EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

Book Prague Noir

    Book Details:
  • Author : Martin Goffa
  • Publisher : Akashic Books
  • Release : 2018-01-22
  • ISBN : 1617756075
  • Pages : 207 pages

Download or read book Prague Noir written by Martin Goffa and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2018-01-22 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “varied and polished” anthology of original noir fiction introduces a new wave of Czech authors to English-speaking audiences (Publishers Weekly). It can be difficult to imagine noir fiction emerging in a city like Prague, where the profession of private detective didn’t even exist prior to 1990. Before the Velvet Revolution, the only serious criminal organization was the secret police. Yet, with its complex and often tragic history, the home of Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera offers a uniquely rich setting for stories of menace, danger, and secrecy; tales of individuals driven to break the law in the face of a desperate situation. In this “superior entry in Akashic’s noir series,” fourteen contemporary Czech authors introduce themselves—and their world—to an international audience (Publishers Weekly). Prague Noir includes brand-new stories by Martin Goffa, Štěpán Kopřiva, Miloš Urban, Jiří W. Procházka, Chaim Cigan, Ondřej Neff, Petr Stančík, Kateřina Tučková, Markéta Pilátová, Michal Sýkora, Michaela Klevisová, Petra Soukupová, Irena Hejdová, and Petr Šabach.

Book Moscow Noir

    Book Details:
  • Author : Natalia Smirnova
  • Publisher : Akashic Books
  • Release : 2010
  • ISBN : 1936070065
  • Pages : 306 pages

Download or read book Moscow Noir written by Natalia Smirnova and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The more one watches Moscow, the more it looks like a huge chameleon that keeps changing its face; and it isn't always pretty. Despite its stunning outward lustre, Moscow is above all a city of broken dreams and unrealised utopias, and all manner of scum oozes through the gap between dream and reality. Moscow Noir is an attempt to turn the tourist Moscow of gingerbread and woodcuts, of glitz and big money, inside out; an attempt to show its fetid womb and make sense of the desolation that reigns there.

Book Venice Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Venice Noir Akashic Noir written by Maxim Jakubowski and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2012-05-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Drifter” by Emily Mandel was selected for inclusion in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Otto Penzler and Lisa Scottoline Original stories by: Peter James, Emily St. John Mandel, Barbara Baraldi, Mike Hodges, Mary Hoffman, Maria Tronca, Matteo Righetto, Tony Cartano, Francesco Ferracin, Isabella Santacroce, Michelle Lovric, Francesca Mazzucato, Maxim Jakubowski, and Michael Gregorio. "Forget the magnificence of Venice's art, architecture, and music, and delve into this tour of the City of Water's murky depths…visions of a Venice not seen in tourist brochures." --Publishers Weekly "Editor Jakubowski does an excellent job of selecting a variety of stories that represent all strata of Venetian life, from tourists visiting for Carnevale to criminals running illegal operations in the bay…A must-read for lovers of Venice…the presence of a new and intriguing voices, many of them Italian, will pique the interest of international-mystery readers." --Booklist "Sex, food and real estate inspire 14 hot-blooded new takes on crime in the magical city of Venice...Rather than crimes of passion, this collection focuses on the passion of crime, painting its noir in robust tones rather than gritty gray." --Kirkus Reviews "Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, aims to shred through our preconceptions of this remarkable city. The 14 writers featured in this anthology of short stories take our travel brochure images of Venice and scatter them like confetti." --NY Journal of Books Maxim Jakubowski is a British editor and writer. Following a long career in book publishing, during which he was responsible for several major crime imprints, he opened London's mystery bookshop Murder One. He reviews crime fiction for the Guardian, runs London's Crime Scene Festival, and is an advisor to Italy's annual Courmayeur Noir in Festival. His latest crime novel is Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer, and he edits the annual Best British Mysteries series.

Book The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague

Download or read book The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague written by Sylvie Germain and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Prague Fatale

    Book Details:
  • Author : Philip Kerr
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Release : 2012-04-17
  • ISBN : 1101580321
  • Pages : 432 pages

Download or read book Prague Fatale written by Philip Kerr and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former detective and reluctant SS officer Bernie Gunther must infiltrate a brutal world of spies, partisan terrorists, and high-level traitors in this “clever and compelling”(The Daily Beast) New York Times bestseller from Philip Kerr. Berlin, 1941. Bernie is back from the Eastern Front, once again working homicide in Berlin's Kripo and answering to Reinhard Heydrich, a man he both detests and fears. Heydrich has been newly named Reichsprotector of Czechoslovakia. Tipped off that there is an assassin in his midst, he orders Bernie to join him at his country estate outside Prague, where he has invited some of the Third Reich's most odious officials to celebrate his new appointment. One of them is the would-be assassin. Bernie can think of better ways to spend a beautiful autumn weekend, but, as he says, “You don't say no to Heydrich and live.”

Book Copenhagen Noir

    Book Details:
  • Author : Bo Tao Michaëlis
  • Publisher : Akashic Books
  • Release : 2011
  • ISBN : 1936070669
  • Pages : 258 pages

Download or read book Copenhagen Noir written by Bo Tao Michaëlis and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joining Rome, Paris, Istanbul, London and Dublin as European hosts of the Akashic Noir series, Copenhagen Noir features brand-new stories from a top-notch crew of Danish writers, with several Swedish and Norwegian writers thrown into the mix. This volume definitively reveals why Scandinavian crime fiction has come to be so popular across the world. Features stories by Helle Helle, Benn Q. Holm, Klaus Rifbjerg, Naja Marie Aidt, Gretelise Holm and many more.

Book Paris Noir  The Suburbs  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Paris Noir The Suburbs Akashic Noir written by Hervé Delouche and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the success of Paris Noir, the Akashic Noir Series has expanded to include the famously diverse and sometimes controversial suburbs of this legendary city. "A treasure chest of resources for any noir author seeking a more gruesome approach or a more relentless destruction of the soul. One might hope the real Paris suburbs are not so dark and blood drenched. But by the end of the collection, that hope seems almost foolish, and the body found on the quay seems to be the lucky guy in the story." —New York Journal of Books "The short stories center on the suburbs of Paris, fertile soil for all sorts of resentment and violence. . . .For lovers of crime noir short fiction, these are 12 stories of life lived in the raw." —Library Journal "Dark tales shine a bright light on some little-seen parts of greater Paris." —Kirkus Reviews "Paris’s suburbs—a mix of slums, posh neighborhoods, fading industrial centers, and the city’s notorious housing projects that lie out of the sight of most tourists—provide the setting for [these] 13 tales." —Publishers Weekly Featuring brand-new stories by: Cloé Mehdi, Karim Madani, Insa Sané, Christian Roux, Marc Villard, Jean-Pierre Rumeau, Timothée Demeillers, Rachid Santaki, Marc Fernandez, Guillaume Balsamo, Anne Secret, Anne-Sylvie Salzman, and Patrick Pécherot. (All stories were written in French and translated into English by Katie Shireen Assef, David Ball, Nicole Ball, and Paul Curtis Daw.) From the introduction by Hervé Delouche: The term Greater Paris is in vogue today, for it has an administrative cachet and seems to denote a simple extension of the capital—as if a ravenous Paris need only extend her web. However, it was not our goal to embrace the tenets of the metro area’s comprehensive plan, aka the Grand Projet, envisioned as a future El Dorado by the planners and developers. Rather, our aim was to depict the Parisian suburbs in all their plurality and diversity. Without pretending to encompass every spot on the map, we instead opted to give voice and exposure to the localities chosen by the writers who have been part of this adventure. Thus, we decided to adopt the word “suburbs”— in the plural, obviously, for the periphery of the capital is not a homogeneous bloc, nor is it reducible to a cliché like “the suburban ring” . . . Here are thirteen stories, decidedly noir, to be savored without sugar or sweetener.

Book Baghdad Noir

    Book Details:
  • Author : Muhsin al-Ramli
  • Publisher : Akashic Books
  • Release : 2018-08-07
  • ISBN : 1617756547
  • Pages : 209 pages

Download or read book Baghdad Noir written by Muhsin al-Ramli and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique anthology of Iraqi noir fiction collects fourteen original stories of crime, conspiracy, regret, and revenge in the capital of Iraq. The centuries-old city of Baghdad has known many rulers, many troubles, and many crimes. But while most Iraqis would agree that their life has always been noir, there has not been a literary tradition to capture this aspect of the culture. By commissioning the fourteen stories collected here—most by Iraqi writers, all by authors familiar with Baghdad—editor Samuel Shimon and Akashic Books have created what may be the first anthology of Iraqi crime fiction ever assembled. Here you will read of life in Baghdad both during and after the Saddam Hussein era, with stories of fear in the shadow of a ruthless dictator; kidnappings in the time of U.S. occupation; detectives who investigate political conspiracies; and tales of revenge, assassination, mental illness, and family struggle in the war-torn City of Peace. Baghdad Noir includes brand-new stories by Sinan Antoon, Ali Bader, Mohammed Alwan Jabr, Nassif Falak, Dheya al-Khalidi, Hussain al-Mozany, Layla Qasrany, Hayet Raies, Muhsin al-Ramli, Ahmed Saadawi, Hadia Said, Salima Salih, Salar Abdoh, and Roy Scranton.

Book Belgrade Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Belgrade Noir Akashic Noir written by Milorad Ivanović and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Belgrade, with all of its historical complexity, joins Zagreb and Prague in representing the Eastern European dimension of the Akashic Noir Series. “Ivanović's contributions are from Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Finnish writers--all admirably noirish.” --Kirkus Reviews “History haunts Belgrade...An anthology that has its share of winners.” --Publishers Weekly "Intensely magnetic." --Exclusive Magazine "You have thieves, traitors, spies, corrupt doctors, psychiatric patients, former policemen, and mafia clans all represented in these stories." --Journey of a Bookseller Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Brand-new stories by: Oto Oltvanji, Misha Glenny, Kati Hiekkapelto, Vesna Goldsworthy, Mirjana Đurđević, Vladan Matijević, Muharem Bazdulj, Vladimir Arsenijević, Dejan Stojiljković, Miljenko Jergović, Aleksandar Gatalica, Vule Žurić, Verica Vincent Cole, and Goran Skrobonja. From the introduction by Milorad Ivanović: Belgrade, meaning “White City,” is located in Southeast Europe at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers...Alfred Hitchcock once said that certain creepy parts of Belgrade unnerved him and would be ideal settings for thrillers. Thieves, traitors, spies, corrupt doctors, psychiatric patients, former policemen, mafia clans--they all appear in the pages of this book. Even in the worst periods of its history, Belgrade was always a multicultural, multireligious, and multinational city. This anthology illustrates that. Alongside our Serbian authors, there are stories written by Croatian, Bosnian, British, and Finnish writers. The same is true for our great team of translators, which includes Americans, Serbians, Bosnians, and an Albanian... Right now, you likely believe there are a number of cities throughout the world that would make better settings for good noir stories. But I am quite certain that after reading this book, you will find yourself seduced by the dark charm of the White City.

Book South Central Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book South Central Noir Akashic Noir written by Gary Phillips and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2022-09-06 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Akashic Noir Series’ forensic study of Southern California sharpens its focus on one of Los Angeles’s most recognized neighborhoods. “If you’re of a certain age, your perception of South Los Angeles might have been formed by riots and rappers. Or maybe you know it through television . . . But Gary Phillips, who grew up there, has a more historically complex point of view . . . For Phillips and the 13 other writers who contributed to his just-published anthology, those narrower, pop-infused renditions are just the tip of the iceberg . . . with the result that their work—and their city—is much richer for the exercise.” —Los Angeles Times "Let's make some space for crime fiction in miniature. Akashic Books offers its latest city-centric noir anthology with South Central Noir, which includes 14 top-notch stories about one of Los Angeles's most chronicled neighborhoods. The editor, Gary Phillips—whose most recent novel is One-Shot Harry—has assembled a formidable group of writers that includes Jervey Tervalon, Tananarive Due, Naomi Hirahara, Steph Cha and Penny Mickelbury." —New York Times Book Review From the Introduction by Gary Phillips "Within these pages you’ll find stories of those walking the straight and narrow—until something untoward happens. Maybe it’s someone taking a step out of line, getting caught up in circumstances spiraling out of their control. Maybe they’re planning the grift, the grab . . . whatever it is to finally put them over. Other times the steps they take are to get themselves or people they care about out from under. You’ll find the offerings in these pages are a rich mix of tone—tales told of hope, survival, revenge, and triumph. Excursions beyond the headlines and the hype. The settings herein reflect South Central today or chronicle its colorful past, such as the days of the jazz joints along Central Avenue . . . From South Park to East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, from the borderlands of Watts to the one-time Southern Pacific railroad tracks paralleling Slauson Avenue, take a tour of a section of Los Angeles that may be unfamiliar to you but you will get to know, at least a little, by the time you finish reading this entertaining and engaging anthology." Featuring brand-new stories by: Steph Cha, Nikolas Charles, Tananarive Due, Larry Fondation, Gar Anthony Haywood, Naomi Hirahara, Emory Holmes II, Roberto Lovato, Penny Mickelbury, Gary Phillips, Eric Stone, Jervey Tervalon, Jeri Westerson, and Désirée Zamorano.

