What do you think?
Rate this book
Providence Noir
Peter Farrelly's story "The Saturday Night Before Easter Sunday" has been nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Short Story!
Named a Favorite Book of 2015 by Scott MacKay at Rhode Island Public Radio
"Even Providence's signature public art has a dark side in Providence Noir (Akashic), which includes a story called 'WaterFire's Smell Tonight' by Pablo Rodriguez. Each tale in this anthology edited by Ann Hood is set in a different part of the city. Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout's story takes place at Trinity Repertory Company. Thomas Cobb, whose novel Crazy Heart was made into a movie with Jeff Bridges, tees up at Triggs Memorial Golf Course, and Dumb and Dumber co-writer and co-director Peter Farrelly, a graduate of Providence College, sets his story in the Elmhurst neighborhood, near his old college stomping grounds."
-- Boston Globe
"Providence, of course, has a history of crime, the mob, corruption and other goodies. In this collection of 15 stories...we are given a darkly hued tour of the city in all its nooks and crannies by such excellent writers as Hood herself, John Searles, Bruce DeSilva, Peter Farrelly, Elizabeth Strout, Hester Kaplan and others, each with their own style, tone and sly approach that will keep you reading, waiting for the sudden murder, the end of troubled relationships, the discovery of bones....[A] wonderful collection."
-- Providence Journal
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Featuring brand-new stories by: John Searles, Elizabeth Strout, Taylor M. Polites, Hester Kaplan, Robert Leuci, Amity Gaige, Peter Farrelly, Pablo Rodriguez, Bruce DeSilva, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Luanne Rice, Dawn Raffel, Thomas Cobb, LaShonda Katrice Barnett, and Ann Hood.
Anyone who has spent time in Providence, Rhode Island, knows that lurking in the shadows are many sinister noir elements and characters. The city is ripe for this volume, and Akashic is proud to have recruited the amazing Ann Hood as editor. The impressive contributor list conveys the caliber of Providence Noir, which joins Cape Cod Noir, Boston Noir, and Boston Noir 2: The Classics in sketching a dark and alternative portrait of these New England locales.
From the introduction by Ann Hood:
"Providence was founded in 1636 by a rogue named Roger Williams. Williams escaped here when Massachusetts was ready to deport him back to England. In the almost four hundred years since, we've become infamous for all sorts of crimes and misdemeanors, including serving as home base for the Patriarca crime family for decades. My very own Uncle Eddie--I can hear Mama Rose screaming at me: 'He wasn't a blood relative! He was related through marriage!'--was gunned down in the Silver Lake section of town in 1964, just a year after he drove me in his white Cadillac convertible in a parade as the newly crowned Little Miss Natick. The writer Geoffrey Wolff told me that once he went to a barber in Princeton, New Jersey and the barber asked him where he was from. 'Providence,' Wolff told him. The barber put down his scissors, raised his hands in the air, and said, 'Providence? Don't shoot!'
"I've asked fourteen of my favorite writers to contribute short stories to Providence Noir. We have stories to make you shiver, stories to make you think, stories that will show you my beautiful, noirish city in a way it’s never been highlighted before."
Named a Favorite Book of 2015 by Scott MacKay at Rhode Island Public Radio
"Even Providence's signature public art has a dark side in Providence Noir (Akashic), which includes a story called 'WaterFire's Smell Tonight' by Pablo Rodriguez. Each tale in this anthology edited by Ann Hood is set in a different part of the city. Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout's story takes place at Trinity Repertory Company. Thomas Cobb, whose novel Crazy Heart was made into a movie with Jeff Bridges, tees up at Triggs Memorial Golf Course, and Dumb and Dumber co-writer and co-director Peter Farrelly, a graduate of Providence College, sets his story in the Elmhurst neighborhood, near his old college stomping grounds."
-- Boston Globe
"Providence, of course, has a history of crime, the mob, corruption and other goodies. In this collection of 15 stories...we are given a darkly hued tour of the city in all its nooks and crannies by such excellent writers as Hood herself, John Searles, Bruce DeSilva, Peter Farrelly, Elizabeth Strout, Hester Kaplan and others, each with their own style, tone and sly approach that will keep you reading, waiting for the sudden murder, the end of troubled relationships, the discovery of bones....[A] wonderful collection."
-- Providence Journal
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Featuring brand-new stories by: John Searles, Elizabeth Strout, Taylor M. Polites, Hester Kaplan, Robert Leuci, Amity Gaige, Peter Farrelly, Pablo Rodriguez, Bruce DeSilva, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Luanne Rice, Dawn Raffel, Thomas Cobb, LaShonda Katrice Barnett, and Ann Hood.
Anyone who has spent time in Providence, Rhode Island, knows that lurking in the shadows are many sinister noir elements and characters. The city is ripe for this volume, and Akashic is proud to have recruited the amazing Ann Hood as editor. The impressive contributor list conveys the caliber of Providence Noir, which joins Cape Cod Noir, Boston Noir, and Boston Noir 2: The Classics in sketching a dark and alternative portrait of these New England locales.
From the introduction by Ann Hood:
"Providence was founded in 1636 by a rogue named Roger Williams. Williams escaped here when Massachusetts was ready to deport him back to England. In the almost four hundred years since, we've become infamous for all sorts of crimes and misdemeanors, including serving as home base for the Patriarca crime family for decades. My very own Uncle Eddie--I can hear Mama Rose screaming at me: 'He wasn't a blood relative! He was related through marriage!'--was gunned down in the Silver Lake section of town in 1964, just a year after he drove me in his white Cadillac convertible in a parade as the newly crowned Little Miss Natick. The writer Geoffrey Wolff told me that once he went to a barber in Princeton, New Jersey and the barber asked him where he was from. 'Providence,' Wolff told him. The barber put down his scissors, raised his hands in the air, and said, 'Providence? Don't shoot!'
"I've asked fourteen of my favorite writers to contribute short stories to Providence Noir. We have stories to make you shiver, stories to make you think, stories that will show you my beautiful, noirish city in a way it’s never been highlighted before."
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 11, 2015
28 people are currently reading
636 people want to read
About the author
Ann Hood
73 books1,276 followersAnn Hood is the editor of Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting and the bestselling author of The Book That Matters Most, The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, Comfort, and An Italian Wife, among other works. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, a Best American Food Writing Award, a Best American Travel Writing Award, and the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 7, 2020
Another adequate Noir anthology, this one set in the Rhode Island City of Providence. Much like...every other book in the series.
July 21, 2015
I was initially drawn to this book because of the setting. I'm from Massachusetts, and spent a lot of time in the Providence, RI area. That, coupled with the fact that I love the noir genre, got me to open the book. What kept me reading was the immense talent of the contributing authors.
While all of these stories share genre and the city setting, they vary widely in content and writing style. We have sorrow, fear, grief, some humor, and, of course, crime.
Several stories were standouts for me, an easy 5-star rating. A few didn't hold the same appeal, though that was more a matter of personal taste than anything to do with the writing. They are all masterfully written, with characters that feel real and suck you right into their world.
Being familiar with Providence, Rhode Island is absolutely not a prerequisite to enjoying this collection of stories. The authors paint their portraits of this place with such beautiful brush strokes that you will easily see it through their eyes.
While all of these stories share genre and the city setting, they vary widely in content and writing style. We have sorrow, fear, grief, some humor, and, of course, crime.
Several stories were standouts for me, an easy 5-star rating. A few didn't hold the same appeal, though that was more a matter of personal taste than anything to do with the writing. They are all masterfully written, with characters that feel real and suck you right into their world.
Being familiar with Providence, Rhode Island is absolutely not a prerequisite to enjoying this collection of stories. The authors paint their portraits of this place with such beautiful brush strokes that you will easily see it through their eyes.
July 8, 2015
Mystery, a dash of humor, and some jaw-dropping shivers, stylishly written short stories set in Providence, RI. All the authors had some RI/ Providence connection which made the settings more than a device. A couple of the stories weren't that great to me, and one centered on golf, was lucky to get the skim treatment. Otherwise an entertaining noir-ish read.
May 30, 2015
I won this book from a Goodreads First-Reads giveaway.
This is a good, solid noir collection. I am not familiar with Providence but I love these Akashic anthologies. Definitely worth reading.
This is a good, solid noir collection. I am not familiar with Providence but I love these Akashic anthologies. Definitely worth reading.
August 31, 2015
Enjoyed most of these short stories.
Especially loved The Pig by John Searles.
Some of the stories reminded me of Twilight Zone Episodes in the way they were written and especially the conclusions.
Especially loved The Pig by John Searles.
Some of the stories reminded me of Twilight Zone Episodes in the way they were written and especially the conclusions.
December 12, 2023
Once again I'm flabbergasted at the talent of a group of authors tasked with writing a short story that takes place in Providence, RI.
Truth be told, there was only one that had me flummoxed as far as what it meant. I think I got it but I'm not sure.
Amazing. Well worth the read.
I'm going to look into "noir" books about other cities; there are many!
Truth be told, there was only one that had me flummoxed as far as what it meant. I think I got it but I'm not sure.
Amazing. Well worth the read.
I'm going to look into "noir" books about other cities; there are many!
November 16, 2021
A little view of Providence, Rhode Island.
A mixed bag as is usual with short story collections. Some were pretty weak.. Ended with an interesting though ultimately head scratching one by Peter Farrelly..
A mixed bag as is usual with short story collections. Some were pretty weak.. Ended with an interesting though ultimately head scratching one by Peter Farrelly..
August 20, 2017
The stories are hit or miss. Some are excellent, others, not so much. I did like that all were set in Providence - it gives you a good feel for the city's history and different neighborhoods.
April 29, 2018
Collection starts with promise and then fades, progressively and precipitously.
May 11, 2018
A fun read!
August 2, 2021
I mean, the title doesn’t lie. It’s dark. And some of the stories will shock you. I’m not sure I’d read it again but I’m glad I finished it.
May 12, 2022
Four out of five cawffee milks and hot wieners all the way.
January 10, 2024
Really enjoyable collection of short stories. Some were better than others, but overall really liked it. 4.5/5
will-get-back-to
July 6, 2024I read the story “once, at Trinity Rep” by Elizabeth Strout.
Read
July 29, 2015Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Featuring brand-new stories by: John Searles, Elizabeth Strout, Taylor M. Polites, Hester Kaplan, Robert Leuci, Amity Gaige, Peter Farrelly, Pablo Rodriguez, Bruce DeSilva, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Luanne Rice, Dawn Raffel, Thomas Cobb, LaShonda Katrice Barnett, and Ann Hood.
Anyone who has spent time in Providence, Rhode Island, knows that lurking in the shadows are many sinister noir elements and characters. The city is ripe for this volume, and Akashic is proud to have recruited the amazing Ann Hood as editor. The impressive contributor list conveys the caliber of Providence Noir, which joins Cape Cod Noir, Boston Noir, and Boston Noir 2: The Classics in sketching a dark and alternative portrait of these New England locales.
From...
"Providence, of course, has a history of crime, the mob, corruption and other goodies. In this collection of 15 stories...we are given a darkly hued tour of the city in all its nooks and crannies by such excellent writers as Hood herself, John Searles, Bruce DeSilva, Peter Farrelly, Elizabeth Strout, Hester Kaplan and others, each with their own style, tone and sly approach that will keep you reading, waiting for the sudden murder, the end of troubled relationships, the discovery of bones....[A] wonderful collection."
--Providence Journal
"John Searles's 'The Pig' combines a touching examination of pathos and mystery. Robert Leuci's 'The Vengeance Taker' is a powerful and ultimately creepy story of earned revenge. LaShonda Katrice Barnett's 'Waltz Me Once Again' is a compelling story of violence and tragedy. Thomas Cobb performs the remarkable feat of making a simple round of golf into a surprisingly suspenseful tale, '$1,000 Nassau.' And Peter Farrelly's 'The Saturday Night Before Easter Sunday' closes out the volume with a superb--and hilarious--inside look at the world of novelists, phonies, publishers, and schemers."
