Los Angeles Noir (Akashic Noir)
by Denise Hamilton
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Los Angeles Noir.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 54)
Read in October, 2007
The majority of these stories are bleak and nasty and depressing, and, okay: noir, but the best noir contains a hint of hope, a little blanc to contrast with the darkness, right? Okay, maybe not. Maybe I just have more tolerance for bleakness in a 90-minute film than in story after story in a 300-page book. Still! Some of these stories were quite good, especially (and to my surprise) Janet Fitch’s Sunset Boulevard-esque...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
no one
Los Angeles and noir fiction are made for each other but this collection of short stories reads like a prose version of the made-for-television movies I remember from the '70s. The stories are almost universally bland, unimaginative and formulaic. Worse, most of the stories could have been set in any major metropolitan area, obviating the need for a "Los Angeles" edition of the Akashic Press series.
Michael Connelly's story about a traffic cop's head-on collision with the glitte...more
Michael Connelly's story about a traffic cop's head-on collision with the glitte...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
LIke most commercial anthologies these days, this one has more misses than hits. I like the Janet Fitch (White Oleanders) story about a young actress who turns out to be more lethal than a stalker, the Robert Ferrigno (Horse Latitudes) piece about a wounded thief limping to his destiny through the sand dunes not far from where I live, and the Denie Hamilton and Michael Connelly stories are sufficiently polished to make them work. But I'm disappointed that there are several tales told in first pe...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
The anthology has it ups and downs. While the authors are mostly Los Angeles residents, some of them don't seem well versed in noir, and their inclusion is more predicated on them being well established authors of the city. “Dangerous Days” by Emory Holmes II is a nasty tale of cops, ex-cons, drugs, guns, and a femme fatale. “Moroco Junction 90210” by Patt Morrison would have been a fine story for anthology of tame mysteries, but here it lacks the dark edge. “Fish” by Lienna Sil...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
So far I've just read one story in this book, Susan Straight's Edgar-nominated The Golden Gopher. It made me wonder why I've never read more of her novels after enjoying I've Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots so much. She has an incredible facility for getting a particular voice right.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
Having grown up in the Los Angeles area I was able to visualize each setting in the stories, the streets of downtown L.A., the old mansions on Sunset, the boutiques on Los Feliz and the casinos in the city of industry. These stories pull you into their world and don't let go even after the story has ended.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
Very fun if you're an L.A.-lover. I've become enamored of several new authors I hadn't heard of before, and I've bought their books as a result. Quick, enjoyable, great beach reading....
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Noir fans
Loved it! A couple of the stories are weaker than others, otherwise I would have given it 5 stars. The collection paints a vividly bleak picture of LA. Noir is alive and well, baby!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Another really good mystery/crime story anthology -- all set in Los Angeles. The stories were so good that I scooped up the Las Vegas Noir collection from this series.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
mystery lovers
A top-notch collection of murder mysteries written by Los Angeles-based writers. Each story takes place in a different neighborhood in Los Angeles County.
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Why is it that books that take place in places we know well are so intriguing. As an LA person born and bred I have to read this.
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in March, 2008
If you like mysteries you'd enjoy this book. It is collection of short mysteries all set in the Los Angeles area.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
Nice collectio of short stories, good beach reading.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