Book Honolulu Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Honolulu Noir Akashic Noir written by Chris McKinney and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2024-11-05 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Aloha State enters the Akashic Noir Series arena with a riveting collection, exploring shadows and corners of Honolulu that will never be found in a tourist brochure FEATURING BRAND NEW STORIES BY: Don Wallace, Stephanie Han, Christy Passion, Morgan Miryung McKinney, Alan Brennert, Lono Waiwai’ole, Kiana Davenport, Mindy Eun Soo Pennybacker, Scott Kikkawa, Tom Gammarino, B.A. Kobayashi, Michelle Cruz Skinner, and Chris McKinney. Two thousand miles away from the rest of the country, an American city evades the mind’s eye of the empire that claimed it, peddled it as paradise, then largely ignored it. And yet, Honolulu likes its anonymity. Tourists and outsiders corral themselves in hotels and resorts, vacation eyes glued to their beachfront sunsets and mai tais while the people who live here get on with their affairs. And sometimes it’s dirty business. Honolulu Noir comprises stories about the people of the city, written by those who know this place best. The volume opens with a story featuring Chang Apana, the Native Hawaiian/Chinese real-life cop who was the inspiration for the controversial Charlie Chan. It ends with a supernatural journey from the Philippines to Hawaii. In between, readers will find multicultural tales of invasion (whether yakuza, ISIS recruiters, or vampires), madness, addiction, and murder—all the stuff that many people don’t know happens here. Unbeknownst to the rest of the country, Honolulu can be a very dangerous place. Here, even the alluring crystal-blue waters might kill you. Chris McKinney says, “When the opportunity to edit Honolulu Noir was presented to me, I jumped at the chance. I’d been aware of the outstanding reputation of Akashic’s Noir Series, and as someone who was born and has lived and worked in just about every neighborhood in this city, I felt up to the task.” E komo mai to Honolulu Noir.

Book The Lights of Prague

    Book Details:
  • Author : Nicole Jarvis
  • Publisher : Titan Books
  • Release : 2021-05-18
  • ISBN : 1789093961
  • Pages : 406 pages

Download or read book The Lights of Prague written by Nicole Jarvis and published by Titan Books. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For readers of VE Schwab and The Witcher, science and magic clash in atmospheric gaslight-era Prague. In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of otherworldly creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters - a secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night. Domek Myska leads a life teeming with fraught encounters with the worst kind of evil: pijavica, bloodthirsty and soulless vampiric creatures. Despite this, Domek find solace in his moments spent in the company of his friend, the clever and beautiful Lady Ora Fischer - a widow with secrets of her own. When Domek finds himself stalked by the spirit of the White Lady - a ghost who haunts the baroque halls of Prague castle – he stumbles across the sentient essence of a will-o'-the-wisp captured in a mysterious container. Now, as it's bearer, Domek wields its power, but the wisp, known for leading travellers to their deaths, will not be so easily controlled. After discovering a conspiracy amongst the pijavice that could see them unleash terror on the daylight world, Domek finds himself in a race against those who aim to twist alchemical science for their own dangerous gain.

Book Denver Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Denver Noir Akashic Noir written by Cynthia Swanson and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2022-05-03 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Denver enters the Noir Series arena with a wide range of mile-high misgivings and perils. “Denver Noir presents an impressive range of perspectives and observations. Between the writers and their characters, you’ll encounter dozens of distinct and compelling relationships with this place. Maybe you’ll start to see our city—and even yourself—in new ways.” —Denver North Star “Denver Noir is a fascinating exploration of this sunny city’s dark side. Mountain views, a roughneck Gold Rush past, and stories of murder and mayhem make this anthology a must-read for anyone curious about Denver and its environs. Like the countless entries before it, Akashic Books allows an editor to craft an anthology filled with stories varying in tone and perspective.” —New York Journal of Books Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Brand-new stories by: Peter Heller, Barbara Nickless, Cynthia Swanson, Mario Acevedo, Francelia Belton, R. Alan Brooks, D.L. Cordero, Amy Drayer, Twanna LaTrice Hill, Manuel Ramos, Mark Stevens, Mathangi Subramanian, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Erika T. Wurth.

Book Philosophy en noir

    Book Details:
  • Author : Miroslav Petříček
  • Publisher : Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press
  • Release : 2019-11-01
  • ISBN : 8024638533
  • Pages : 381 pages

Download or read book Philosophy en noir written by Miroslav Petříček and published by Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2019-11-01 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thought necessarily reflects the times. Following the tragedy of the Holocaust, this fact became ever more clear. And it may be the reason postwar philosophical texts are so difficult to understand, since they confront incomprehensibly traumatic experiences. In this first English-language translation of any of his books, Miroslav Petříček — one of the most influential and erudite Czech philosophers, and a student of Jan Patočka — argues that to exist in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond, Western philosophy has had to rewrite its tradition and its discourse, radically transforming itself. Should philosophy be capable of bearing witness to the time, Petříček contends, this metamorphosis in philosophy is necessary. Offering an original Central European perspective on postwar philosophical discourse that reflects upon the historical underpinnings of pop culture phenomena and complex philosophical schools — including Adorno, Agamben, Benjamin, Derrida, Husserl, Kracauer, and many others — Philosophy en noir is a record of this transformation

Book Cleveland Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Cleveland Noir Akashic Noir written by Michael Ruhlman and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2023-08-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cleveland Noir joins Columbus Noir as the Akashic Noir Series continues its tour of Ohio, and navigates the dregs of the North Shore FEATURING BRAND-NEW STORIES FROM: Paula McLain, Jill Bialosky, Thrity Umrigar, Michael Ruhlman, Daniel Stashower, D.M. Pulley, J.D. Belcher, Alex DiFrancesco, Miesha Wilson Headen, Abby L. Vandiver, Sam Conrad, Angela Crook, Susan Petrone, Dana McSwain, and Mary Grimm. FROM THE EDITORS' INTRODUCTION: “Cleveland is a working-class town, though its great institutions were founded by twentieth-century robber barons and magnates . . . It’s this mix of the wealthy and the working class that makes this city—an urban center of brick and girders surrounded by verdant suburbs—a perfect backdrop for lawlessness. Cleveland has certainly seen its share of high-profile crime. Eliot Ness, Cleveland’s director of public safety in the 1930s, hunted unsuccessfully for the ‘torso murderer’ who killed and dismembered twelve people in Kingsbury Run, the area now known as the Flats, then populated by bars, brothels, flophouses, and gambling dens. The famous disappearance of Beverly Potts in the early 1950s on Cleveland’s west side made national headlines. The sensational murder of Marilyn Sheppard in Bay Village and the imprisonment and eventual acquittal of her husband, the surgeon Sam Sheppard, became the basis for a popular television drama The Fugitive . . . “The noir stories in this volume hit all these same notes, and their geographies reflect the history of the city and its politics, its laws, poverty, alienation, racism, crime, and violence.”

Book Austin Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Austin Noir Akashic Noir written by Hopeton Hay and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2023-05-02 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. “Seems like everybody comes to Austin, sooner or later, and now the Akashic Books series of original noir anthologies has finally arrived, its freshly inked pages strewn with shadows and ill intent.” —Austin Chronicle From the editors' introduction: "You've probably heard of Austin. You may have been here for South by Southwest. Your best friend may have recently relocated here from California. You might have thought about moving here yourself, then decided it wasn't worth it to live in Texas. You may have moved to Austin decades ago. You may even have been born and raised in Austin, and now you're on the outskirts of San Antonio or (God forbid) Waco because you can't afford to buy a house anywhere else. Or you may be living in a shiny new building downtown, watching the final stages of a sleepy town's transformation into modern metropolis. One thing you'll hear from almost any Austin resident: it was better when they got here . . . "As the city expands, construction never stops, struggling futilely to keep up with new demand. The running joke is that the city bird is the crane. Rents and property values keep climbing. We fear becoming Dallas . . . The writers contributing to this collection represent a kaleidoscopic view of the city—not just in where they set the stories, but in their different social, economic, and cultural perspectives." Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Book Palm Springs Noir  Akashic Noir

Download or read book Palm Springs Noir Akashic Noir written by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and published by Akashic Books. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Palm Springs now joins Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley in California’s Noir Series arena. “Contrary to popular belief, noir doesn’t require a bleak city street for its setting. Nor water, for that matter. Noir thrives on secrets, lies and lust, all flowing plentifully through the jewel in the Coachella Valley’s fragile crown . . . For all the playfulness of the genre and the location, the wisecracks and the kidney-shaped pools, there is an unmanageable darkness waiting to seep in, like so much blood in the pool water.” —Los Angeles Times Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Brand-new stories by: T. Jefferson Parker, Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Tod Goldberg, Michael Craft, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Chris J. Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.