollywood whodunit about bit actresses, bigshot producers, and a lowly gardener who learns more about the seedy underbelly of show business than she'd bargained for. If you're a fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
"Cherish" by Alison Gaylin, the story of a mentally ill movie theatre usher and her unhinged obsession with a movie star is unforgettably disturbing, and made more so by its knockout twist of an ending.
However, the book's best plot twist comes in Donna Moore's "Bumping Uglies," about a purse snatcher who discovers a murder plot in a Prada handbag. When she decides to blackmail the purse's owner, things get delightfully nasty.
And then just when it looks like the fun is over, there's more. The book's appendix includes 36 odes to the women of noir -- actresses, characters, and authors. There are some well-known inclusions like Phyllis Dietrichson, the iciest blonde ever to hatch an insurance scheme, and Patricia Highsmith, but also some obscure and overlooked gems, such as noir writers Delores Hitchens and Helen Nielsen, both of whom I'm now eager to track down.
Busted Flush Press has a real winner in A Hell of a Woman -- it's simply one of the strongest, tightest fiction collections I've read in a very long time.
February 28, 2018
Enjoyed it for the most part . A handful of stories were repetitive . But all were well written .
July 15, 2010
Somebody meant well, but this is book is a one trick pony. Even though the collection was published in 2007, many of the stories are set in the 1940s or 1950s, and the others have that feel or mindset. The choice implies that female noir doesn't lend itself to contemporary writing/setting/sensibilities. I don't believe that, but the weakness of this collection demands a stronger rebuttal than I can muster.
Many of the stories have the same clunky feel, and after a half dozen or so, the characters and voices become interchangeable. There's little humor except when the writer is being coy (Often badly), some stories rely on a deus ex machina, and at least one depends on a sloppy POV shift that doesn't work well anyway.
Several stories feel like the authors had a free weekend to string together all the cliches they remembered from years ago, and only two or three offer any surprises, the chief one being Rebecca Pawel's tale of a lecherous tango dancer, which features a sense of humor, a clever twist ending, and poetic justice all rolled together. It's the best story in the collection.
Since I have enjoyed stories or novels by many of the authors in this collection before, I have to ask again if the concept of "Female Noir" is simply too limiting.
Many of the stories have the same clunky feel, and after a half dozen or so, the characters and voices become interchangeable. There's little humor except when the writer is being coy (Often badly), some stories rely on a deus ex machina, and at least one depends on a sloppy POV shift that doesn't work well anyway.
Several stories feel like the authors had a free weekend to string together all the cliches they remembered from years ago, and only two or three offer any surprises, the chief one being Rebecca Pawel's tale of a lecherous tango dancer, which features a sense of humor, a clever twist ending, and poetic justice all rolled together. It's the best story in the collection.
Since I have enjoyed stories or novels by many of the authors in this collection before, I have to ask again if the concept of "Female Noir" is simply too limiting.
October 15, 2008
I found this book lying at random on a shelf in the "L" section of my library. When I attempted to renew it by phone, (not because I hadn't finished it yet, but because I didn't feel like bringing it back on the due date), I discovered that it was a special non-renewable 2-week-only book that had been placed in the wrong section. Curses!
I snuck it into the book drop after hours, coward that I am, but I just know that when I go back to the library for more books, that late fee will smack me in the wallet.
Oh, well. It'll be worth it. I really enjoyed most of the stories in this collection.
I snuck it into the book drop after hours, coward that I am, but I just know that when I go back to the library for more books, that late fee will smack me in the wallet.
Oh, well. It'll be worth it. I really enjoyed most of the stories in this collection.
May 19, 2012
This is a really varied array of stories and they are of uniformly high quality (Ok, there are a couple of miscues, but that's all, in a collection of 24 stories). Open the book anywhere and start to read and you won't go wrong. If you are interested in noir, then this is a book you must read. You'll find yourself adding more authors to your list of names to watch out for. My personal favorite (and this is a hard decision) probably would be "The End of Indian Summer" by Stona Fitch. But it might be "The Big O" or possibly "Cutman"...or maybe....See what I mean?
October 28, 2014
I am almost done with this book, and I have to say I'm loving the unapologetic, hard-nosed Noir of it all. It's kind of refreshing to read a story where the main character isn't trying to convince you to love her. These ladies are antiheroes to the core and there are no apologies or excuses. I liked reading one/two of these a day, it made a bigger impact than if I had just read them all straight through. Reading this collection has definitely made me want to watch/read more Noir.
July 25, 2008
What a wonderful treat to tide me over until Megan Abbott turns out her next book - there's both a wonderful homage to noir's past with the classics recommendations and fantastic short fiction to showcase the future of noir women. Even the cover art kicks butt! A must-have for genre fans and anyone who likes their coffee black and harsh.
February 18, 2009
It is a quality collection, although none of the stories really got to me or made me want to search out the authors elsewhere. What I appreciate the most about the text is the Appendix of female noir characters in novel, film, and television, and women authors who wrote noir. I'm glad I read it and I look forwarding to reading more noir classics.
December 28, 2012
It's hard to give this anthology a starred review, because some of the stories are good and some are not-so-good. As a survey of what female noir writers are doing these days, though, I think it's an interesting collection.
February 4, 2008
I read most of the short stories in this anthology. Not for the sensitive reader, these gritty stories showcase some tough women characters!
Read
July 24, 2011Quite interesting characters i the shorstories. Got violent without depth towards the end - bummer.
March 24, 2025
Favorites:
"It's Too Late, Baby," Annette Meyers
"Blue Vandas," Lynne Barrett
"The Chirashi Covenant," Naomi Hirahara
"Nora B.," Ken Bruen
"Everybody Loves Somebody," Sandra Scoppettone
"Blooming," Sarah Weinman
"Round Heels," Vin Packer
"Cherish," Alison Gaylin
"Cutman," Christa Faust
"Uncle," Daniel Woodrell
"It's Too Late, Baby," Annette Meyers
"Blue Vandas," Lynne Barrett
"The Chirashi Covenant," Naomi Hirahara
"Nora B.," Ken Bruen
"Everybody Loves Somebody," Sandra Scoppettone
"Blooming," Sarah Weinman
"Round Heels," Vin Packer
"Cherish," Alison Gaylin
"Cutman," Christa Faust
"Uncle," Daniel Woodrell
May 10, 2018
Some of the stories were fine, and others were poorly written crap. This was too much of a mixed bag for me really to enjoy it.
October 13, 2019
As usual with anthologies - some good stories - some bad stories - and some that made no sense at all but were interesting reads until the dud endings.
August 25, 2023
great collection!!
August 17, 2008
Excellent collection of stories, very diverse in their narratives, characters, and styles. By no means is this merely a collection of stereotypical "femme fatales" - instead its a wide range of female roles. The best story in the collection, Sara Gran's "The Token Booth Clerk," is not concerned with crime whatsoever. Its about a subway worker whose neighbor is seemingly a naive young wife. After a loud argument next door, he suddenly stops seeing her around. So--he wanders the subway for days looking for her, thinking of all the terrible things that could have happened to her. When he finds her, he is surprised to find she is alright. And that's the point of the story: she's independent, capable, and stable. The exact opposite of some many "noir" cliches. It is this sort of challenge to the archetype which "A Hell of a Woman" presents, and it is successful on so many levels. Engaging and entertaining, but also critical and innovative, all the while paying a loving tribute to a history of noir literature that continues to inspire.
June 22, 2016
This is a terrific selection of stories from male and female authors with women as the central characters - tender, tough, gritty, brave, helpless, resourceful and determined. But never victims, they never just lie down and take what life doses out to them. l loved the variety in this book and found the appendix, in which a number of noir aficionados write about their favourite female noir characters from movies and books, very interesting.
As a noir writer myself, this book was an inspiration.
As a noir writer myself, this book was an inspiration.
February 7, 2017
a few excellent stories, all pretty good
Want to read
December 8, 200712/07 purchase at MOTB
November 9, 2009
For the most part, a good collection of dark crime stories featuring female protagonists.
September 15, 2013
Some great stories in this collection.
Read
October 30, 2013Sara Gran is a contributor.
June 7, 2014
Never was one for short stories, and it turns out, I'm still not.
May 31, 2011
It was interesting.
April 18, 2017
Rather poor writing here, for the most part. The first and last stories are the best.
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