I’ve been a fan of Akashic’s Noir Series for a very long
time. Each collection is different, but there are always three elements that
readers can count on: an almost palpable sense of place, outstanding crime/noir
narratives from some of the best writers in the game, and a diversity of
approaches, styles, and themes that make each entry in the series unique and
each story within that entry different from all others. Buffalo Noir, released
at the end of 2015, is yet another great addition to Akashic’s catalog and a
collection that fans of gritty fiction should definitely check out.
The first standout is Tom Fontana’s “It’s Only for Forever.”
Quick and hard-hitting, this tale of a promise and the man who refuses to fail
to deliver on his word is the equivalent of a noir master class crammed into a
few pages. From emotional turmoil to murder, there’s nothing Fontana leaves
out, and he makes most of it feel fresh.
Also deserving individual attention is Lissa Marie Redmond’s
“Falling on Ice.” A man whose life is the opposite of what his deceased
father’s was, and whose current situation leaves much to be desired, open the
door to find his sister injured. What follows is first a mystery and then a
narrative about doing very bad things for a very worthy cause. Violent, gritty,
and packed with cold in a way that the weather becomes a character, this tale,
which is one of the longest in the collection, is full of the kind of sharp
prose that makes top-notch crime writing such a pleasure to read:
Mike went to his mom’s closet,
opened the door, and felt around the highest shelf. He's fingers managed to grab
the edge of a shoebox, which he carefully took down. Inside was his dad's
silver revolver. He hadn't held it in a long time. Once when he was
seventeen he sat on the bed and held it to his forehead for two hours. He
wasn't sure why, what his endgame had been at the time, but now he's reason for
taking it was crystal clear.
As mentioned above, there’s always at
least one story in each entry of Akashic Book's Noir Series that comes out of nowhere and
pushes at the edges of the genre. In Buffalo Noir, that narrative is Gary Earl Ross’ “Good Neighbors.” It all starts with neighbors helping an elderly lady
and quickly morphs into a superb exploration of greed and the lies we tell ourselves.
In a way, this is one of the most comedic entries in the book, but the fact
that it’s also the one that involves the most normal circumstances and people,
both of which add a great sense of plausibility to it, make this a standout.
Kim Chinquee’s “Hand” follows “Good
Neighbors,” and the differences between the two exemplify what Akashic does
best: diversity. Giving away too much of the plot would take away some pleasure
from reading the story because it’s short and moves forward at a frenetic pace,
but some of the elements should suffice to entice readers: insanity, a severed
hand, a main character that manages to be simultaneously creepy and sad.
He wants wine. He goes to the fridge, where he sees her
right hand where he left it. He picks it up and smells it. It reminds him of merlot;
the skin is rubbery. He touches the foil on the end, and he imagines a big tree.
He remembers a branch from his grandfather’s oak that smashed onto his father's
windshield in the middle of a snowstorm. “It's okay,” he says out loud. He
decides to make some eggs. He turns on the stove and pours himself some wine.
He picks up the hand; he cradles it and rocks.
Take these stories and add writing by literary giants Joyce Carol Oates and Lawrence Block along with plenty of cold, snow, violence, and
Rick James, both in person and his music, and you get an anthology that fans of
great crime fiction need to check. Of course, for those familiar with the
series, saying that is preaching to a very devout choir.