Download Manhattan Noir Akashic Noir Anthologies Lawrence Block Charles Ardai Carol Lea Benjamin Thomas H Cook Jeffery Deaver Jim Fusilli Robert Knightly John Lutz Liz Martinez Maan Meyers Martin Meyers SJ Rozan Justin Scott CJ Sullivan Xu Xi Books

Download As PDF : Manhattan Noir Akashic Noir Anthologies Lawrence Block Charles Ardai Carol Lea Benjamin Thomas H Cook Jeffery Deaver Jim Fusilli Robert Knightly John Lutz Liz Martinez Maan Meyers Martin Meyers SJ Rozan Justin Scott CJ Sullivan Xu Xi Books

Brand-new stories by Jeffery Deaver, Lawrence Block, Charles Ardai, Carol Lea Benjamin, Thomas H. Cook, Jim Fusilli, Robert Knightly, John Lutz, Liz Martínez, Maan Meyers, Martin Meyers, S.J. Rozan, Justin Scott, C.J. Sullivan, and Xu Xi.

Lawrence Block has won most of the major mystery awards, and has been called the quintessential New York writer, although he insists the city’s far too big to have a quintessential writer. His series characters—Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner, Chip Harrison, and Keller—all live in Manhattan; like their creator, they wouldn’t really be happy anywhere else.

"A pleasing variety of Manhattan neighborhoods come to life in Block's solid anthology...the writing is of a high order and a nice mix of styles."
--Publishers Weekly

"Feel the dread, the angled shadow, the sidelong quicks, the pitter-patter of running blood, the femme fatales' will she/won’t she/she did, the creep of the heel, and the stone causes the hitch and the hitch and the stumble. Manhattan Noir’s got it all and then some...Thick with tradition, rich with revelation, and as sweet as Hard Crime itself, Manhattan Noir is just desserts indeed. Dig in."
--Ink 19

"[A] thrilling new anthology in the Noir series from Akashic Books . . . This latest addition to the Noir family takes a sizable bite out of the big apple."
--Future MYSTERY Anthology Magazine

"A fun read that’s sure to please mystery lovers and fans of New York fiction."
--About.com

Download Manhattan Noir Akashic Noir Anthologies Lawrence Block Charles Ardai Carol Lea Benjamin Thomas H Cook Jeffery Deaver Jim Fusilli Robert Knightly John Lutz Liz Martinez Maan Meyers Martin Meyers SJ Rozan Justin Scott CJ Sullivan Xu Xi Books

"This collection of short stories is not only a crime lover's dream, but a noir lover's fantasy. The titles are are all written by the masters of the field, and the reader even gets an introduction to the genre's finest ever contributor, Lawrence Block. The introduction alone makes the book worth the cost of admission, with plenty of quotable quotes, including a handy one to use the next time someone ask, "Just what is, noir, anyway?"

On top of Mr Block's own delightful entry, IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, the book opens with a brilliant tale of justice being unofficially served on a serial killer masquerading as a civilian handing out public duty. The opening paragraph to the opening short (THE GOOD SAMARITAN by Charles Ardai) is worth note, and it raised the hairs on the back of my neck on my first read. I am not surprised this book was placed first on the reader's pecking order, since it is so good that it sets the scene for the entire reading experience. The end is supremely satisfying on several levels.

The second short, by Carol Lea Benjamin, is based on the results of a marriage gone sour. Before the reader learns who did what to whom, you might be asking yourself, "WHY, WHY, WHY". By the end of the tale, however, you may well be asking yourself, "HAVE YOU DONE IT YET?" The modus operandi may not stand up to today's crime solving technologies but it was good enough to be highly entertaining in this context.

Mr Block's own story is just as brilliant as the opening one, if not more so. A young lady finds herself approached in a bar by a strange but charming fellow, and naturally the pair wind up in bed together. Well, that's one way of putting it!

I am just about to start RAIN by Thomas H Cook and even the opening sentence borders on the poetic side of literature:

"A burst of light releases the million eyes of the rain, glimpsing the Gothic towers in dark mist, falling in glittering streams of briefly reflected light, moving inland, toward the blunt point of the island, an outbound ferry as it loads for the midnight run."

One tends to forget the dark nature of the reading material when your eyes are fortunate enough to fall across words of such relatively beauty. But i guess that is a feature of noir. Black is black, white is white, except for when they are not.

The rest of the tales are just as good but equally varied. I have not read them, yet - give me an hour or two of reading time, and i will update this review. As Mr Block says in his introduction, "You're here for the stories, and I trust you'll like them. I know I do." If they are good enough for Mr Block, they are good enough for me!

This book is an awesome purchase and of course hugely recommended by someone who couldn't be any further from Manhattan if he tried. But not by choice!

In A NICE PLACE TO VISIT by Jeffrey Deaver - the longest story in the book - a grifter attempts to ply his trade in the big smoke of New York City, But despite his choice of town, or because of it, the deal falls through. But New York would not be New York if another opportunity failed to present itself, and of course it is not too long before one does. This story is artfully written and at times, is a beautiful depiction of what we love about noir. Taken from page seventy five of the print edition: 'The sunlight came through some clouds over Eighth Avenue and hit Gourdino's beer. It cast a tint on the counter, the yellow of a sick man's eye...'

Beautiful, in so many ways. Just like the structure of the story. And the solution of this short is like the final stroke being applied to one of Michaelangelo's masterpiece artworks. A picture within a picture, within a picture. Genius lives here.

THE NEXT BEST THING by Jim Fusilli
This one is a classic twist on the cross/ double cross scenario. An out of luck musician finds work as a bank's pianist (of all things!) and his wife completes the story with a form of the ultimate multi-layered betrayal. Short, but sweet. And of course, highly entertaining.

In TAKE THE MANS PAY by Robert Knightly, a Japanese businessman being questioned by NY cops is a brilliant example of how not to release the cat out of the bag until dinner time. Mr Hoshi Taiku is questioned by the police in a very intelligent fashion, but we don't learn what for until the very end. With charges pending, questions are still left unanswered in the reader's mind masterfully by the author. Characterisation is first class, with the reader's emotions strongly falling initially with Taiku and of course, swinging like a pendulum toward the cops as you progress. But did he do it? You will have to read the story and make up your own mind.

More updates as i progress through this fantastic purchase.

BFN Greggorio!"

Product details Series Akashic Noir Anthologies Paperback 257 pages Publisher Akashic Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 2006) Language English ISBN-10 9781888451955

Tags : Manhattan Noir (Akashic Noir Anthologies) (9781888451955) Lawrence Block, Charles Ardai, Carol Lea Benjamin, Thomas H. Cook, Jeffery Deaver, Jim Fusilli, Robert Knightly, John Lutz, Liz Martinez, Maan Meyers, Martin Meyers, S.J. Rozan, Justin Scott, C.J. Sullivan, Xu Xi Books,Lawrence Block, Charles Ardai, Carol Lea Benjamin, Thomas H. Cook, Jeffery Deaver, Jim Fusilli, Robert Knightly, John Lutz, Liz Martinez, Maan Meyers, Martin Meyers, S.J. Rozan, Justin Scott, C.J. Sullivan, Xu Xi,Manhattan Noir (Akashic Noir Anthologies),Akashic Books,1888451955,Mystery Detective - General,American fiction;New York (State);New York.,Detective and mystery stories, American.,Manhattan (New York, N.Y.);Fiction.,American fiction,Canada,Crime mystery,Detective and mystery stories, American,FICTION / Anthologies (multiple authors),FICTION / Mystery Detective / Collections Anthologies,FICTION / Mystery Detective / General,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery/ Detective,Fiction-Mystery Detective,GENERAL,General Adult,Manhattan (New York, N.Y.);Fiction.,Mystery Detective - General,Mystery/Suspense,New York,New York (State),Noir fiction, American,NoirShort StoriesCrime FictionAnthologyAkashic Noir SeriesMysteryCollection Manhattan NoirManhattan, New York, United StatesMidtown, ManhattanGreenwich, ManhattanClinton, ManhattanBattery Park, ManhattanHell's Kitchen, ManhattanGeorge Washington Bridge, ManhattanGarment District, ManhattanUpper West Side, ManhattanWashington Heights, ManhattanLower East Side, ManhattanYorkville, ManhattanHarlem, ManhattanChelsea, ManhattanInwood, ManhattanTime Square, ManhattanJeffery DeaverLawrence BlockCharles ArdaiCarol Lea BenjaminThomas H. CookJim FusilliRobert KnightlyJohn LutzLiz MartínezMaan MeyersMartin MeyersS.J. RozanJustin ScottC.J. SullivanXu Xi,NoirShort StoriesCrime FictionAnthologyAkashic Noir SeriesMysteryCollection Manhattan NoirManhattan; New York; United StatesMidtown; ManhattanGreenwich; ManhattanClinton; ManhattanBattery Park; ManhattanHell's Kitchen; ManhattanGeorge Washington Bridge; ManhattanGarment District; ManhattanUpper West Side; ManhattanWashington Heights; ManhattanLower East Side; ManhattanYorkville; ManhattanHarlem; ManhattanChelsea; ManhattanInwood; ManhattanTime Square; ManhattanJeffery DeaverLawrence BlockCharles ArdaiCarol Lea BenjaminThomas H. CookJim FusilliRobert KnightlyJohn LutzLiz MartínezMaan MeyersMartin MeyersS.J. RozanJustin ScottC.J. SullivanXu Xi,Readings/Anthologies/Collected Works,TRAVEL / United States / Northeast / Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA),FICTION / Anthologies (multiple authors),FICTION / Mystery Detective / Collections Anthologies,FICTION / Mystery Detective / General,TRAVEL / United States / Northeast / Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA),Fiction - Mystery/ Detective,American fiction,Detective and mystery stories, American,New York,New York (State),Noir fiction, American,Fiction,Mystery/Suspense,Crime mystery

Manhattan Noir Akashic Noir Anthologies Lawrence Block Charles Ardai Carol Lea Benjamin Thomas H Cook Jeffery Deaver Jim Fusilli Robert Knightly John Lutz Liz Martinez Maan Meyers Martin Meyers SJ Rozan Justin Scott CJ Sullivan Xu Xi Books Reviews :

Manhattan Noir Akashic Noir Anthologies Lawrence Block Charles Ardai Carol Lea Benjamin Thomas H Cook Jeffery Deaver Jim Fusilli Robert Knightly John Lutz Liz Martinez Maan Meyers Martin Meyers SJ Rozan Justin Scott CJ Sullivan Xu Xi Books Reviews

• This collection of short stories is not only a crime lover's dream, but a noir lover's fantasy. The titles are are all written by the masters of the field, and the reader even gets an introduction to the genre's finest ever contributor, Lawrence Block. The introduction alone makes the book worth the cost of admission, with plenty of quotable quotes, including a handy one to use the next time someone ask, "Just what is, noir, anyway?"
  
  On top of Mr Block's own delightful entry, IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, the book opens with a brilliant tale of justice being unofficially served on a serial killer masquerading as a civilian handing out public duty. The opening paragraph to the opening short (THE GOOD SAMARITAN by Charles Ardai) is worth note, and it raised the hairs on the back of my neck on my first read. I am not surprised this book was placed first on the reader's pecking order, since it is so good that it sets the scene for the entire reading experience. The end is supremely satisfying on several levels.
  
  The second short, by Carol Lea Benjamin, is based on the results of a marriage gone sour. Before the reader learns who did what to whom, you might be asking yourself, "WHY, WHY, WHY". By the end of the tale, however, you may well be asking yourself, "HAVE YOU DONE IT YET?" The modus operandi may not stand up to today's crime solving technologies but it was good enough to be highly entertaining in this context.
  
  Mr Block's own story is just as brilliant as the opening one, if not more so. A young lady finds herself approached in a bar by a strange but charming fellow, and naturally the pair wind up in bed together. Well, that's one way of putting it!
  
  I am just about to start RAIN by Thomas H Cook and even the opening sentence borders on the poetic side of literature
  
  "A burst of light releases the million eyes of the rain, glimpsing the Gothic towers in dark mist, falling in glittering streams of briefly reflected light, moving inland, toward the blunt point of the island, an outbound ferry as it loads for the midnight run."
  
  One tends to forget the dark nature of the reading material when your eyes are fortunate enough to fall across words of such relatively beauty. But i guess that is a feature of noir. Black is black, white is white, except for when they are not.
  
  The rest of the tales are just as good but equally varied. I have not read them, yet - give me an hour or two of reading time, and i will update this review. As Mr Block says in his introduction, "You're here for the stories, and I trust you'll like them. I know I do." If they are good enough for Mr Block, they are good enough for me!
  
  This book is an awesome purchase and of course hugely recommended by someone who couldn't be any further from Manhattan if he tried. But not by choice!
  
  In A NICE PLACE TO VISIT by Jeffrey Deaver - the longest story in the book - a grifter attempts to ply his trade in the big smoke of New York City, But despite his choice of town, or because of it, the deal falls through. But New York would not be New York if another opportunity failed to present itself, and of course it is not too long before one does. This story is artfully written and at times, is a beautiful depiction of what we love about noir. Taken from page seventy five of the print edition 'The sunlight came through some clouds over Eighth Avenue and hit Gourdino's beer. It cast a tint on the counter, the yellow of a sick man's eye...'
  
  Beautiful, in so many ways. Just like the structure of the story. And the solution of this short is like the final stroke being applied to one of Michaelangelo's masterpiece artworks. A picture within a picture, within a picture. Genius lives here.
  
  THE NEXT BEST THING by Jim Fusilli
  This one is a classic twist on the cross/ double cross scenario. An out of luck musician finds work as a bank's pianist (of all things!) and his wife completes the story with a form of the ultimate multi-layered betrayal. Short, but sweet. And of course, highly entertaining.
  
  In TAKE THE MANS PAY by Robert Knightly, a Japanese businessman being questioned by NY cops is a brilliant example of how not to release the cat out of the bag until dinner time. Mr Hoshi Taiku is questioned by the police in a very intelligent fashion, but we don't learn what for until the very end. With charges pending, questions are still left unanswered in the reader's mind masterfully by the author. Characterisation is first class, with the reader's emotions strongly falling initially with Taiku and of course, swinging like a pendulum toward the cops as you progress. But did he do it? You will have to read the story and make up your own mind.
  
  More updates as i progress through this fantastic purchase.
  
  BFN Greggorio!
• This is a book of short stories.
  A couple were stream of consciousness nonsense.
  Most of them had odd, sudden endings.
  Still, there's a lot of very good writing, here.
  If you can get it for a few cents (plus shipping), I'd say go ahead and get it.
• There comes a bright day in every man's life when he needs to get down, without getting dirty. The Noir series is a great way to achieve this, and Manhattan Noir is no exception. There is a thick dark red line, swirling through the short stories like an ominous red serpent. Reading the stories is like jumping from one rock to another over a stream thrilling and joyful at the same time. I would gladly recommend this obscure pleasure to anyone seeking a little excitement and gloom to break up a sunny day into manageable pieces.
• The editor has done a fine job of putting together fifteen short stories. I am usually a bit trepidatious with collections. However, this is fine. I enjoyed all the stories. It was a quick fun read. I'm looking forward to volume two.
• A successful gift!
• After a slightly shaky start (they should have done better by Greenwich Village), this collection actually gets stronger and stronger as it goes along. The authors are excellent story tellers. They have distinct styles and themes. Collectively, they have a great feel for the unique flavors of Manhattan. Bravo.
• Lawrence Block notes in his introduction, if it was easy to define the term “noir”, then we would not need a French word for it.
  
  Nevertheless, Manhattan Noir is a strong multi-author collection of 15 stories, all set in different Manhattan neighborhoods, and all illuminating the many diverse facets of noir fiction. They are not all crime stories, but crime is always at least lurking nearby. In fact, "Crying with Audry Hepburn" arguably has the least crime but is also the most noir in the entire book.
  
  Charles Ardai’s “The Good Samaritan” and Carol Lea Benjamin’s “The Last Supper” are traditional nasty little tales of murder artfully planned. Thomas Cook’s “Rain” is a experimental piece of prose composed of a collage of intersecting images and characters on a single rainy night. S.J. Rozan’s “Building” is surprisingly heartfelt and inspiring. Lawrence Block contributes another story in the dark, sex-filled Kit Tolliver cycle.
  
  Liz Martinez’s “Freddie Prinze is my Guardian Angel” stretches the genre boundaries. This funny ethnic ghost story never loses its hopeless noir essence.
  
  “The Most Beautiful Apartment in New York” also includes a ghost of sorts, oddly enough. This may have been my favorite story, in fact, as it plays up the hot Manhattan housing market and the lengths one will go to find the perfect view.
  
  Jeffrey Deaver contributes “A Nice Place to Visit”, a tight con man story with a dark twist.
  
  “Take the Man’s Pay” by Robert Knightly is a very short, highly nuanced exercise in exploiting cultural weaknesses to break down a man’s psyche.
  
  Maan Myers’ “The Organ Grinder” is noir set in New York City over a hundred years ago in a community where Irish and Italian immigrants struggle against each other. It feels incomplete. The central character, with his multiple identities and nebulous motives, almost begs for his own novel.
  
  Every story here has something to offer. The only one I did not care for was C. J. Sullivan’s “The Last Round” which I found to be too on the nose for my taste.