Miami Noir: The Classics

by Les Standiford (Editor)

This long-awaited sequel to 2006’s best-selling Miami Noir offers classic noir from Elmore Leonard, Zora Neale Hurston, Damon Runyon, Lester Dent, and many more.

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.

The best-selling original Miami Noir, edited by Les Standiford and published in 2006, featured brand-new stories from some of the city’s best living writers. Now, in Miami Noir: The Classics, Standiford has turned his eye toward the outstanding noir fiction of yesteryear.

Featuring classic noir fiction from: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Elmore Leonard, Lester Dent, Zora Neale Hurston, Brett Halliday, Damon Runyon, Edna Buchanan, James Carlos Blake, Douglas Fairbairn, Charles Willeford, T.J. MacGregor, Lynne Barrett, Les Standiford, Preston L. Allen, John Dufresne, Vicki Hendricks, Christine Kling, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, and David Beaty.

Genres: Short Stories, Noir, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Anthologies, Mystery Thriller

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Les Standiford is a historian and author and has since 1985 been the Director of the Florida International University Creative Writing Program. Standiford has been awarded the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Fiction, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and belongs to the Associated Writing Programs, Mystery Writers of America, and the Writers Guild.

Reviews

[Shawn]

So, despite the fact that I've pretty much determined that, given my current reading list's structure, I'll probably never catch up with this anthology series, I still slotted two entries in it per "reading list" cycle. Because I like the idea (modern "noir" stories set in different cities - more on those quotes to follow), and I like to keep my hand in what's going on in modern short-fiction outside of my usual interests (horror/supernatural), so reading an entry in Akashic's "noir city" series is like picking up a random issue of a crime fiction magazine, if anyone even publishes those anymore...

And, as previously, the definition of "noir" is pretty flexible here - sometimes the real deal (gritty crime scenarios with morally conflicted characters), but just as often stories involving a "crime", or detective fiction, or even the occasional "dark" lit character piece. And this time out, it's Miami, a city to which I have never been and which, iirc, was the setting of the "so awful you had to love it" DEXTER serial-killer tv series.

Also as usual or the review structure, weak to strong: "Silence Of The Stone" by George Tucker has two academic archaeologists, both experts in the same ancient weapon, vying for the same job, until one turns up dead (murdered by said weapon, natch). This is a fairly routine murder mystery with only the archeological angle providing any real interest, while also serving to make the eventual outcome obvious. I found Carolina Garcia-Aguilera's "The Recipe" poorly written, sorry to say, as all details about a man killing his neighbor is related to us passively, after the fact, and just seemed kind of cheaply shocking. "Sawyers" by Kevin Allen is set in during the Great Depression and has a road-weary man and his daughter join the small crew at a remote logging camp, where their secrets are eventually revealed. I liked the setting of this, and the spare, deft character work but found it unsatisfying as a "noir" story. "Barbara Parker's "Machete" has research on a divorce case become unexpectedly complicated for a private eye when the husband is hacked to death with a machete. A solid mystery but nothing special.

Paul Levine' "Solomon & Lord Drop Anchor" has his series characters (I presume), a married lawyer couple, escort a scam artist (who took 3 million from their client) into international waters in an attempt to put some pressure on him. But things don't go as planned. A fun, breezy little character romp. In "The Last Of Lord Jitters," a hurricane threatens the safety of a couple just returned from a vacation, as does the presence of the husband's ne'er-do-well junkie brother and his associate with a clouded past who claims to be a British Lord. David Beaty's story was well-written and engaging, but has a somewhat anticlimactic ending. Preston Allen's "Swap Out" is told entirely in a dialogue between two inmates, and is thin but enjoyable as the one man tells of his problems with his brother-in-law - would make good audio.

Next are all the totally solid, "good" stories. "Ride Along" by James W. Hall has a crime author request access to the real world of criminals from one of his writing class students, a loose-cannon thug. But who's using who in this nasty little piece? Christine Kling's "Dead Storage" has a bright but troubled 16 year old girl, who resides in a trailer park/marine storage yard with her alcoholic, molester father, prove that she's not stupid. There's some nice locale work and character detail in this familiar story. In "Blown Away", a teacher, wandering after a devastating hurricane, fiends himself befriended by a cop on a mission through the rubble. A bleak, cold, sad and effective story by Anthony Dale Gagliano. Tom Corcoran, in "Another Man Ceiling," has an ex-con contacted about aiding some money launderers, but plans go awry. I liked the rather flat, prosaic way in which the aging criminals do business in this one. Another bleak one (about a family annihilator who interviews with a police consultant who has a knack for reading people) is found in "The Timing Of Unfelt Smiles" by John Dufresne. On a slightly more humorous tip, Vicki Hendricks' "Boozeanne, Lemme Be" features an extremely small man who sets himself up with the perfect, rent-free life, until his love for a barfly leads him astray. Cute. In "T-Bird", a professional gambler makes an unusual deal to assist a couple in pulling a settlement scam, but his ability to read odds does not help him expect a predicament. An engaging read by John Bond.

Two stories here were outstanding. Lynne Barrett's "The Noir Boudoir" features "magpies" - deceased estate "pickers" with specific expertise ("we'd be mere hoarders if we didn't sell") descending on the perfectly preserved holdings in the apartment of a decades-past, notorious femme fatale with two dead husbands to her "fame". But after everything is carted off, they find themselves subject to burglaries as long passed history begins to impinge on the present day. A well-done mystery with an interesting milieu, characters and semi-nostalgic tone. On the flip side, "The Swimmers" by Jeffrey Wehr painstakingly illustrates the desperate experiences of Haitian refugees fleeing their country through the auspices of human smugglers, who leave them stranded on a sandbar just offshore. An excellent example of "survival horror" that I may purchase for the Pseudopod podcast.

[Michelle]

After reading the LA Noir collection, I was reluctant to read the rest of the series. I mean, why bother? Noir was conceived, born, and raised in Los Angeles. Other cities don't count. And this held true until this book. Detroit? Not so much. Brooklyn? Yawn. But well done, Miami! The juxtaposition of darkness and hazy light is brilliant. Bright, brash colors and dark, deep crime. Hurrah for the birthplace of Dexter. Is it better than the LA collection? No, but it wins second place from a picky noir critic.

[Allison]

Abandoned this one about half way through. I've been reading "Florida stuff" as I'm going to be spending some time there later this year. This collection was.... eh. If I didn't know much about noir, I'd come away from the first half of Miami Noir thinking that incest was a plot requirement. Strange that there is so much of it here, and that it doesn't really add any depth to the narratives here - which are, admittedly, short stories so in need of quick resolution. Just all felt a bit hackneyed, so I got bored.

[Paul McBride]

Like all short story collections some of the stories we just alright, some were great, and some fell In between.
I had hope they would have been more mystery driven or had a darker story, overall it was an enjoyable book.

[Rick also deplores censorship]

Some of the stories I liked, some I did not but they were mostly short enough.

[Joshua]

About 5 good stories I liked

Standouts were (badly summarized by me)

Boozeanne, Lemme Be by Vicki Hendricks, a story of a sad squatter who found love and lost it all.
Ride Along by James Hall, a story that felt like Barry but is very much not Barry in a disturbing way. Glad they opened with this one, because there's a serious gap between this one and the rest of the stories I liked.
The Noir Boudoir by Lynne Barrett, the fantastic story of an antiquer ex-cop and an old starlet's estate.
Machete by Barbara Parker, a fun little whodunit with some supernatural flair.
T-Bird by John Bond that's a bit of a poker-themed twist on Double Indemnity. Not perfectly executed, but I liked the idea and the poker metaphors were fun.

[Laura Keane]

The first story, by James W. Hall, is worth the cost of the book. Brilliant writing and gritty funny tale. Other stories were less successful but my Florida obcession made me persevere.

[Stephen Dorneman]

A good entry in this series of city-based noir stories, that started a little on shaky ground, but finished strong. Standout stories by Lynne Barrett, Barbara Parker, and Vicki Hendricks, but every story here has at least some spark, twist, or unique voice that makes it worth the time it takes to read it.

[Larry]

Great stuff, I am not always a fan of the short stories, But Noir lends it self nicely to it.
I was surprised to discover this is one of 100 book series, Akashic noir Series
and I look forward to finding a few more of this series

[Benjamin]

I'm a big fan of the Akashic Noir series, but this entry was bad. The stories are consistently underwhelming, and the writing and editing seemed lazy. The editor made a point of declining to include any of his own work. Skip this entry and try one of the other Akashic Noir entries.

[Stephen Snead]

Hit and miss. Some stories are memorable but others are just okay. It's a good way to discover authors you may have missed. If you can get the ebook on a bargain deal it's well worth it. If I could give 3 & 1\2 I would.

[Richard]

Some very entertaining and engaging short stories in this collection focused in and around Miami. I also found some good authors to follow up on, with characters all based in Florida.

[John]

it was ok...

[Kurt Weber]

Definitely gloss over this edition if you're not a fan on rape, rape, rape

[Duncan Mitchell]

Some good short stories in here.

[Diana]

MIAMI NOIR: THE CLASSICS edited by Les Standiford, is the newest title in Akashic Books celebrated Noir series.
This short story anthology series was launched in 2004 by Akashic Books with BROOKLYN NOIR and continues with over 100 titles to its credit.
Each title represents a city, region or country with each story set in a distinct neighborhood or location. Travel to Montana, to Havana, to Sao Paulo, to Mumbai, to Tel Aviv and back again. You are in for a bumpy ride.
This is noir at its finest - crime fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism and moral ambiguity. Hard-boiled characters and bleak settings set the tone for the raw, dark and brooding stories.

Each noir title is formatted in the same way. There is a sepia-toned, brooding Cover; an Introduction by the editor(s); a Map (love the map. I refer to it often); a Table of Contents listing the parts of the book, the stories, their locations and authors; and An About the Authors which showcases the talented (and usually) local writers.

The Introduction, written by Les Standiford, is a wonderful one. Not only does it set the tone and mood of Miami (past and present), it is a literary history of popular and award-winning authors, all writing stories about this south Florida area and its melting pot of cultures.
“19 classic tales of gloom from the Sunshine State. Although the stories, all of them reprints, are grouped thematically into four sections, they’re arranged chronologically, and the development over the 90+ years they span is startling.” KIRKUS June 1, 2020
Authors include Marjory Stoneman Douglas; Lester Dent; Zora Neale Hurston; Damon Runyon; Brett Halliday; Douglas Fairbairn; Charles Willeford; T.J. MacGregor; James Carlos Blake; Elmore Leonard; Lynne Barrett; John Dufresne; Edna Buchanan; Les Standiford; David Beaty; Vicki Hendricks; Carolina Garcia-Aguilera; Preston L. Allen and Christine Kling.

I thought the Introduction was excellent. And each story, beginning with “Pineland” published in 1925 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas and ending with “The Monkey’s Fist” published in 2006 by Christine Kling, was an outstanding example of noir at its best. I was very happy to see a piece by Edna Buchanan, one of my very favorite authors. (I have several of her paperbacks sitting in front of me, waiting to be reread!)
Thank you to Akashic Books for the ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of MIAMI NOIR: THE CLASSICS.
I would heartily recommend this title and series to all noir fans. *****

[Sarah]

A good addition to the Noir series, Miami Noir is a collection of stories that take place in or around Miami. I found it to be a good solid collection. In James W Hall's "Ride along" a college creative writing professor gets more than he bargains for when he pairs up with a career criminal in order to get firsthand experience of violence for his writing. In Dead Storage, a teenager takes indirect revenge on he abusive father. Kevin Allen wrote the only story set in the past, about a poor father and son who have a run-in with a con man in his beautiful daughter. Paul Levine writes a story about a lawyer and his partner who end up in a life-and-death struggle with the criminal aboard his yacht. One of my favorite stories was the Last of Law Jitters by David Beaty, about a young wife whose is trapped in a hurricane with her husband and her husbands junkie brother and his friend, who both grow more unhinged as the storm rages outside. The Timing of Unfelt Smiles about a man who goes on a murder rampage, slaughtering his family and eventually ending up in a battle of wits with a psychiatrist. Vicki Hendricks writes a story of a slow man who is coerced into a brutal robbery by his scheming girlfriend. The last story was called the swimmers by Jeffrey Wehr, and was the saddest of the group, about an ill-fated boatload of illegal Cuban immigrants who try to reach the United States. Overall, this was a good collection

[Cathy DuPont]

I love noir and apparently there's a series of noir with some known and not quite so known writers contributing. Just to name a few, there's Brooklyn Noir, D. C., LA and New Orleans, London, San Francisco, and many more. My edition had map of Miami area with places starred by palm tree where the stories were placed. Nice little touch!

Bought this one because it had so many of my favorite authors; James W. Hall, Paul Levine, Tom Corcoran, Barbara Parker and edited by Les Standiford whose writing I also love. One of my favorite stories though was an unknown to me author, Christine Kling, who I will put on my to-read list.

Most of the stories were good to much better than good, excellent. My two favorites would be Kling and Hall's short stories.

As a personal bonus, when Hall and Standiford were in St. Augustine last September (they were speakers at writing conference luncheon) I had opportunity to meet both and have them sign my edition.

What a great talk at lunch. Lunch, not so great, Hall and I agreed, but entertainment of those two going back and forth made up for the so-so lunch. That was the treat, listening to two great writers who know each other well and banter humorously over cold grilled chicken. That banter was delicious and unforgettable.

[Rachel]

Out 11/17, this is excellent entry in the Akashic Noir series. Miami Noir: The Classics contains a variety of stories written between 1925 and 2006, so you get a really good sense of Miami over the last 100 years. I wasn’t a fan of the two excerpts for reasons I’ll note below, but most of the other stories were terrific-atmospheric, sometimes sad or dark, but always captivating, much like Miami herself.

“Lemonade and Paris Buns” by John Dufresne and “Tahiti Junk Shop” by Les Standiford were probably my favorites. The first was super short, but packed a punch, and the second had a touch of the supernatural about it and actually was rather heartwarming.

I object to the excerpts for two reasons. First, the excerpt from Hurston’s There Eyes Were Watching God spoils a major plot point for anyone who hasn’t read the exquisite novel. Second, excerpts are meant to be standalone stories, and this is abundantly clear with “Street 8” by Douglas Fairbairn. The reader misses context and the ending of the tale had little to do with the beginning, like the editor wasn’t sure where to cut off the excerpt.

Overall, this is a good collection with very few “misses” and I am grateful to the publisher, Akashic Books, and LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Tonstant Weader]

Miami Noir: The Classics takes a long look back at noir stories from the past. Editor Les Standiford cleverly excerpted novels to provide a broader view of classic noir from Miami. The stories were published between 1926 and 2006, eighty years of desperate men and women fighting to survive and thrive in impossible situations.

The first story is “Pineland” by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a writer whose work has been overwhelmed by the mass murder at a school named after her and the activism of the surviving students. There is an excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s unforgettable “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It ends with a touch of humor with “The Monkey’s Fist” by Christine Kling.



Miami Noir: The Classics is excellent and I enjoyed it a lot. It complicates the Miami of C.S. I. and Miami Vice, making it a more appealing city, with more than corrupt politicians, Cuban refugees, and cocaine cartels. This anthology gives us a city of farmers, laborers, grifters, and the working class. So much more interesting.

I received an e-galley of Miami Noir: The Classics from the publisher through Edelweiss

Miami Noir: The Classics at Akashic Books
Akashic Noir Series
Les Standiford author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...

[Eadie Burke]

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. In Miami Noir: The Classics, Standiford has turned his eye toward the outstanding noir fiction of yesteryear. It Features classic noir fiction from: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Elmore Leonard, Lester Dent, Zora Neale Hurston, Brett Halliday, Damon Runyon, Edna Buchanan, James Carlos Blake, Douglas Fairbairn, Charles Willeford, T.J. MacGregor, Lynne Barrett, Les Standiford, Preston L. Allen, John Dufresne, Vicki Hendricks, Christine Kling, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, and David Beaty.
My favorite stories were the excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Odyssey by Elmore Leonard, The Red Shoes by Edna Buchanan and Tahiti Junk Store by Les Sandiford. I'm not a fan of short stories but these were exceptional. I'm looking forward to reading more short stories in the future and highly recommend this book to those who like to read about Miami. Thanks LibraryThing and Akashic Books for a free copy for an honest review.

[Laurel]

Miami Noir The Classics has made it on to my list of favorite Akashic noir anthologies. Its editor, Les Standiford, has included just the right mix of the old and the newish, from noir’s earliest beginnings up to the early 21st century with views of a city much changed in population makeup, a city fighting its way out of decline, but still in its throes. These stories are so good that it’s difficult to pick just a few to mention, but of course, I do have a few favorites. One of the best is Les Standiford’s own, “Tahiti Junk Shop.” It deserves to be read again and again. Another is “Pineland” by Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Written in 1925 it’s the oldest story included in the anthology and Sarah McDevitt is a wonderful and enduring character. “The Works” by T.J. MacGregor is a South Beach take on assisted suicide and finally, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera’s “Washington Avenue,” originally published in 2001, is an interesting look at the bar scene and proliferation of drugs that plagued Miami from the late 1990s onward. This is a great collection of short stories and one I would highly recommend to noir enthusiasts.

[Chazzi]

I received this through LibraryThing Early Reads.

It is an anthology of classic noir tales based in Miami. It contains a nice selection of authors from various eras: 1925 to 2006. Writers who has passed, such as Runyon, Halliday and Leonard, and writers who are still alive and writing: Garcia-Aguilera, Standiford and MacGregor.

The stories are such that I took my time reading. The plots have subtle touches that need to be taken in. The locations are all over Miami, a lively town of various arts and money, but tucked in among the glamour are events that aren’t so classy or upscale.

It is interesting to read from the various eras and see how writers change. The styles may vary, and the main theme may be the same, but the feelings left after reading can be very different from tale to tale.

I’ve read other noir collections put out by Akashic Books, and enjoyed each of them.

[Robert Lozowchuk]

I have recently discovered this whole genre of books that are short stories by current popular authors of mystery/thriller. They are collections of short stories by the authors from the particular city the book is named for???. ( For instance,"Miami Noir", is short stories from authors who live in Miami, and that are set in, Miami.) I have also read,"London Noir, San Francisco Noir, Los Angeles Noir,(1 & 2), and, Manhattan Noir,(1 & 2). They are a great way to find new authors and then read some of there novels. Plus I love reading short stories before I go to bed so I don't end up staying awake to late trying to get to a point in the book where I feel I can put it down till the next night.

[Melanie Grace]

A collection of short stories taking on darker themes all taking place in Miami (or Homestead). Some of the stories were certainly better than others. If you like crime based fiction and Florida, this is the book for you. And as a south Florida resident, it was interesting for me to see these stories unfold in this setting. Only one of the stories really struck me as great, though. I definitely can't say I loved this book, but can't say I didn't like it, either.

[Chris]

One of the longer books in the series and full of good stories. Hurricanes are in several as well as white trash, an alligator, Haitans, Cubans, drugs, gamblers, runaways, and insane people. There are the usual ex-cops turned PI's as well as one who has become a collector from estate sales. Just a very interesting melange of stories and in some of them all the characters and elements merge.

[Alice]

I knew this anthology was going to be great because it's edited by Les Standiford, the director of the creative writing program at Florida International University. Standiford is an outstanding fiction and nonfiction writer. This book made me want to book a trip to Miami.

[Michelle Hanchett]

Avoid Garcia-Aguilera

Unless you enjoy cartoonisjh, hackneyed, predictable , politically correct writing at a seventh grade level. Archie comic books are better written and more insightful.

[Maria Maniaci]

A little uneven, but many good stories.

[Eli]

The quality of stories was uneven, but the good ones were quick to grab your attention. A brisk and entertaining read.