--Publishers Weekly
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
Featuring brand-new stories by: John Searles, Elizabeth Strout, Taylor M. Polites, Hester Kaplan, Robert Leuci, Amity Gaige, Peter Farrelly, Pablo Rodriguez, Bruce DeSilva, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Luanne Rice, Dawn Raffel, Thomas Cobb, LaShonda Katrice Barnett, and Ann Hood.
Anyone who has spent time in Providence, Rhode Island, knows that lurking in the shadows are many sinister noir elements and characters. The city is ripe for this volume, and Akashic is proud to have recruited the amazing Ann Hood as editor. The impressive contributor list conveys the caliber of Providence Noir, which joins Cape Cod Noir, Boston Noir, and Boston Noir 2: The Classics in sketching a dark and alternative portrait of these New England locales.
From the introduction by Ann Hood:
*"Providence was founded in 1636 by a rogue named Roger Williams. Williams escaped here when Massachusetts was ready to deport him back to England. In the almost four hundred years since, we've become infamous for all sorts of crimes and misdemeanors, including serving as home base for the Patriarca crime family for decades. My very own Uncle Eddie--I can hear Mama Rose screaming at me: 'He wasn't a blood relative! He was related through marriage!'--was gunned down in the Silver Lake section of town in 1964, just a year after he drove me in his white Cadillac convertible in a parade as the newly crowned Little Miss Natick. The writer Geoffrey Wolff told me that once he went to a barber in Princeton, New Jersey and the barber asked him where he was from. 'Providence,' Wolff told him. The barber put down his scissors, raised his hands in the air, and said, 'Providence? Don't shoot!'
"I've asked fourteen of my favorite writers to contribute short stories to Providence Noir. We have stories to make you shiver, stories to make you think, stories that will show you my beautiful, noirish city in a way it’s never been highlighted before."*
**
August 1, 2015
I first discovered the publisher Akashic when I won The Cocaine Chronicles in another giveaway. I went on to read The Heroin Chronicles, The Marijuana Chronicles & The Speed Chronicles. All of which were over the top as far as the quality of the writing and how sucked in you became with every new story. You never wanted the stories to end (or God forbid, the book)!
Working in a library allowed me to pursue other books by Akashic publishing and that is how I came across the Noir series. I checked out Prison Noir and was hooked for life! My goal is to read (& collect) the entire series. When Providence Noir came up for grabs on Early Reviewers I knew it wouldn't matter that I had never been to Providence, nor would it matter that I hadn't heard of some of the authors, I was going to enjoy it & enjoy it I did!
While I often read mysteries I admit I'm not very good at figuring out who done it before the author reveals it. That's what I love about mysteries and there were a lot of surprises for me in this anthology. I also admit to being a slow reader (sorry Akashic), but I confess some of my slowness in reading this book was the ever engaging stories with their twist and turn endings. I did indeed string these stories out as long as I could so the book would never end.
One of the well known authors of this book was Luann Rice and working in a library I know just how popular she is. I have never picked up one of her books before, but if Gold Leaf is any indication of her caliber of work, I will soon be checking her books out. I enjoyed every story in this anthology for different reasons, though some more than others. But I will say all had great plots and even better writing. There was something for everyone.
Working in a library allowed me to pursue other books by Akashic publishing and that is how I came across the Noir series. I checked out Prison Noir and was hooked for life! My goal is to read (& collect) the entire series. When Providence Noir came up for grabs on Early Reviewers I knew it wouldn't matter that I had never been to Providence, nor would it matter that I hadn't heard of some of the authors, I was going to enjoy it & enjoy it I did!
While I often read mysteries I admit I'm not very good at figuring out who done it before the author reveals it. That's what I love about mysteries and there were a lot of surprises for me in this anthology. I also admit to being a slow reader (sorry Akashic), but I confess some of my slowness in reading this book was the ever engaging stories with their twist and turn endings. I did indeed string these stories out as long as I could so the book would never end.
One of the well known authors of this book was Luann Rice and working in a library I know just how popular she is. I have never picked up one of her books before, but if Gold Leaf is any indication of her caliber of work, I will soon be checking her books out. I enjoyed every story in this anthology for different reasons, though some more than others. But I will say all had great plots and even better writing. There was something for everyone.
May 17, 2016
This collection of Noir reads as if it was the final product of a Writer's Workshop for depressed Poe devotees and travel agents who have never left the city of Providence. Full of Providence fan-service and insider nods, it establishes a bleak outlook for the town. Not an edgy, twisted yet somehow magnetic draw, but a repulsion for a town writ blackened, tortured and twisted. Could potentially be re-branded as a Lonely Planet Guide for Sociopaths.
If neo-Noir is your cup of hemlock, it's true to format, readable and diverse enough that there are bits and pieces for most fans. If you like homicidal, deviant, sociopath tales- you will love this book.
I received this as a Free Reads copy from goodreads.com, and I'm glad to have received it that way. If I had purchased it, I would probably have returned it. And I will make absolutely sure I detour away from Providence if I ever find myself headed that direction.
If neo-Noir is your cup of hemlock, it's true to format, readable and diverse enough that there are bits and pieces for most fans. If you like homicidal, deviant, sociopath tales- you will love this book.
I received this as a Free Reads copy from goodreads.com, and I'm glad to have received it that way. If I had purchased it, I would probably have returned it. And I will make absolutely sure I detour away from Providence if I ever find myself headed that direction.
February 1, 2016
My first of the Noir City Series and I really enjoyed it. Several authors that I'm familiar with wrote for this collection: Ann Hood, John Searles, Luanne Rice and Elizabeth Strout. Looking through the list of prior cities included in this list promises more great short stories by more great authors. "Noir is about sex and money and sometimes about revenge," Otto Penzler, the owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, told the New Yorker in 2010. In noir, he said, there are are no heroes and no happy endings. This was certainly true. Each story is set in a different part of Providence, using the appropriate atmosphere. One story is even set on the Triggs Memorial Golf Course and another at the city's train station. I thought this was a great selection of short fiction and I'm planning to read more of this noir series.
February 1, 2016
Great mix of interesting stories, unsettling stories, and - unfortunately - just plain terrible ones. Thankfully, there aren't many of those, and he good ones definitely outweigh the bad. It's also of course fun to read about streets, places, and neighborhoods I know and can walk to on a daily basis.
December 5, 2015
Providence Noir edited by Ann Hood offers 15 dark stories by 15 authors, including Thomas Cobb, Peter Farelly, Elizabeth Strout and John Searles. Each story is set in a different location in the city where crime, whether petty or Patriarca, lurks in dark corners.
Read
November 6, 2015Interesting Read
Didn't really know much about Providence before reading this. I don't know how accurately the various stories portray the city, but they're very interesting, very well written - several with ironic twists along the way.
Didn't really know much about Providence before reading this. I don't know how accurately the various stories portray the city, but they're very interesting, very well written - several with ironic twists along the way.
January 17, 2016
A few gems, but most of the stories didn't have a chance to develop and get off the ground before they needed to conclude. That and how many references to The Coffee Exchange need to be in one collection...
September 29, 2015
I loved a few of these noir stories, some were very disturbing, and some were just okay. Mostly I enjoyed reading something different and unusual.
August 27, 2016
Really interesting short stories featuring Providence. The endings always left me thinking..
July 26, 2016
Good collection of highly-rated authors. Some stories are OK, but most are really good, showcasing Providence and well-developed characters and plots.
October 22, 2024
Gorgeous novel from the city I was born in! Really connected with Providence here!
June 12, 2017
As with any anthology, some stories were better than others, but in sum, it was a worthwhile read. Actually, I finished reading it a while back, set it on my nightstand & left it in "Currently Reading" on this site. I am now closing the loop.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews