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Dublin Noir
Brand new stories Ken Bruen, Eoin Colfer, Jason Starr, Laura Lippman, Olen Steinhauer, Peter Spiegelman, Kevin Wignall, Jim Fusilli, John Rickards, Patrick J. Lambe, Charlie Stella, Ray Banks, James O. Born, Sarah Weinman, Pat Mullan, Gary Phillips, Craig McDonald, Duane Swierczynski, Reed Farrel Coleman, and others.
Irish crime-fiction sensation Ken Bruen and cohorts shine a light on the dark streets of Dublin. Dublin Noir features an awe-inspiring cast of writers who between them have won all major mystery and crime-fiction awards. This collection introduces secret corners of a fascinating city and surprise assaults on the "Celtic Tiger" of modern Irish prosperity.
“The stories paint a picture of Dublin as the Celtic Tiger, a beast crouched on its hind legs about leap at you and roaring with its intensity . . . The cynicism and despair of classic noir is portrayed within each of these stories.”
— Metro LA
“ Dublin Noir is perhaps the best short story anthology I’ve read.”
— Reviewing the Evidence
Irish crime-fiction sensation Ken Bruen and cohorts shine a light on the dark streets of Dublin. Dublin Noir features an awe-inspiring cast of writers who between them have won all major mystery and crime-fiction awards. This collection introduces secret corners of a fascinating city and surprise assaults on the "Celtic Tiger" of modern Irish prosperity.
“The stories paint a picture of Dublin as the Celtic Tiger, a beast crouched on its hind legs about leap at you and roaring with its intensity . . . The cynicism and despair of classic noir is portrayed within each of these stories.”
— Metro LA
“ Dublin Noir is perhaps the best short story anthology I’ve read.”
— Reviewing the Evidence
231 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2005
55 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Ken Bruen
132 books851 followersKen Bruen was an Irish writer of hardboiled and noir crime fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 8, 2021
Odlična zamisao, prosečno realizovana.
July 26, 2016
So, yet another installment in Akashic's city-based NOIR anthology series (I'm not reading them as fast as they put them out, so until they slow down I'll never catch up). Thank you very much public library ILL!
As I've said before in previous Akashic reviews (Chicago Noir, D.C. Noir, etc.), the pattern of these anthologies (essentially crime stories - any intention to hew to a definition of noir as entailing specifically dark or morally questionable/conflicted worldviews kind of falls by the wayside - it's there, just not always) becomes fairly easy to predict. 1/4 of the stories are roughly excellent, 1/4 are roughly failures and the middle half are good, ranging from mediocre to solid. So, about half of the book ends up being worth reading, at least in my opinion and experience.
So let's see - Dublin, then. Personal connection? Never been, but would like to (someday soon, maybe). My full name, including confirmation name, is Shawn Michael Patrick Garrett - that Irish enough for ya? Have read less Joyce and Yeats than I'd like (that will change if I live long enough - only so much time in this world), but have read some Brendan Behan. Recurrent themes here: drink (Really!? I'm shocked!), bars, bathrooms, nasty humor, funny jokes (at least two authors give variants of the "how do you get to...?" common tourist set-up joke), sick thuggish violence, complaints about the no-smoking ban, assumptions about foreigners (especially Americans) and hatred of assumptions and stereotypes of the Irish. Oh, and the "Celtic Tiger", the then-current economic boom that has since gone bust (as ultra-rich men play games with their money and use their media shills to blame political parties as we all get the short end of the stick and they continue to make a profit in the 'bad economy' - because we are idiots).
Also, this is the first anthology to not exclusively feature writer's from or who have lived in the titular city. Kinda weak that it has to be that way, that, but I guess I understand.
Weak stories? "Tribunal" by Pat Mullan proves that some novelists are not necessarily strong writers in the short story form. It's like a sketch for a by-the-numbers noir plot (Celtic Tiger rising means corporate shenanigans, crooked lawyers and double crosses), which is not to say that even the excellent stories below aren't treading familiar ground in some cases, but it's all about deployment in the end. Jason Starr's "Lost In Dublin" tells of a woman vacationing to clear her head of worries about her fiance, who she's decided to dump. And then she gets scammed. And then she decides to take him back. Maybe it was intended as psychological, but I found it a wash. Meanwhile, a nice authorial voice and authentic slang cannot save Patrick J. Lambe's "The New Prosperity" from barely being a proper story - guy beats up guy, guy gets beaten up in turn. Next. "Tainted Goods" by Charlie Stella also has a strong voice and a very nasty ending but it's a confusingly told story about revenge hampered by weak writing.
Fairly good? "Wish" by John Rickards is about a policeman who finds the imaginary boogeyman he's created to keep the mentally ill transients in line has seemingly become real. It's an overly familiar trope from horror fiction and while the writing here is solid, the inclusion of genre material in an anthology like this seems dissonant, just like it did in the original Brooklyn Noir. Gary Phillips places his blacksploitation-type, drug addict, ex-professional football player protagonist Zelmont Raines (from his novel The Jook) in Dublin on a layover, venturing into the Irish projects to score some crack and running into a double cross in "The Man For The Job". An okay read, very action-packed and an interesting character study. "Lonely and Gone" by Duane Swierczynski almost edges into genre itself, with an interesting form (a one-sided conversation - although the conceit has to be broken for the story to end) and a crazy story from a woman in a bar about hi-tech poisoning. Bit of an easy ending, though, and it really does ask you to swallow a lot (this was one instance where I wished it was mostly blarney). Date-rape and ruffies are key components of Craig McDonald's "Rope-A-Dope" which was an enjoyable, well-written read but tries to escape from the cliched and tired "the hunter turns out to be the prey" trope by throwing in deviant sex and an extra, but kinda flat, twist. Okay.
"The Ghost of Rory Gallagher" is an interesting character study of a banking scandal scumbag who reinvents his life as the owner of shitty pub after serving time. Unfortunately, he loves the work of the titular guitarist and his (slightly unlikely, I'll grant) obsessive desire to hear lost recordings from an unfamiliar source lays him low. Lots of great description and character stuff by Jim Fusilli in this piece. Reed Farrel Coleman's "Portrait of a Killer as a Young Man" promises a combination of Joyce and Jim Thompson with a title like that. It only kind of delivers on that promise, but is still another interesting character study of a sociopath who hates stereotypes. A short, brutal story with a bit of a pat ending (repeated a few times in this collection). A poor schlub helps a hot new employee rob his bank and then runs away with her in "The Best Part" by Peter Spiegelman - this being noir, you know how it turns out but this was a still an engaging read. "Wrong 'Em, Boyo" has a Scottish mob enforcer sent to Dublin to do his job, complaining about the Irish the whole way, only to find his target is already dead. But he still needs a body. Doesn't end well (for him) - fun read by Ray Banks with a sickly violent ending. Meanwhile, in Olen Steinhauer's solid tale "The Piss-Stained Czech", a writer accompanies said Czech (great writing on his dialogue!) for a weekend trip to Dublin - it doesn't go as the writer planned, but exactly how the Czech expected.
"Tourist Trade" by James O. Born is a vicious little story that follows a "mad" slasher with an ulterior motive as he makes his well-planned killings. I really enjoyed this - it reads like something from the Alfred Hitchcock story collections of my youth. In Sarah Weinman's "Hen Night", a group of London women travel to Dublin for a bachelorette party where some ugly truths are exposed... but not all of them. I liked this one was well, not much of a story but the characters were well-drawn.
Excellent? Interesting character studies continue in "The Honor Bar". Laura Lippman sketches a very believable woman who breaks up with her rich fiance while in Galway. Luckily, she's a pragmatic gold-digger and writes off her losses through some quick thinking. Then it's on to Dublin and an accidental meeting with someone oddly familiar. Well done and with a great last line! On the other end of the character spectrum, Kevin Wignall's "The Death of Jeffers" has a mysterious gentleman visiting Dublin who touches three lives, the last traumatically. Interesting story - I could see someone finding it frustrating, as it almost reads like the set-up for a larger story, but honestly everything you need for a story is there and it's all very evocative. Good job!
The editor's own "Black Stuff" is similarly strong, another powerful first-person character study, this time of a black Irishman playing dumb to get in on a heist job and also to keep his options open. Nice writing about perceptions of culture and character by Ken Bruen. The book's opener, "Taking on PJ" by Eoin Colfer, may be a little lacking in the ending department, but it's written in such a fun, breezy voice - as two not-so-smart mob underlings face the prospect of dealing with the imminent arrival of an enforcer sent to teach them a lesson - that it hardly matters. Again, the voice here is extremely well-handled - kind of an Irish Quentin Tarantino patter but not as predictable as that sounds (I broke up reading the tangent about Batman and Robin). Really fun.
So, that's it. Looks like Manhattan Noir is up next.
As I've said before in previous Akashic reviews (Chicago Noir, D.C. Noir, etc.), the pattern of these anthologies (essentially crime stories - any intention to hew to a definition of noir as entailing specifically dark or morally questionable/conflicted worldviews kind of falls by the wayside - it's there, just not always) becomes fairly easy to predict. 1/4 of the stories are roughly excellent, 1/4 are roughly failures and the middle half are good, ranging from mediocre to solid. So, about half of the book ends up being worth reading, at least in my opinion and experience.
So let's see - Dublin, then. Personal connection? Never been, but would like to (someday soon, maybe). My full name, including confirmation name, is Shawn Michael Patrick Garrett - that Irish enough for ya? Have read less Joyce and Yeats than I'd like (that will change if I live long enough - only so much time in this world), but have read some Brendan Behan. Recurrent themes here: drink (Really!? I'm shocked!), bars, bathrooms, nasty humor, funny jokes (at least two authors give variants of the "how do you get to...?" common tourist set-up joke), sick thuggish violence, complaints about the no-smoking ban, assumptions about foreigners (especially Americans) and hatred of assumptions and stereotypes of the Irish. Oh, and the "Celtic Tiger", the then-current economic boom that has since gone bust (as ultra-rich men play games with their money and use their media shills to blame political parties as we all get the short end of the stick and they continue to make a profit in the 'bad economy' - because we are idiots).
Also, this is the first anthology to not exclusively feature writer's from or who have lived in the titular city. Kinda weak that it has to be that way, that, but I guess I understand.
Weak stories? "Tribunal" by Pat Mullan proves that some novelists are not necessarily strong writers in the short story form. It's like a sketch for a by-the-numbers noir plot (Celtic Tiger rising means corporate shenanigans, crooked lawyers and double crosses), which is not to say that even the excellent stories below aren't treading familiar ground in some cases, but it's all about deployment in the end. Jason Starr's "Lost In Dublin" tells of a woman vacationing to clear her head of worries about her fiance, who she's decided to dump. And then she gets scammed. And then she decides to take him back. Maybe it was intended as psychological, but I found it a wash. Meanwhile, a nice authorial voice and authentic slang cannot save Patrick J. Lambe's "The New Prosperity" from barely being a proper story - guy beats up guy, guy gets beaten up in turn. Next. "Tainted Goods" by Charlie Stella also has a strong voice and a very nasty ending but it's a confusingly told story about revenge hampered by weak writing.
Fairly good? "Wish" by John Rickards is about a policeman who finds the imaginary boogeyman he's created to keep the mentally ill transients in line has seemingly become real. It's an overly familiar trope from horror fiction and while the writing here is solid, the inclusion of genre material in an anthology like this seems dissonant, just like it did in the original Brooklyn Noir. Gary Phillips places his blacksploitation-type, drug addict, ex-professional football player protagonist Zelmont Raines (from his novel The Jook) in Dublin on a layover, venturing into the Irish projects to score some crack and running into a double cross in "The Man For The Job". An okay read, very action-packed and an interesting character study. "Lonely and Gone" by Duane Swierczynski almost edges into genre itself, with an interesting form (a one-sided conversation - although the conceit has to be broken for the story to end) and a crazy story from a woman in a bar about hi-tech poisoning. Bit of an easy ending, though, and it really does ask you to swallow a lot (this was one instance where I wished it was mostly blarney). Date-rape and ruffies are key components of Craig McDonald's "Rope-A-Dope" which was an enjoyable, well-written read but tries to escape from the cliched and tired "the hunter turns out to be the prey" trope by throwing in deviant sex and an extra, but kinda flat, twist. Okay.
"The Ghost of Rory Gallagher" is an interesting character study of a banking scandal scumbag who reinvents his life as the owner of shitty pub after serving time. Unfortunately, he loves the work of the titular guitarist and his (slightly unlikely, I'll grant) obsessive desire to hear lost recordings from an unfamiliar source lays him low. Lots of great description and character stuff by Jim Fusilli in this piece. Reed Farrel Coleman's "Portrait of a Killer as a Young Man" promises a combination of Joyce and Jim Thompson with a title like that. It only kind of delivers on that promise, but is still another interesting character study of a sociopath who hates stereotypes. A short, brutal story with a bit of a pat ending (repeated a few times in this collection). A poor schlub helps a hot new employee rob his bank and then runs away with her in "The Best Part" by Peter Spiegelman - this being noir, you know how it turns out but this was a still an engaging read. "Wrong 'Em, Boyo" has a Scottish mob enforcer sent to Dublin to do his job, complaining about the Irish the whole way, only to find his target is already dead. But he still needs a body. Doesn't end well (for him) - fun read by Ray Banks with a sickly violent ending. Meanwhile, in Olen Steinhauer's solid tale "The Piss-Stained Czech", a writer accompanies said Czech (great writing on his dialogue!) for a weekend trip to Dublin - it doesn't go as the writer planned, but exactly how the Czech expected.
"Tourist Trade" by James O. Born is a vicious little story that follows a "mad" slasher with an ulterior motive as he makes his well-planned killings. I really enjoyed this - it reads like something from the Alfred Hitchcock story collections of my youth. In Sarah Weinman's "Hen Night", a group of London women travel to Dublin for a bachelorette party where some ugly truths are exposed... but not all of them. I liked this one was well, not much of a story but the characters were well-drawn.
Excellent? Interesting character studies continue in "The Honor Bar". Laura Lippman sketches a very believable woman who breaks up with her rich fiance while in Galway. Luckily, she's a pragmatic gold-digger and writes off her losses through some quick thinking. Then it's on to Dublin and an accidental meeting with someone oddly familiar. Well done and with a great last line! On the other end of the character spectrum, Kevin Wignall's "The Death of Jeffers" has a mysterious gentleman visiting Dublin who touches three lives, the last traumatically. Interesting story - I could see someone finding it frustrating, as it almost reads like the set-up for a larger story, but honestly everything you need for a story is there and it's all very evocative. Good job!
The editor's own "Black Stuff" is similarly strong, another powerful first-person character study, this time of a black Irishman playing dumb to get in on a heist job and also to keep his options open. Nice writing about perceptions of culture and character by Ken Bruen. The book's opener, "Taking on PJ" by Eoin Colfer, may be a little lacking in the ending department, but it's written in such a fun, breezy voice - as two not-so-smart mob underlings face the prospect of dealing with the imminent arrival of an enforcer sent to teach them a lesson - that it hardly matters. Again, the voice here is extremely well-handled - kind of an Irish Quentin Tarantino patter but not as predictable as that sounds (I broke up reading the tangent about Batman and Robin). Really fun.
So, that's it. Looks like Manhattan Noir is up next.
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June 3, 2020"Dablin noar" je najbolja zbirka noar priča iz ove edicije. Makar meni. Irci su totalno ludi, krvavi, crnohumorni, mračni i zabavni... Lokalni urednici su, pored domaćih autora, pozvali i strane pisce da daju svoju viziju modernog, ali i dalje mračnog, Dablina. U ovim pričama nije prikazana tradicionalna, već moderna Irska, popularni keltski tigar. Više o pojedinačnim pričama, ali i zbirci, kao i samoj ediciji možete poročitati u ovom tekstu: http://www.bookvar.rs/dablin-noar-naj...
July 26, 2021
The first story, by the author of Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer, is the best. Enjoyable for the most part, a couple of throwaways. I’d like to read more of this series.
February 15, 2020
I have been reading this city-based crime noir series from my favorite small book publishing company Akashic books. The series varies in quality, but the Dublin Noir was exceptionally good, which is to be expected. I would have given it 5 stars except for a story about a hate crime against a Pakistani man. I don't know why that was included in the book but it's offensive material.
May 13, 2024
Turistička delatnost FTW!
March 7, 2014
Akashic Books has been issuing a series of books that thematically collect "noir" stories related to specific cities, e.g., Richmond Noir, Philadelphia Noir, etc., although I see there is a recent one entitled "Grand Central Noir;" perhaps they ran out of cities. The books are an excellent way to discover authors writing in the noir genre -- if there is such a thing -- and I've already order some books based on stories in "Dublin Noir: The Celtic Tiger Vs. the Ugly American" edited by Ken Bruen.
Obviously, maintaining a consistent level of excellence is difficult with so many authors, and I doubt if I will seek out Jason Starr (very silly story). On the other hand, "Rope-A-Dope" by Craig MacDonald had a nifty twisted ending. One critique of mine is that I wish the editors had limited themselves to authentic Irish writers rather than include stories set in Dublin by non-native writers, e.g., Laura Lippman Personal prejudice. The real Dublin is, of course, much less noir.
Obviously, maintaining a consistent level of excellence is difficult with so many authors, and I doubt if I will seek out Jason Starr (very silly story). On the other hand, "Rope-A-Dope" by Craig MacDonald had a nifty twisted ending. One critique of mine is that I wish the editors had limited themselves to authentic Irish writers rather than include stories set in Dublin by non-native writers, e.g., Laura Lippman Personal prejudice. The real Dublin is, of course, much less noir.
August 31, 2008
A good book to keep on the night stand since each story is short enough for a quick read before going to sleep. In general, Iseemed to enjoy the stories written by the Irish authors more than those written by non-Irish, but I kind of expected that. I was looking forward to seeing what Laura Lippman had to offer since I like her style usually. Her story was good, but not the best in the collection. My favorite was The Portrait of the Killer as a Young Man by Reed Farrel Coleman. The twist at the end of the story was perfect.
August 6, 2012
I wanted to love this, but ultimately it is difficult to Noir well in a short story. And if you're going to attempt it in an anthology-type collection, I would have required the stories to be significantly longer. Instead of a few well thought out, thematically linked stories, we had a bajillion half baked attempts, only a couple of which came close. I love Ireland, and I tend to love Irish writers, but this just felt like a lot of empty posturing.
April 26, 2021
No leprechauns in this anthology
You needn’t be Irish to appreciate these stories, as several of the non-Irish authors prove. But if you’ve succumbed to the fabled charm of the Emerald Isle this anthology will give you pause when you strike up a pub conversation with a local during your next visit there.
You needn’t be Irish to appreciate these stories, as several of the non-Irish authors prove. But if you’ve succumbed to the fabled charm of the Emerald Isle this anthology will give you pause when you strike up a pub conversation with a local during your next visit there.
