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Detroit Noir
From crime stories in the classic hard-boiled style to the vividly experimental, from the determination of those risking everything to the desperation of those with nothing left to lose, Detroit Noir delivers unforgettable tales that capture the city’s dark vitality.
Includes stories by: Joyce Carol Oates, Loren D. Estleman, Craig Holden, P.J. Parrish, Desiree Cooper, Nisi Shawl, M.L. Liebler, Craig Bernier, Joe Boland, Megan Abbott, Dorene O’Brien, Lolita Hernandez, Peter Markus, Roger K. Johnson, Michael Zadoorian, and E.J. Olsen.
280 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
October 18, 2010
In 2004, the small New York publisher Akashic launched a very clever series of books emphasizing original noir fiction associated with particular cities and regions. It has now reached at least 41 with many more on the way. Every place has its dark side--some more than others--but the idea was attractive to those of us who wished to see their hometowns or favorite sites cast within the noir genre. I guess it is no mystery what my hometown was or why I might be interested in some of my former venues cast in the ominous shadows of crime and danger. Sadly, although I cannot speak for any of the other volumes in the series, the stories in this work largely fail to be more than pedestrian efforts that are dim, moody, and violent. They lack any of the psychological elements generally associated with classic noir fiction by Cain, Chandler, Woolrich, Gresham, Hammett or even more modern noir work by Leonard, Ellroy, Rankin, and Mankell. Being bound by the limitations of greater Detroit has resulted in a book of interest largely to those who know those dark streets, abandoned houses, and deteriorating businesses. The writers of these tales display a varying degree of geographical, literary, and imaginative savvy, but it is no surprise that the only truly first-rate story is by Joyce Carol Oates. (Ironically, it is probably the least noir piece in the collection.)
Choose your favorite site: London, Paris, San Francisco, Havana. Wall Street, Orange County (?) and take a chance, but remember that the gimmick may be greater than the literary reward.
Choose your favorite site: London, Paris, San Francisco, Havana. Wall Street, Orange County (?) and take a chance, but remember that the gimmick may be greater than the literary reward.
November 6, 2015
From the Motor City's finest talents including Joyce Carol Oates and Megan Abbott comes this excellent, dark collection of short stories all taking place in and around Detroit.
Being from Dearborn, a suburb of that troubled city, I was delighted to recall such familiar places like Woodward Avenue, the Rouge Foundry, and the J.L. Hudson department store.
The stories encompass waitresses, night watchmen, caretakers and criminals, all bound together by a city trying to find it's way back.
The collection was a personal homecoming for me, but it will be enjoyed by anyone who loves hard boiled crime fiction.
It is a book that offers many compelling and haunted visions.
Being from Dearborn, a suburb of that troubled city, I was delighted to recall such familiar places like Woodward Avenue, the Rouge Foundry, and the J.L. Hudson department store.
The stories encompass waitresses, night watchmen, caretakers and criminals, all bound together by a city trying to find it's way back.
The collection was a personal homecoming for me, but it will be enjoyed by anyone who loves hard boiled crime fiction.
It is a book that offers many compelling and haunted visions.
July 12, 2017
Detroit looks best in noir, and I love this book of Detroit stories. Reviews were really mixed. It seems like a lot of people didn't like the writing (or didn't like most of the writing; it's an anthology). Well, I liked ALL of the writing, because it gave me the right feeling. It somehow managed to capture what I feel is the spirit of Detroit. I've only lived here 4 1/2 years, and I don't live in Detroit although I spend a lot of time there, so my take may or may not be accurate, but I can say that it's rare for a book to make me feel the spirit of a place as much as this one did. Now if only they would publish a Tucson Noir, I would be all over it.
July 17, 2019
Now here's a marriage made in Heaven! Detroit is a perfect setting for noir stories and I must admit that I'm surprised that I haven't seen any other noir books or movies that take place there.
One of the characteristics of Noir is that the urban settings where they take place are portrayed as dark and mysterious places, almost a character onto themselves. There is no other urban setting that I can think of that is as dark as mysterious as Detroit, and the history of the city is written on the architecture of the cityscape. From the cool looking art deco skyscrapers downtown built during Detroit's golden age, to the abandoned, decaying urban neighbourhoods that must have been a near paradise for auto workers at Detroit's height in the 50s, to the revitalization that's occuring downtown and all along Detroit's main drag, Woodward Ave., Detroit is a city with an incredible history and stories exploding out of almost every building and street. A perfect setting for tales of noir.
There were a couple of stories that fell below par, but for the most part, the tales in this collection were fascinating excursions into the history and present day life of Detroiters from all different walks of life. I have to admit, as I was reading this I was going through the neighbourhoods where the stories take place on Google Maps and researching a little about Detroit's history. Now that I'm finished I feel like heading over the Ambassador Bridge and exploring more of this incredible urban landscape.
I had a TON of fun with this collection and would heartily recommend it. Good stuff!
4.5/5 Stars
One of the characteristics of Noir is that the urban settings where they take place are portrayed as dark and mysterious places, almost a character onto themselves. There is no other urban setting that I can think of that is as dark as mysterious as Detroit, and the history of the city is written on the architecture of the cityscape. From the cool looking art deco skyscrapers downtown built during Detroit's golden age, to the abandoned, decaying urban neighbourhoods that must have been a near paradise for auto workers at Detroit's height in the 50s, to the revitalization that's occuring downtown and all along Detroit's main drag, Woodward Ave., Detroit is a city with an incredible history and stories exploding out of almost every building and street. A perfect setting for tales of noir.
There were a couple of stories that fell below par, but for the most part, the tales in this collection were fascinating excursions into the history and present day life of Detroiters from all different walks of life. I have to admit, as I was reading this I was going through the neighbourhoods where the stories take place on Google Maps and researching a little about Detroit's history. Now that I'm finished I feel like heading over the Ambassador Bridge and exploring more of this incredible urban landscape.
I had a TON of fun with this collection and would heartily recommend it. Good stuff!
4.5/5 Stars
July 6, 2009
Deciding between three and four stars on this one is tough. Admittedly, I don't read a whole lot of short story compilations. This must have been my first in about a decade.
That said, I really got into three quarters of the stories. While the setting was always somewhere in the Detroit area, the time changed with each story. Figuring out when the story was taking place was a fun task parallel with enjoying the story.
I'm not certain if it's a fault of the stories themselves, or of the length of them. I could not relate to the characters, because there wasn't enough time for them to grow. Or, in some cases, the stories ended just as I was getting into their groove.
Most of the writing was coherent. There are a few stream of consciousness pieces, so be forewarned.
Overall, I liked it.
That said, I really got into three quarters of the stories. While the setting was always somewhere in the Detroit area, the time changed with each story. Figuring out when the story was taking place was a fun task parallel with enjoying the story.
I'm not certain if it's a fault of the stories themselves, or of the length of them. I could not relate to the characters, because there wasn't enough time for them to grow. Or, in some cases, the stories ended just as I was getting into their groove.
Most of the writing was coherent. There are a few stream of consciousness pieces, so be forewarned.
Overall, I liked it.
April 29, 2013
A collection of short stories about my hometown. Overall, it was hit or miss: some were quite good, others were not. For me the most interesting aspect of this book is seeing the commonalities across stories, which I think really speaks to the culture of the city. Sadly, Detroit's authors define the city through pervasive awareness of racial and class divides and a constant sense of destitution and decay. I moved away from Detroit eight years ago, and this book reminded me of the many problems still plaguing my city. As a collection of literature this book is below average, but I at least found it thought-provoking as a commentary for the challenges Detroit faces in its recovery.
July 2, 2010
Some wonderful short stories that all take place somewhere in Detroit. The collection of writers were all from Detroit and included some noteables....Loren Estleman, Joyce Carol Oates, Craig Holden, Desiree Cooper from NPR, and my favorite, Michael Zadoorian. A great accumulation of memories of what Detroit used to be and the complex reality of what is today.
November 4, 2007
As with any anthology your going to have some hits and some misses. The Craig Bernier and Roger K. Johnson stories are definite highlights...
February 8, 2011
Some stories are excellent. The majority, however, are not memorable.
August 31, 2012
Born and bred so it was very touching. Detroit is a tough place and the stories here highlight the goods and bands of such an environment.
Want to read
July 29, 2015From crime stories in the classic hard-boiled style to the vividly experimental, from the determination of those risking everything to the desperation of those with nothing left to lose, Detroit Noir delivers unforgettable tales that capture the city’s dark vitality.
Includes stories by: Joyce Carol Oates, Loren D. Estleman, Craig Holden, P.J. Parrish, Desiree Cooper, Nisi Shawl, M.L. Liebler, Craig Bernier, Joe Boland, Megan Abbott, Dorene O’Brien, Lolita Hernandez, Peter Markus, Roger K. Johnson, Michael Zadoorian, and E.J. Olsen.
May 29, 2017
Akashic I'm ashamed of you for publishing such an uninspiring, lackluster, pedestrian selection of noir stories such as this. I've read the much better Kingston (Jamaica) noir series and two or three others and the quality was much better. I have Oakland, Mississippi, Rio and San Juan in my possession and hopefully they are an improvement over this collection. The motor city deserved better.
February 21, 2010
This is my first book in the Noir Series from Akashic Noir, and I enjoyed it. The short stories from a variety of writers, most with ties to Detroit go well beyond the mystery genre, but they all capture a sense of Detroit....
I'll miss having these short stories at hand for the quick diversionary read.
I'll definitely look into other books in this series.
I'll miss having these short stories at hand for the quick diversionary read.
I'll definitely look into other books in this series.
August 8, 2015
Of the 16 short stories in this book, I found 12 of them really well-written and only 2 of them awful. The other 2 were average. Although it's not necessary to be familiar with Detroit to enjoy the stories, knowing the neighborhoods in which they're set enables the reader to paint a more vivid story in her/his mind. If you enjoy short stories, this is a book well worth looking into.
September 24, 2008
This is a collection of unrelated short stories, and I just generally have a harder time reading these kinds of books. However it was very interesting to read about Detroit, with familiar landmarks involved. The stories were pretty good, and all had some definite "noir" undertones.
March 5, 2013
Great writers whose stories may entice as they're set in places such as Palmer Woods, Grosse Pointe, and the freeways and streets we know, but such dismal, dark and hopeless stories. There's a whole series of these short-story collections set in many cities--too bad.
August 1, 2013
Many of these stories could take place in any city, however the ones that apply to Detroit are wonderful like the Motown story. I wanted to know more about the characters and stories at the end of each short story. This book does not really allow to reader to know Detroit.
September 21, 2015
Perhaps gained a little more interest in the book being a local of Detroit, but that wasn't enough sadly. Certainly some of the short stories were on point, some however, seemed to be missing the noir element and couldn't hold my attention.
March 25, 2014
Grim but true to the real struggles of Detroit.
August 26, 2008
interesting read - lots of short stories with different perceptions on the detroit of the past and the present - specific to intersections and neighborhoods
May 26, 2009
I really liked many of the stories in this book, others were bearable. Always - enjoy the local backdrop when you can get it.
August 8, 2010
Interesting info about Detroit in the intro, going from the great city it once was to a virtual ghost town. The short stories give you a real flavor for the city.
December 3, 2010
I'll be checking out more of these!!!
November 20, 2011
Exploring the dark streets of Detroit Rock City through short story noir....
February 11, 2014
The retro stories suggest that no one saw the demise of the American auto industry or else they were in deep denial.
August 13, 2013
Meh...
Read
March 3, 2016I liked it. I went to Detroit often in the 50's s it was interesting to compare to what I remembered from that time.
January 1, 2018
Some solid stories in here. All of them are in Detroit, but are all of them noir?
May 16, 2024
This is the first I've read in the Akashic Noir series and I was really impressed! There were some stories that had a certain special magic to them, and the others were strong overall too. The focus on setting - which I assume is probably a feature of this [City] Noir series - really lends itself to building strong noir, and the diversity of sub-settings, characters, and their goals and activities (this isn't all crime!), really made this a strong collection.
Detroit may lend itself to strong noir more than other cities, but I look forward to checking out others in this series - especially as I travel to those cities!
Detroit may lend itself to strong noir more than other cities, but I look forward to checking out others in this series - especially as I travel to those cities!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews