Customer Reviews

Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing but the Truth (Akashic Noir series) (No. 3)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I greatly enjoyed both Brooklyn Noir 1 and 2, which I read soon after moving to that wonderful borough of the great city of New York (yes, you can tell I'm biased). BN3, however, is a different cup of tea. Still interesting, and still well written; but it is quite disconcerting to learn about real, as opposed to fictional, crimes committed sometimes less than a mile from where you live, in other cases near places where you have been at dinner or strolling around recently. Brooklyn, like much of New York City, is currently a fairly safe area, especially in neighborhoods like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights. Still, some of these essays based on real life crime cannot but send a chill down your spine. Which of course is the very point of the book.

This is one of the best in the local "Noir" series. The recounting is as good as the fiction, not overdone, very real in the genuine noir sense. I was disappointed at first, when I realized that these "stories" were factual. But the writing is so good, and the style lives up to the best fiction in the series.

Brooklyn Noir bristles with urban grit and unique Brooklyn charm. You can hear the bustling streets, the babel of 50 languages, and you'll swear y ou can smell the chicken simmering on the stove. Excellent reporting from superb writers. Jess Korman's "The Creamflake Kid" is the cherry on the Charlotte Russe.

So far this is the 10th book in Akashic's "Noir" series that I have read and it was more of a dud then I care to admit.
After reading the first "Brooklyn Noir" I was in love with the series but like many other things in life it is never as good as your first.
"Beef Kills" by Rosemarie Yu is the one noteworthy story.
The rest are a big yawn.