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theseventhl's review against another edition
3.0
There are a lot of layers of St. Louis life for authors to pull from to fuel their stories’ emotional turbulence: economic disparities, racism and segregation, urban decay, failing school systems, police brutality, environmental disaster zones, and so forth. But at the heart of nearly every story in “St. Louis Noir” is someone who makes mistakes and keeps making mistakes long after any sensible person would have stopped and re-evaluated their life decisions. Some stories are like artful train wrecks, in which readers can barely look away before seeing what disastrous turn the protagonist’s life takes.
You can read my full review of ST. LOUIS NOIR at the Current independent student newspaper website. A reviewer copy of the paperback was provided for free by Akashic Books; no other compensation was offered for this review, nor was a review required to receive the book.
You can read my full review of ST. LOUIS NOIR at the Current independent student newspaper website. A reviewer copy of the paperback was provided for free by Akashic Books; no other compensation was offered for this review, nor was a review required to receive the book.
samhouston's review
4.0
St. Louis Noir is just the latest of about a dozen of the short story collections in this Akashic series that I’ve read now, and the streak continues – not a single one of them has disappointed me. Each of the collections begins with an introduction from the book’s editor (in this instance, Scott Phillips) that helps set the overall tone for what is to follow. As Phillips says, the St. Louis region has not had an easy time in recent years, and that makes the city the perfect setting for this kind of hardcore crime fiction. Consider that one of Phillips’s definitions of noir is fiction that “traffics in fatality and doom and bad luck and characters who persistently, knowingly, act against their own best interests” and you have an idea of what is to come.
Among my favorite stories in St. Louis Noir is one called “Deserted Cities of the Heart” (by Paul D. Monks) in which a loner of an IT nerd with a security clearance is convinced to hack into a witness protection data base with disastrous results by the attractive young out-of-towner who suddenly comes into his life. Another is “A Paler Shade of Death” (by Laura Benedict) about a young woman that many suspect is guilty of killing her four-year-old son. Now that her marriage has fallen apart, she is trying to convince herself that it is time for a fresh start – but is it? Two other stories are particular standouts: “The Brick Wall” (by John Lutz) and “One Little Goddam Thing” by the collection’s editor Scott Phillips. The first is a rather Hitchcockian story involving revenge of the most ingeniously delicate variety, and the second involves revenge of the cruder, but equally effective, type.
St. Louis Noir also includes what is titled “A Poetic Interlude,” four short poems from Michael Castro. In very few words, the first two pieces (“In St. Louis Heat” and “Gaslight Square”) paint vividly memorable pictures of St. Louis street scenes, but the third poem, “St. Louis Blues Revisited” strikes a note I wish it had not stricken by referencing “the cold cop who killed Michael Brown.” Perhaps I am misreading the poet’s intention in making that reference, but I do not see that it adds much of anything to mood of the poem, even coming in the poem’s very first stanza as it does. Much worse is a similar reference in author Umar Lee’s short author biography (whether written by Lee or by the editor did, I do not know) to the “murder of Michael Brown.” That reference serves no purpose whatsoever other than to explain the politics of Umar Lee who is “presently a candidate for mayor of St. Louis.”
The bottom line: St. Louis Noir is another worthy addition to what is perhaps already the best series of short story collections to be published in decades.
Among my favorite stories in St. Louis Noir is one called “Deserted Cities of the Heart” (by Paul D. Monks) in which a loner of an IT nerd with a security clearance is convinced to hack into a witness protection data base with disastrous results by the attractive young out-of-towner who suddenly comes into his life. Another is “A Paler Shade of Death” (by Laura Benedict) about a young woman that many suspect is guilty of killing her four-year-old son. Now that her marriage has fallen apart, she is trying to convince herself that it is time for a fresh start – but is it? Two other stories are particular standouts: “The Brick Wall” (by John Lutz) and “One Little Goddam Thing” by the collection’s editor Scott Phillips. The first is a rather Hitchcockian story involving revenge of the most ingeniously delicate variety, and the second involves revenge of the cruder, but equally effective, type.
St. Louis Noir also includes what is titled “A Poetic Interlude,” four short poems from Michael Castro. In very few words, the first two pieces (“In St. Louis Heat” and “Gaslight Square”) paint vividly memorable pictures of St. Louis street scenes, but the third poem, “St. Louis Blues Revisited” strikes a note I wish it had not stricken by referencing “the cold cop who killed Michael Brown.” Perhaps I am misreading the poet’s intention in making that reference, but I do not see that it adds much of anything to mood of the poem, even coming in the poem’s very first stanza as it does. Much worse is a similar reference in author Umar Lee’s short author biography (whether written by Lee or by the editor did, I do not know) to the “murder of Michael Brown.” That reference serves no purpose whatsoever other than to explain the politics of Umar Lee who is “presently a candidate for mayor of St. Louis.”
The bottom line: St. Louis Noir is another worthy addition to what is perhaps already the best series of short story collections to be published in decades.
tonstantweader's review
4.0
Bold travelers always want to go where the locals hang out, wanting to see past the usual tourist route that is programmed to keep them on a pristine path with never a touch of noir. But of course, if you never stray from the antiseptic path, you never see the real city. I think if I were traveling somewhere, in addition to the guide books to the official sites, i would search for an Akashic Noir series for that city, to give myself a taste of the grit and noir. St. Louis Noir by Scott Phillips is an introduction to the noir of that notoriously broken city.
Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, exploded on the national consciousness with the murder of Michael Brown and the subsequent Department of Justice report detailing the exploitation of its citizens by using the police to finance city services with abusive over-policing and policies that impoverished its citizen. It makes sense, then, that race play a central role in many of the short stories in St. Louis Noir.
Philips selected a great collection of stores that reinforce his view that St. Louis as a blend of high and low art, culture and society. There are rich, successful criminals and poor and hapless criminals. There’s wealth and poverty. The dichotomies are painful.
My favorite stories were Abandoned Places by S. L. Coney, a story of a young boy whose father has disappeared, staying with his dad’s girlfriend in uncertainty, fear and despair. It broke my heart into so many pieces I had to set the book aside for a day before I could approach it again. Another great story is Fool’s Luck by LaVelle Wilkins-Chinn, another story that reaching deep inside and squeezes.
I have rows of Akashic Noir books in my bookshelves, so I expected to enjoy St. Louis Noir and of course I did. The only problem is I came to the last page and wanted more, more, more. There were several great stories and poetry that represent the city in its duality. I love short stories, I love mysteries, I love reading about other places. Akashic Noir’s series brings them all together inside one book.
St. Louis Noir will be released next week on August 2nd. I was provided a e-galley of St. Louis Noir by the publisher through Edelweiss.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/st-louis-noir/
Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, exploded on the national consciousness with the murder of Michael Brown and the subsequent Department of Justice report detailing the exploitation of its citizens by using the police to finance city services with abusive over-policing and policies that impoverished its citizen. It makes sense, then, that race play a central role in many of the short stories in St. Louis Noir.
Philips selected a great collection of stores that reinforce his view that St. Louis as a blend of high and low art, culture and society. There are rich, successful criminals and poor and hapless criminals. There’s wealth and poverty. The dichotomies are painful.
My favorite stories were Abandoned Places by S. L. Coney, a story of a young boy whose father has disappeared, staying with his dad’s girlfriend in uncertainty, fear and despair. It broke my heart into so many pieces I had to set the book aside for a day before I could approach it again. Another great story is Fool’s Luck by LaVelle Wilkins-Chinn, another story that reaching deep inside and squeezes.
I have rows of Akashic Noir books in my bookshelves, so I expected to enjoy St. Louis Noir and of course I did. The only problem is I came to the last page and wanted more, more, more. There were several great stories and poetry that represent the city in its duality. I love short stories, I love mysteries, I love reading about other places. Akashic Noir’s series brings them all together inside one book.
St. Louis Noir will be released next week on August 2nd. I was provided a e-galley of St. Louis Noir by the publisher through Edelweiss.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/st-louis-noir/
5teverin0's review
3.0
This was a kind of hit-and-miss collection for me. Some of the stories are only loosely what I would consider"noir", though that didn't bother me much. Many of the writers seemed to be trying way too hard to cram St. Louis references into their stories. I realize that these are short stories, and it would be difficult to develop a sense of place in a short amount of time with being a little heavy-handed with the local street names, neighborhoods and product mentions, but I think that often they did not even serve the story. That being said, I did enjoy the book and recommend it if you like crime fiction.
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