Want to read
July 29, 2015Irish crime-fiction sensation Ken Bruen and cohorts shine a light on the dark streets of Dublin.
**
August 11, 2015
Koliko dobrih ,toliko i loših priča .Bar za moj ukus ...
May 31, 2018
Another strong entry in this stand out series of short story anthologies.
November 5, 2019
Grisly and profane
Best, "Tourist Trade"
Best, "Tourist Trade"
April 24, 2019
Paint-by-the-numbers "noir" short stories. To disagree with another review on here, I find that "noir" can work quite well in a shorter format. On the other hand, I agree with the reviewer that many of these never quite find their mark due to their short length.
Several of the stories were banal meditations on life in and around Dublin, with a "noir" style ending seemingly tacked on at the end, usually in the form of a murder. I will continue to read through this series from Akashic, as it works great for when I can only read for a short period of time, but I was quite let down by this.
Several of the stories were banal meditations on life in and around Dublin, with a "noir" style ending seemingly tacked on at the end, usually in the form of a murder. I will continue to read through this series from Akashic, as it works great for when I can only read for a short period of time, but I was quite let down by this.
May 6, 2022
Perfect for being Irish a lover of art and music ,poetry violence intoxication and crime. A who's who in the crime fiction pulp noir retro reading done the way only the Irish can, w/ virtually nothing in our pockets but a great tale on our lips waiting for that right mark to whisper it to, to get us 5 star accommodations, the loveliest lass in the pub, free drugs and drink all night w a place to crash and wallets to pilfer b4 anyone wakes da feck up!
February 17, 2025
Sadly the most disconnected of the series I’ve read. Of all the stories in here I think they had three Irish residents (and that may have been the issue).
A lot of stories about tourists , from a rather tourist perspective. Usually I get a much better sense of place from the Noir series.
A lot of stories about tourists , from a rather tourist perspective. Usually I get a much better sense of place from the Noir series.
April 25, 2025
As with most anthologies, these stories are of varying quality. Several seem just end abruptly, like the author reached the required number of words and signed off. A few are very good. Interesting series.
August 5, 2018
Quite enjoyed this volume
August 1, 2020
The Akashic Noir Series never disappoints!
November 7, 2022
Nah. Noir is my favorite genre, and I have half a dozen or so in this particular geographical-based series. This is my last.
November 18, 2025
This series of stories isn't too bad.
November 6, 2014
This is one of the many Akashic Books Noir Series. In Dublin Noir, there are 19 short stories, all of which take place in Dublin, Ireland. The stories are fun to read and are mostly about those bad Irish boyos who "take out" many unsuspecting "Ugly American" tourists visiting the old country for the first time in search of their heritage. "Jaysus, how can these Americans be such foking eejits". Read this collection of stories before your trip to Ireland and you will be extremely leery of those Dublin boyos on your arrival.
March 27, 2012
A must for me since it features a number of stories from favorite writers of mine, and overall they're pretty solid. Especially notable to me is Sarah Weinman's entry, not so much for its quality (although it's good) but because her punchline reminds me so much of one of the anthology's other contributors, Laura Lippman (whose "The Honor Bar" is the standout here).
September 24, 2007
TITLE/AUTHOR: DUBLIN NOIR edited by Ken Bruen
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery 2006, 228 pgs
Short stories set in Dublin by various authors.
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Mystery 2006, 228 pgs
Short stories set in Dublin by various authors.
July 31, 2010
There were a couple of shorts that were not too bad...
June 18, 2012
I enjoy all the noir books. This seemed to me to be even darker than most. I loved the tourism director story!
August 12, 2014
I do not appreciate being assailed by gratuitous profanity in the first chapter. No thank you. NEXT!
May 23, 2013
Too complicated
Want to read
September 1, 2013epub tubel
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews