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Las Vegas Noir
Launched by the summer '04 award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.In this chilling portrait of America's Sin City, lady luck is just as likely to dispense cold hard cash as a cold-hearted killing.Brand-new stories John O Brien, David Corbett, Scott Phillips, Nora Pierce, Bliss Esposito, Felicia Campbell, Jaq Greenspon, Jose Skinner, Pablo Medina, Christine McKellar, Lori Kozlowski, Vu Tran, Celeste Starr, Preston L. Allen, Tod Goldberg, and Janet Berliner.Las Vegas provides the classic sophistication and darkness necessary for a deadly noir story. Stylish, sultry, brimming with ambition and greed, the characters that populate this literary Las Vegas are pushed to the extremes of human experience. From the neon glitter of the Strip to the treacherous views of Red Rock Canyon and Boulder City, from the desperation of Naked City to the racial tensions of the Westside, no other location offers so many different avenues leading to serious trouble.Many legendary authors have turned their attention to Vegas to investigate the city's moods and mysteries. Now, the most recent crop of acclaimed writers explore the secret neighborhoods and byways of America's most sinful city, offering readers not only compelling noir tales but also an insider's understanding of this steamy oasis. These authors take readers beneath the surface flash of Freemont Street and the Strip and into the gritty multicultural environs of underground Vegas.Jarret Keene is author/editor of three books, including the poetry collection Monster Fashion , the alt-travel tome The Underground Guide to Las Vegas, and the unauthorized rock bio The Destiny Is Calling Me. He lives in Las Vegas.Todd James Pierce is the author of three books, including the novel A Woman of Stone and the short story collection Newsworld, which won the 2006 Drue Heinz Literature Prize. He is an assistant professor of English at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, California."
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 24, 2017
3 .09 "you win a few, but lose a few more" stars !!
Last week the BF and I were in Las Vegas to celebrate a new more relaxed phase in our lives where we will spend more time having leisure, working much less and spending half our time in our country lakeside home. This will be bliss for me as I love being by the lake especially when it is cool, cloudy and windy. Reading on the porch under Mexican blankets drinking mulled wine with the moon overlooking the dark waters. WTF Jaidee that is not Vegas...lol you are right. Vegas was bright hot sun in the day and bright gaudy lights at night. Huge buffets, losing at the slots, shopping galore and girls with lovely asses and boob jobs doing burlesque. Vegas was great and fun and somewhat dangerous and there is enough second hand smoke to make you feel that you haven't quit smoking twenty years ago.
This book had some terrific stories, some run of the mill stories and some really crappy stories too. The superb stories are unforgettable and the crap ones are like staying at one particular slot machine too long feeding it tens and twenties and forgetting that our Canadian dollar is worth nothing next to the American ones.
In my usual fashion I will name the story, the author, the star rating and an emotional impression or little phrase that came to mind:
1. The Tik by John O'Brien 4 stars
---slick and slicker...a sadistic couple pick up a third
2. Pretty Little Parasite by David Corbett 3.5 stars
---cocktail waitress morphs into coke dealer morphs into....
3. Mitzvah by Tod Goldberg 4 stars
---Mobster turns rabbinical....darkly hilarious
4. Babs by Scott Phillips 3 stars
---Picking up some drugs from an ex burlesque dancer...could have been much more
5. This or Any Desert by Vu Tran 5 STARS (The best in the bunch)
---Superb...a middle aged man's sadness can be larger than a Nevada Desert
6. Benny Rojas and the Rough Riders by Pablo Medina 3.5 stars
---Leaving Cuba for Las Vegas and losing your soul and humanity
7. Bits and Pieces by Christine McKellar 3.5 stars
--- This had the potential to be a little noir gem but instead reached very good status...anorexic Jewish woman can be psychopathic as well...a bit shocking !!
8. Crip by Preston L. Allen 4.5 stars (Second Favorite)
---Heartbreakingly ugly and oh so sad !!
9. Three Times a Night, Every Other Night by Lori Kolzlowski 3 stars
---Funny, dark and grotesque
10. Disappear by Jaq Greenspon 2.5 stars
---An illusionist up to some new trix
11. All About Balls by Jose Skinner 3.5 stars
---Aspiring ethnographer goes to Vegas and goes to0 far with his machismo
12. Atomic City by Nora Pierce 2.5 stars
---A bus ride in the desert goes a little bloody
13. Dirty Blood by Celeste Starr 2 stars
---not much here...more a prelude than a story
14. Guns Don't Kill People by Bliss Esposito 2.5 stars
---a so so story of a mother protecting her bullied young son
15. Murder is Academic by Felicia Campbell 1 star
---Awful amateurish drivel...what is it doing in this anthology !!
