Tart Noir [Paperback]

Various (Author), Stella Duffy (Editor), Lauren Henderson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

These are the bad girls we've been waiting for. They're tough enough to take on thugs, tender enough to be moved to tears. Half Philip Marlowe, half femme fatale, their morals are questionable and their attitudes need adjustment. They're tarts. And they are the heroines of this collection with stories by:

€ Jessica Adams € Jen Banbury € Liza Cody € Martina Cole € Jenny Colgan € Stella Duffy € Liz Evans € Sparkle Hayter € Lauren Henderson € Vicki Hendricks € Lisa Jewell € Laura Lippman € Sujata Massey € Val McDermid € Denise Mina € Karen Moline € Katy Munger € Chris Niles € Jenny Siler € Karin Slaughter

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Heroines, bad girls, murderesses have their day in this cheeky collection of short stories featuring 20 distaff crime writers and their protagonists--unabashedly politically incorrect and tough as Revlon-frosted nails. As the editors point out in their introduction, tart noir, like all versions of the genre, "can taste as sad and bitter at times as a pint of cheap gin in an after-hours bar." It can also be frankly erotic, like Val McDermid's tale of an obsession that ends in murder; fantastically compelling, like Vicki Hendricks's story about a woman and her dolphin lover; or coolly manipulative, like the well-mannered protagonist of Laura Lipman's recounting of a controlling husband and his resentful wife. While most of the authors are Brits who may not be too well known among American readers, their offerings are smart and snappy enough to send those making their acquaintance for the first time to the backlist in search of their earlier works. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Bad girls aplenty act tough in Tart Noir, an all-original anthology edited by Stella Duffy and Lauren Henderson. Gathered from both sides of the Atlantic, this volume includes 20 tales by such female mystery mavens as Val McDermid, Laura Lippman, Sujata Massey, Sparkle Hayter, Denise Mina and the co-editors themselves.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425186431
• ISBN-13: 978-0425186435
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,922,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, emtertaining read? Here you go..., October 12, 2002

By 

Mobeena Khan "greeb_streebling" (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tart Noir (Paperback)

This truly long-awaited and much anticipated anthology is finally here and it doesn't disappoint. I can confidently say there is not ONE story here that does not match expectations and a few that most definately exceed.

If you are looking for an entertaining, intelligent, though-provoking read with women, well, kicking ARSE, quite frankly, this is the book to read. It's appeal, however, is broad and frankly, it should be. Well crafted, excellently executed stories is what you find in here. Usually you are lucky, if, maybe 5 stories come to your expectations. I was reeling after some of the stories in this. There IS still talent out there in the world, members of the reading public. And a lot of it is in this anthology.

Finally, we have a book that shows women taking charge, taking control and making things happen in a short story anthology - as opposed to waiting for things to happen to them. I cannot recommend this anthology enough, and kudos to the editors, for not only producing an outstandingly fine body of work between them but for editing this anthology, which should be on every bookcase.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable!, October 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tart Noir (Paperback)

This collection of slinky, sultry noir stories is a page-turner! In each story, the woman gets the last laugh, that you can't help but cheer her on. I gave it to my mother who also liked it a lot.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crime girls behaving badly, July 25, 2003

By 

Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tart Noir (Paperback)

I have found that, usually, an anthology of short stories is very uneven, with good, mediocre and poor tales mixed together. This book is an exception, as I found that all of the stories are first rate, and extremely interesting. The premise of the book is that all are written by females, and the protagonists are females. It's an interesting side of literature that has not really been explored in any depth, and this book fills that hole quite neatly. It's a good read from beginning to end!