New Orleans Noir (Akashic Noir) [Paperback]

Julie Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Akashic Noir | Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Brand-new stories by: Thomas Adcock, Ace Atkins, Patty Friedmann, David Fulmer, Barbara Hambly, Greg Herren, Laura Lippman, Tim McLoughlin, James Nolan, Ted O’Brien, Eric Overmyer, Jeri Cain Rossi, Maureen Tan, Jervey Tervalon, Olympia Vernon, Christine Wiltz, Kalamu Ya Salaam, and Julie Smith.

Julie Smith is the author of two detective series set in New Orleans and an Edgar Award winner. A former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the San Francisco Chronicle, she lives in the Faubourg Marigny section of New Orleans, which is much funkier than it sounds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The excellent 12th entry in Akashic's city-specific noir series illustrates the diversity of the chosen locale with 18 previously unpublished short stories from authors both well known (Laura Lippman, Barbara Hambly) and emerging (Kalamu Ya Salaam, Jeri Cain Rossi). Appropriately, Smith divides the book into pre- and post-Katrina sections, and many of the more powerful tales describe the disaster's hellish aftermath. Standouts in the first section, "Before the Levees Broke," include Laura Lippman's short, twisted tale of victims and victimizers, "Pony Girl," and Tim McLoughlin's "Scared Rabbit," a tight, punchy account of a police shooting. Among the contributions to the post-Katrina "Life in Atlantis" section, Thomas Adcock's gritty crime tale, "Lawyers' Tongues," captures the chaos of the hurricane's wake with notable skill. (Apr.)
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About the Author

Julie Smith is the author of two detective series set in New Orleans, and an Edgar Award winner. A former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the San Francisco Chronicle, she lives in the Faubourg Marigny section of New Orleans, which is much funkier than it sounds like.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933354240
• ISBN-13: 978-1933354248
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, Gritty Stories of The Big Easy, August 14, 2007

By 

Marion "[e-mail]" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: New Orleans Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

I picked this book up because Julie Smith is the editor and has a story in it. I have to say that hers was my favorite, by far. She's an ace mystery writer and I highly recommend all of her books if you haven't yet discovered them.

Exploring the darker side of the "Big Easy", these tales are unputdownable, gritty and down-to-earth whether dealing with the aftermath of Katrina, Mardi Gras or the seamier underside of life in the French Quarter.

I was happy to discover that a portion of the profits from this book are being donated to the New Orleans Public Library, a fabulous cause.

I'd never before read the "Noir" series, but I plan to look up other books in it. It's well deserving of five stars!!

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of those books you just can't put down, April 22, 2007

By 

Leah (Orange County) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Orleans Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

I picked this book up at Pirate's Alley in New Orleans the day before I had to fly back home. I started reading it on the plane, came up for air in order to change planes in Dallas, and finished it before landng in LA. Every story was powerful; those in Part I: Before the Levees Broke as well as in Part II: Life In Atlantis. My favorites: Two-Story Brick Houses ( This short story captures the brutality of how cruel girls can treat one another), Muddy Pond, Annunciation Shotgun, and Night Taxi. If you want to experience the pain and sorrow of the people of New Orleans pre- and post- K, this is a MUST READ.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Orleans Noir, One of the Best Titles in the Series, July 27, 2008

By 

Lawrence D. Zeilinger (Gretna, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Orleans Noir (Akashic Noir) (Paperback)

It is fitting the great Julie Smith was chosen as editor and post-Katrina story contributor for this terrific (terrifying?) anthology. She also should have been asked to add to "San Francisco Noir" because as in New Orleans, she spent many years there as an ace newspaper reporter and set one of her mystery serieses there. Her story "Loot" is this book is really good, about the long-time friendship between a civil rights lawyer and her maid who is stranded Uptown after the storm, and the vicious little plot dig at the end. Ditto to Outside Magazine writer Ace Atkins, who was boots-on-the ground on assignment here in the sweltering days after Katrina's eye passed, in his gritty "Angola South" about the inhuman jail set up at the Greyhound bus station. Maureen Tan's "Muddy Pond" indelibly depicts the plight of Vietnamese-Americans stuck in flooded N.O. East right after the storm. There is not a less than great story in this 18-story anthology (well maybe one of the pre-K's). This is one of the better books of the half dozen I have read in creator Tim McLoughlin's very fine (Akashic) Noir series -- the other one is D.C. Noir edited and with a story by the great George Pelecanos. Neither should be missed!