16. The Road to Rachel by Janet Berliner 1.5 stars
---crazy ostriches ummmm NOOO
Last week the BF and I were in Las Vegas to celebrate a new more relaxed phase in our lives where we will spend more time having leisure, working much less and spending half our time in our country lakeside home. This will be bliss for me as I love being by the lake especially when it is cool, cloudy and windy. Reading on the porch under Mexican blankets drinking mulled wine with the moon overlooking the dark waters. WTF Jaidee that is not Vegas...lol you are right. Vegas was bright hot sun in the day and bright gaudy lights at night. Huge buffets, losing at the slots, shopping galore and girls with lovely asses and boob jobs doing burlesque. Vegas was great and fun and somewhat dangerous and there is enough second hand smoke to make you feel that you haven't quit smoking twenty years ago.
This book had some terrific stories, some run of the mill stories and some really crappy stories too. The superb stories are unforgettable and the crap ones are like staying at one particular slot machine too long feeding it tens and twenties and forgetting that our Canadian dollar is worth nothing next to the American ones.
In my usual fashion I will name the story, the author, the star rating and an emotional impression or little phrase that came to mind:
1. The Tik by John O'Brien 4 stars
---slick and slicker...a sadistic couple pick up a third
2. Pretty Little Parasite by David Corbett 3.5 stars
---cocktail waitress morphs into coke dealer morphs into....
3. Mitzvah by Tod Goldberg 4 stars
---Mobster turns rabbinical....darkly hilarious
4. Babs by Scott Phillips 3 stars
---Picking up some drugs from an ex burlesque dancer...could have been much more
5. This or Any Desert by Vu Tran 5 STARS (The best in the bunch)
---Superb...a middle aged man's sadness can be larger than a Nevada Desert
6. Benny Rojas and the Rough Riders by Pablo Medina 3.5 stars
---Leaving Cuba for Las Vegas and losing your soul and humanity
7. Bits and Pieces by Christine McKellar 3.5 stars
--- This had the potential to be a little noir gem but instead reached very good status...anorexic Jewish woman can be psychopathic as well...a bit shocking !!
8. Crip by Preston L. Allen 4.5 stars (Second Favorite)
---Heartbreakingly ugly and oh so sad !!
9. Three Times a Night, Every Other Night by Lori Kolzlowski 3 stars
---Funny, dark and grotesque
10. Disappear by Jaq Greenspon 2.5 stars
---An illusionist up to some new trix
11. All About Balls by Jose Skinner 3.5 stars
---Aspiring ethnographer goes to Vegas and goes to0 far with his machismo
12. Atomic City by Nora Pierce 2.5 stars
---A bus ride in the desert goes a little bloody
13. Dirty Blood by Celeste Starr 2 stars
---not much here...more a prelude than a story
14. Guns Don't Kill People by Bliss Esposito 2.5 stars
---a so so story of a mother protecting her bullied young son
15. Murder is Academic by Felicia Campbell 1 star
---Awful amateurish drivel...what is it doing in this anthology !!
16. The Road to Rachel by Janet Berliner 1.5 stars
---crazy ostriches ummmm NOOO
August 24, 2008
I am addicted to this series in general and this combines my love of Las Vegas with noir, so I especially loved it. This is a very well-edited collection that offers a solid cross range of stories. I recently lent it to my mother. She is an avid reader who had never tried noir before. She is now hooked and very glad that I introduced her to a genre that she had previously overlooked.
As with this entire series, the reader's experience is greatly enhanced by being familiar with the actual locations. However, the stories in this one are so darkly compelling that even if you have never been to Las Vegas, it is a great ride.
As with this entire series, the reader's experience is greatly enhanced by being familiar with the actual locations. However, the stories in this one are so darkly compelling that even if you have never been to Las Vegas, it is a great ride.
April 30, 2008
Another great noir collection from the folks at Akashic. Hey there, fans of Preston L. Allen! Yours truly has a story in this one, too. It's called "crip." Check it out.
March 29, 2020
I rather enjoyed this collection of short stories. Quality is not top across the board but there are no amateurs in here. Of course many deal with the mob or gambling, but the takes are perhaps not what you'd expect. I especially enjoyed a story of a trip to the Nevada Test Site (now known as the Nevada National Security Site), both because of the story itself and because I have done that tour (and liked it!).
There is much about Vegas that escapes the casual visitor. Some of these stories will reinforce the visitor's view, but many others call its bluff.
There is much about Vegas that escapes the casual visitor. Some of these stories will reinforce the visitor's view, but many others call its bluff.
August 26, 2019
I really enjoy the noir anthologies that Akashik Books has been publishing, and Las Vegas is an obvious addition to the list. Unfortunately the concept was better than the execution, with too few stories taking advantage of the locale.
January 4, 2021
There are some solid moments in this collection. You'll get more of a kick out of it if you are not only a fan or a local of LVNV, but of the surrounding areas and history.
Celeste Starr's "Dirty Blood" is especially fun.
Celeste Starr's "Dirty Blood" is especially fun.
August 20, 2017
The story Mitzvah was really good, and as usual Akashic doesn't miss.
November 7, 2018
Some decent stories overall, but I picked this up just for the Scott Phillips piece. Worth it.
July 6, 2021
Vu Trans’s This or any Desert really blew me away. It has style and grace and exhibits the Spirit of Diasporic Consciousness: a much more elegant and sophisticated term than immigrant literature.
January 29, 2012
I love every single one of Akashic's noir series, from the very first one, Brooklyn Noir published in 2004. Las Vegas Noir was no exception, and it too, was exceptional.
With four business trips to Las Vegas within a 3 month time span this year, how could I help but read Las Vegas Noir. Of all the noir series, I have to say that Las Vegas Noir was the most psychopathic and sociopathic collection of short stories I've ever read. The map shows stories on the strip (North Las Vegas, Fremont, Scotch Bus, Naked City), off the strip (Chinatown, Summerlin, Sunset Park, East Las Vegas, Nellis, Green Valley and Centennial Hills) and also out in the Nevada desert (Area 51, Test Site, Mount Charleston, Pabrump). While my visits to the city were largely constrained to the conference hotels, I'd come to recognize some of the neighborhoods at least by name and reputation. I could see the striations of the Red Rock Canyon from my window, the rising gray dawn over the city, absent of people, with garbage trucks not limos on the streets.
And because my visits were largely limited by the confines of the conference hotels, the radical contrast of the short stories made them incredibly realistic and frightening. The fantasy experience of the luxury hotels superseded reality, yet my rational mind knew that this transient, exalted existence could not possibly be true. And reality became the stories of Las Vegas Noir.
You see, Las Vegas Noir isn't about the tourist fantasy of the casinos. It's about the working city, the city of people trying to make their way, some how, any way they can. Here's from the introduction: "The stories gathered in Las Vegas Noir are written by longtime residents and avid chroniclers of Sin City, authors who take you far beyond the neon of Caesars palace and into neighborhoods too dangerous for CSI. Absolutely cliche-free, these stories are full of flesh and blood characters trapped in dire circumstances that only real Las Vegas neighborhoods can spring."
There's a mob killer hiding out as a rabbi, who's favorite part of the week is talking with the children who come to the temple. A cocktail waitress who decides to sell drugs so that she can spend more time with her child. A monster of a father who surrenders his child to a monster when he can't stop his gambling compulsion. Sex fantasies that trigger last gasp murders. And perhaps my favorite, a Las Angeles American Studies academic who finds a reclusive Mictlanos community in the heart of the city. Too lazy to research the tribe, he falls prey to it's cult. There's more too, just as fearful, just as naive, just as desperate.
Have to say, yet another winner from Akashic.
--Ashland Mystery
With four business trips to Las Vegas within a 3 month time span this year, how could I help but read Las Vegas Noir. Of all the noir series, I have to say that Las Vegas Noir was the most psychopathic and sociopathic collection of short stories I've ever read. The map shows stories on the strip (North Las Vegas, Fremont, Scotch Bus, Naked City), off the strip (Chinatown, Summerlin, Sunset Park, East Las Vegas, Nellis, Green Valley and Centennial Hills) and also out in the Nevada desert (Area 51, Test Site, Mount Charleston, Pabrump). While my visits to the city were largely constrained to the conference hotels, I'd come to recognize some of the neighborhoods at least by name and reputation. I could see the striations of the Red Rock Canyon from my window, the rising gray dawn over the city, absent of people, with garbage trucks not limos on the streets.
And because my visits were largely limited by the confines of the conference hotels, the radical contrast of the short stories made them incredibly realistic and frightening. The fantasy experience of the luxury hotels superseded reality, yet my rational mind knew that this transient, exalted existence could not possibly be true. And reality became the stories of Las Vegas Noir.
You see, Las Vegas Noir isn't about the tourist fantasy of the casinos. It's about the working city, the city of people trying to make their way, some how, any way they can. Here's from the introduction: "The stories gathered in Las Vegas Noir are written by longtime residents and avid chroniclers of Sin City, authors who take you far beyond the neon of Caesars palace and into neighborhoods too dangerous for CSI. Absolutely cliche-free, these stories are full of flesh and blood characters trapped in dire circumstances that only real Las Vegas neighborhoods can spring."
There's a mob killer hiding out as a rabbi, who's favorite part of the week is talking with the children who come to the temple. A cocktail waitress who decides to sell drugs so that she can spend more time with her child. A monster of a father who surrenders his child to a monster when he can't stop his gambling compulsion. Sex fantasies that trigger last gasp murders. And perhaps my favorite, a Las Angeles American Studies academic who finds a reclusive Mictlanos community in the heart of the city. Too lazy to research the tribe, he falls prey to it's cult. There's more too, just as fearful, just as naive, just as desperate.
Have to say, yet another winner from Akashic.
--Ashland Mystery
January 11, 2014
"People come from all over the world to do dumb, dangerous things in Sin City, whether it's someone locking himself in a Fremont Street motel to kick a nasty heroin habit, hooking up to an oxygen tank in a last-ditch scheme to double his nest egg at the downtown slots, or shooting a weekend porn flick that goes disastrously wrong once a rabid pit bull is introduced." So writes Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce, the editors of Las Vegas Noir, one of the entries in the Akashic Noir series. This series is story collections from cities as varied as Brooklyn to the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Since noir is my favorite genre and Las Vegas my favorite city of the imagination, it was a natural for me to read.
Unfortunately, that sentence is more interesting than most of the stories presented. Some of them aren't really noir, such as Bliss Esposito's "Guns Don't Kill People," which has a suburban housewife wanting to teach her son how to shoot, and some are just poorly written. Some stories have promise, and play like opening chapters of a novel, but then trail off, such as Todd Goldberg's "Mitzvah," which has a man masquerading as a rabbi.
There are few little gems here that are self-contained stories, the best of which is "Crip," by Preston L. Allen. The theme--a killer for the mob has a soft heart for a child (this is as hold as the hills, and was basically the plot of the film Leon) is well-written and succinct. I also liked the off-kilter nature of Jose Skinner's "All About Balls," which finds an anthropology student at a convention in Las Vegas stumbling upon a community of Mexican Indians, with disastrous results.
Of course there is a story about Area 51, with Janet Berliner's "The Road to Rachel." Befitting the weird legacy of the place, it has to do with ostriches.
Some of the stories don't really have much to do with Vegas, but aren't bad stories, like Vu Tran's "This or Any Desert," which takes place in Chinatown (it could be a Chinatown anywhere), or "Murder is Academic," by Felicia Campbell, about a serial killer targeting literary women (the ending of this story is pretty bad, though).
If they do a Las Vegas Noir 2 I'd be willing to take a chance, but the stories should be more specifically about the city. I didn't get the sense of the place from this collection.
Unfortunately, that sentence is more interesting than most of the stories presented. Some of them aren't really noir, such as Bliss Esposito's "Guns Don't Kill People," which has a suburban housewife wanting to teach her son how to shoot, and some are just poorly written. Some stories have promise, and play like opening chapters of a novel, but then trail off, such as Todd Goldberg's "Mitzvah," which has a man masquerading as a rabbi.
There are few little gems here that are self-contained stories, the best of which is "Crip," by Preston L. Allen. The theme--a killer for the mob has a soft heart for a child (this is as hold as the hills, and was basically the plot of the film Leon) is well-written and succinct. I also liked the off-kilter nature of Jose Skinner's "All About Balls," which finds an anthropology student at a convention in Las Vegas stumbling upon a community of Mexican Indians, with disastrous results.
Of course there is a story about Area 51, with Janet Berliner's "The Road to Rachel." Befitting the weird legacy of the place, it has to do with ostriches.
Some of the stories don't really have much to do with Vegas, but aren't bad stories, like Vu Tran's "This or Any Desert," which takes place in Chinatown (it could be a Chinatown anywhere), or "Murder is Academic," by Felicia Campbell, about a serial killer targeting literary women (the ending of this story is pretty bad, though).
If they do a Las Vegas Noir 2 I'd be willing to take a chance, but the stories should be more specifically about the city. I didn't get the sense of the place from this collection.
Want to Read
July 29, 2015Launched by the summer '04 award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.
In this chilling portrait of America's Sin City, lady luck is just as likely to dispense cold hard cash as a cold-hearted killing.
Brand-new stories by: John O’Brien, David Corbett, Scott Phillips, Nora Pierce, Bliss Esposito, Felicia Campbell, Jaq Greenspon, José Skinner, Pablo Medina, Christine McKellar, Lori Kozlowski, Vu Tran, Celeste Starr, Preston L. Allen, Tod Goldberg, and Janet Berliner. ??
Las Vegas provides the classic sophistication and darkness necessary for a deadly noir story. Stylish, sultry, brimming with ambition and greed, the characters that populate this literary Las Vegas are pushed to the extremes of human experience. From the neon glitter of the Strip to the treacherous views of Red Rock Canyon and Boulder City, from the desperation of Naked City to the racial tensions of the Westside, no other location offers so many different avenues leading to serious trouble.
Many legendary authors have turned their attention to Vegas to investigate the city's moods and mysteries. Now, the most recent crop of acclaimed writers explore the secret neighborhoods and byways of America's most sinful city, offering readers not only compelling noir tales but also an insider's understanding of this steamy oasis. These authors take readers beneath the surface flash of Freemont Street and the Strip and into the gritty multicultural environs of underground Vegas.
Jarret Keene is author/editor of three books, including the poetry collection Monster Fashion, the alt-travel tome The Underground Guide to Las Vegas, and the unauthorized rock bio The Killers: Destiny Is Calling Me. He lives in Las Vegas.
Todd James Pierce is the author of three books, including the novel A Woman of Stone and the short story collection Newsworld, which won the 2006 Drue Heinz Literature Prize. He is an assistant professor of English at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, California.??
**
January 10, 2025
pretty little parasite was really good. crip made me emotional. it was on overall very solid collection of stories. only one that bored me (i ended up skipping it) was atomic city.
June 20, 2013
A collection of short stories about crime in Vegas. The majority are noir in varying degrees, though one, called "Bits and Pieces" was not and was out of place. The writing varied too; some stories, such as Vu Tran's "This Or Any Desert", about a cop tracking down his ex-wife in a Vegas Chinatown restaurant, are well-done and memorable. Others, like "Bits and Piece" are predictable, while a story from Leaving Las Vegas author John O' Brien, the only "name" in the collection, seems immature.
This is the first Akashic Noir anthology I've read. I have two more on the shelf (Boston and Manhattan, I think). I had such high hopes for this Vegas one; I mean, Vegas+ crime+ money. There were good stories here, but nothing that blew me away. 3.5 stars
This is the first Akashic Noir anthology I've read. I have two more on the shelf (Boston and Manhattan, I think). I had such high hopes for this Vegas one; I mean, Vegas+ crime+ money. There were good stories here, but nothing that blew me away. 3.5 stars
July 23, 2015
3 Stars.
Not a bad collection. Plenty of fun stories. It's just that very, very few of them have anything to do with noir. In all of the stories there's an element of crime, primarily murder, but what lacks is that dreadful sense of a "lose-lose" situation where no matter what choices our protagonist makes (and often choices that should be preceded by a sense of no other options being left) they're going to lose, and, in fact, were doomed from the start.
The strongest story of the bunch, and the most "noir" of the collection, is "Crip" by Preston L. Allen.
Other highlights include "Mitzvah" by Tod Goldberg, "Pretty Little Paradise" by David Corbett, "Three Times a Night, Every Other Night" by Lori Kozlowski, and "The Road to Rachel" by Janet Berliner.
Not a bad collection. Plenty of fun stories. It's just that very, very few of them have anything to do with noir. In all of the stories there's an element of crime, primarily murder, but what lacks is that dreadful sense of a "lose-lose" situation where no matter what choices our protagonist makes (and often choices that should be preceded by a sense of no other options being left) they're going to lose, and, in fact, were doomed from the start.
The strongest story of the bunch, and the most "noir" of the collection, is "Crip" by Preston L. Allen.
Other highlights include "Mitzvah" by Tod Goldberg, "Pretty Little Paradise" by David Corbett, "Three Times a Night, Every Other Night" by Lori Kozlowski, and "The Road to Rachel" by Janet Berliner.
October 3, 2015
There are several good stories in here, but you must wade through the sludge to find them. To me, there were too many instances of stereotyping of "heavies" in the book, whether they were whores, Mafioso, common thugs or petty criminals (or redemptive "good guys," for that matter). The language use to characterize these types fell flat on the page for me—too few instances of lively characters, story ideas or follow-through with an initially interesting premise. I felt like the writers in many of the stories were taking shortcuts to get to the guts of the story, with a subsequent loss of creative expression.
I lived in Vegas for a while a ways back, and only saw the glimmers of the Vegas I knew.
I lived in Vegas for a while a ways back, and only saw the glimmers of the Vegas I knew.
February 9, 2011
Like any collection there are hits and misses, but the good ones in this selection of noir short stories set in Vegas are really good. I loved "This or Any Desert", set in Vegas's Chinatown and written by Vu Tran. It captures the colorful and surreal side of Sin City, right from the start. As soon as the main character says that in all his time on the police force he never came close to killing anyone, you know what's coming. Whether you're going to Vegas or not, whether you like Vegas or not, this ia a noir collection well worth reading.
June 27, 2013
My rating is based on the fact that, despite the title, many of the stories are not, in fact, noir. Separate that out and many of the stories are well-written and introduced me to new-to-me authors.
Noir is about people who realize that following the program will never get them what they crave. So they cross the line, commit a crime and reap the consequences. Or, they’re tales about seemingly innocent people tortured by paranoia and ass-kicked by Fate. Either way, they depict a world that’s merciless and unforgiving.
If the guy gets the girl in the end? Not noir.
Noir is about people who realize that following the program will never get them what they crave. So they cross the line, commit a crime and reap the consequences. Or, they’re tales about seemingly innocent people tortured by paranoia and ass-kicked by Fate. Either way, they depict a world that’s merciless and unforgiving.
If the guy gets the girl in the end? Not noir.
May 3, 2014
I'm addicted to this series and also loved this volume. The stories are disgusting and vile but some have a sweet side. Nice variety. Hope they make a second Las Vegas Noir.
I liked most of the stories so picking favorites is difficult. I loved "The Road to Rachel" because of the scary ostrich theme and it most closely describes how I remember Las Vegas. "Pretty Little Parasite" "mitzvah," "This or Any Desert," "Crip," and "Murder is Academic" were great. Oh yeah, "Benny Rojas ," "All About Balls," and "Guns Don't Kill People." Well, that doesn't really narrow things down.
I liked most of the stories so picking favorites is difficult. I loved "The Road to Rachel" because of the scary ostrich theme and it most closely describes how I remember Las Vegas. "Pretty Little Parasite" "mitzvah," "This or Any Desert," "Crip," and "Murder is Academic" were great. Oh yeah, "Benny Rojas ," "All About Balls," and "Guns Don't Kill People." Well, that doesn't really narrow things down.
![Profile Image for Ed [Redacted].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1429513592i/3968676.jpg)
August 23, 2014
Very good short story anthology. My only real complaint is the same I have with all of the "(insert city here) Noir" series: Only about half of the stories actually qualify as "Noir". Stories about crime or criminals aren't automatically Noir stories. Anyway, this is still a worthy anthology and one of the better Akashic Noir books I have read.
December 18, 2007
A mostly enjoyable collection of short crime fiction- written by Vegas area authors. Good mix and of course, if you don't like one, you're on to a new one before long. Good for fans of crime writing and Vegas themed work.
April 10, 2009
Not a lot of these stories have to do with the Strip, but there's a sense to these stories that people somehow ended up here. I live here, don't gamble, so I read them as if I could know these people. Or not. Good read!
Read
March 16, 2009Glad I don't live there. Not normally into the dark stuff, but it's entertaining.
February 28, 2010
Nice collection of short stories - I liked this even better than Detroit Noir, from the same series....
October 18, 2011
This compilation of short stories was interesting, but only mildly thought-provoking. These stories could have taken place anywhere, not just Las Vegas, so what was the point.
September 5, 2012
As always with the "City - Noir" series...a great collection of stories!
October 29, 2012
Of course, Vegas = Noir! A quick read.
January 31, 2013
100 times better than Mexico City Noir. Some misses but overall I enjoyed the collection.
September 1, 2015
The stories were not as good as the first Akashic book I read. There were several I liked, but, overall, I was a bit disappointed.
March 21, 2010
I made it to page 60 but am ditching it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews