Hardboiled Brooklyn (Paperback)

~ Reed Farrel Coleman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In a collection as uneven as the borough's mean-but-gentrifying streets, 17 crime writers present freshly commissioned stories about Brooklyn denizens ranging from white children at play in the idealized Dodgers era to recent Chinese immigrants sweating over cards in basement gambling dens. If the picture appears fragmented, perhaps that's because Brooklyn is "a broad flat plain covered with tribes," as Gabriel Cohen puts it in his piquant tale of two lonely cops stalking crooked repairmen. Although editor Coleman might have helped his book by salting a few classic tales among the new works, there plenty of other highlights. These include Joseph Wallace's O. Henry twist on standing up to a childhood bully, Peter Blauner's sharp snapshot of a dad who loses his son on the F train to Coney Island, and, especially, Jim Fusilli's pitch-perfect take on rival teen-idol wannabes who give new meaning to the word hit at the dawn of the pop and civil-rights eras. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Hardboiled Brooklyn is a rocky ride full of surprises that linger in my memory... each word ringing true. -- Stuart Kaminsky, Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America

My favorite writers on the greatest city in the world... what's not to love? -- Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher Novels

Reed Coleman and friends serve up Brooklyn the only way it should be-Hard-Boiled. -- James O. Born, author of Escape Clause

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Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Bleak House Books (May 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932557172
• ISBN-13: 978-1932557176
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #341,854 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting collection that falls short of perfect, January 29, 2009

By	Florian T. Boyce (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a fellow Brooklynite (and short story writer) I was instantly intrigued about the prospect of Hard Boiled Brooklyn: A collection of dark short stories in the vein of the rival "Brooklyn Noir" series.


All in all the collection of stories (about 17 in total, and marketed as "95 cents each") are chock full of the colorful characters and locations that have become synonymous with Brooklyn.

Some stories feel a bit more "authentic" then others, with some authors throwing up a sort of false "alternate-Brooklyn" where locations don't quite add up.

Judging by your taste, about two thirds of the stories work, with about four of five will have you rollin' your eyes and counting the pages until the next short story. That's the good thing about short stories, they are like buses. If one isn't doing it for you, you can always catch the next one.

This is a great way to kill an afternoon, but don't expect Shakespeare, here.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short Fast Stories in Brooklyn, July 21, 2007

By	Patrick Reis (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I live in Brooklyn so the locations were the best part. They mention specific stuff and it helped me get into the story better. If you don't know anything about Brooklyn this book can still entertain. The stories aren't all "Brooklyn" stories as much as they are just good stories. Some of them made me think of Brooklyn but most of them were good stories that took place in Brooklyn. Easy and quick to read. Modern and old stories.