Reviewing The Evidence

E.J. and John pointed me to this review of Detroit Noir at reviewingtheevidence.com:

In November 2007, the town of Detroit, Michigan earned the dubious distinction in the 14th annual City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America, published by CQ Press, of being considered the most dangerous city in America. There are a lot of stories that can be written and several good authors who know the Motor City backwards and forwards which is where Akashic Books come in. DETROIT NOIR is the latest entry in the publisher’s noir series and this one does not disappoint.
EJ Olsen and John C Hocking have collected a group of stories by authors and writers who are no strangers to the city. The book contributors are award-winning authors, business editors, and newspaper journalists. Each writer provides a unique view of the city from its most exclusive areas and suburbs all the way through its major thoroughfares. The characters come from all walks of life. Some are victims of circumstance, the others are the victimizers. Almost all of these stories are dark and bleak where there is no possibility of a happy ending.
What makes the book so good is its characters. Author Loren Estleman, a man who really knows Detroit and has used it as a setting for his PI Amos Walker novels gives us a dark story titled Kill the Cat where the detective is investigating the drug-related murder of a trust fund kid.
In Panic, Joyce Carol Oates puts a young family under the proverbial microscope when they overanalyze the way they reacted to a perceived danger on a busy highway. Then there is a slightly dark and humorous look at Detroit’s “invisible people” by Michael Zadorian in The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit. If you are looking for a really dark noirish story, you cannot go wrong with Joe Boland’s The Night Watchman is Asleep.
DETROIT NOIR is one of the best in Akashic Books' noir series. You cannot go wrong with this anthology.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, December 2007

Thanks, Angel.