London Noir [Paperback]

Cathi Unsworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2006

The city of William Blake and Jack the Ripper; the Bow Street Runners and The Krays; Bedlam and Newgate; the Pistols and the Clash - London is the ancient capital of crime. "London Noir" is an A-Z of what lies beneath the official city maps. It takes you on a tour from the mythic East End, where modern day gangsters hide behind a political front; to the bohemian West, where priests pray and police prey on their flocks. In the North unearthly sacrifices are taking place to terrible Gods and in the South strange beasts emerge from beneath the concrete walkways. This is a London of dream and nightmare, shadows and fog. Some of your tour guides have soundtracked the city before; some of them are new voices. All of them are fuelled by the forces of the metropolis, guided by the voices of police and thieves, conmen and pornographers, witchdoctors and clergymen, the great and good and the down and dirty.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While few of the names in the 10th entry in the city noir anthology series that began with Brooklyn Noir (2004) will be familiar to American readers (where, for example, are Robert Barnard and John Harvey?), by way of compensation eight of the 17 contributions focus on punk rock. Ken Bruen, best known for his native Dublin settings, offers a sharp jab to the gut in "Loaded." Michael Ward's "I Fought the Lawyer" profiles one of the worst blackmail schemes ever devised. Unsworth's tale, "Trouble Is a Lonesome Town," riffs nicely on the seedy PI who gets in over his head. Martyn Waites's "Love" is a frightening portrait of a skinhead recruit. Joolz Denby's "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" effectively traces the arc of would-be punk stars from the country trying to find fame in the big city. If this volume doesn't match the quality of the best in the series, there are still pleasures to be found, especially for those into the contemporary London music scene. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Cathi Unsworth began her journalistic career at 19 while still studying at the London College of Fashion. Headhunted by Melody Maker, she worked there as a freelance feature writer/reviewer for several years before joining Bizarre magazine. Her own writing is inspired by the late Derek Raymond, whom she met when she interviewed him for Melody Maker and who encouraged her to follow the crime-writing path. Her debut novel The Not Knowing was published by Serpent's Tail in 2005. The Singer is out in 2007.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Serpents Tail; First Printing edition (August 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852429305
• ISBN-13: 978-1852429300
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Darker Side on London, August 10, 2008

By 

Drewry F. Wofford III (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Noir (Paperback)

This is the second book I have read in this series, and while I like the books, they get a bit over bearing after a while. "London Noir" paints a consistently bleak and desperate picture of one of my favorite cities, and there is simply no let up in the constant parade of hopeless characters. I found that the stories - for this is a collection of short stories, each anchored in a specific geographic location around London - to get increasingly less well written, definitely less interesting, and even a bit more bizarre, as the book went on.

There are some well known authors, such as Ken Bruen, but many are first time writers, or at least new to the genre. Like Cinema Noire, the stores all have a dark, crime ridden atmosphere, populated by characters on the periphery of society. Many are interesting, but because they are short stories, you really make no connections with any character. There is no single character that runs through the stories to give any sense of continuity (they are all written by different authors), and I think that also hurts the collection. While I recommend the book, maybe just because I'll read almost anything about London, come with the proper expectations. I'll keep reading through the series (I think there are 16 or 17 books now) as time and interest permits

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars London Punk 1977, February 19, 2007

By 

Andrew J. Tumey (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: London Noir (Paperback)

Like dirt on the streets of London, these dirty characters are afixed to a dirty world. Pushers and addicts, crooked cops, the homeless and ,of course, punk rockers star in these short stories.

The lives portrayed touch the reality that is quite often glossed over and glamourized by artists who tend to elevate these dark ends of London in their works. One would rather read this book than live it out.

The scenes are bleak but eye opening as they teach about their dark and hopeless world. These stories illuminate the often attractive London , especially during punk's early days.

So if you survived those heady times you can have fun, reminisce and read these tales and be glad you survived!

1.0 out of 5 stars London No Way, January 17, 2012

By 

diane antonich (DULUTH, MN, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Noir (Paperback)

My first introduction to this series was "Twin Cities Noir" a well-written,
and at times funny collection of short stories. My next selection was "Manhattan Noir" which also offers up sad, frightening and fascinating
tales. My third choice was "London Noir" as I recently visited the city
and was eagar to learn more about it's neighborhoods. In all honesty, I couldn't finish the book. After five stores, at least one which borders on the pornographic, I had my fill of dark, depressing characters and prose so poorly written I was ready to throw the book in the garbage. What kind of editor would publish this kind of trash? It was so disappointing I know it will be a long time before I pick up another
book in this series.