Brooklyn Noir

By: Tim McLoughlin - editor

Narrated by: Michael Braun, Adam Chase, Karen Chilton, Paul L. Coffey, Jane Cramer, Kevin R. Free, Tim Gerard Reynolds

New York's punchiest borough asserts its criminal legacy with all new stories from a magnificent set of today’s best writers. Brooklyn Noir moves from Coney Island to Bedford-Stuyvesant to Bay Ridge to Red Hook to Bushwick to Sheepshead Bay to Park Slope and far deeper, into the heart of Brooklyn’s historical and criminal largesse, with all of its dark splendor. Each contributor presents a brand new story set in a distinct neighborhood. Brooklyn Noir mixes masters of the mystery genre with the best of New York’s literary fiction community - and, of course, leaves room for new blood. These brilliant and chilling stories see crime striking in communities of Russians, Jamaicans, Hasidic Jews, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Irish and many other ethnicities - in the most diverse urban location on the planet.

Contributors include Pete Hamill, Nelson George, Sidney Offit, Arthur Nersesian, Pearl Abraham, Ellen Miller, Maggie Estep, Adam Mansbach, CJ Sullivan, Chris Niles, Norman Kelley, and many others. Akashic Books announces Brooklyn novelist Tim McLoughlin as the editor of the anthology (in addition to his contributing a story). McLoughlin's respect on any Brooklyn street predates the publication of his debut novel Heart of the Old Country (Akashic, 2001), a selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program that was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "an inspired cross between Richard Price and Ross McDonald". For years, McLoughlin has worked in the Kings County Supreme Court in downtown Brooklyn.

The complete list of narrators includes Michael Braun, Adam Chase, Karen Chilton, Paul L. Coffey, Jane Cramer, Kevin R. Free, Rob Granniss, Saskia Maarleveld, Erin Mallon, Jennifer O'Donnell, Pete Ohms, Prentice Onayemi, Tim Gerard Reynolds, and Chris Ruen.

©2004 Akashic Books (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Extremely explicit content

This book was a hodgepodge of stories with maybe one or two that had surprise endings. Fair warning - there are two stories which have explicit content, one was VERY explicit. I am not sure what the publishers wanted to accomplish with this book. It does mention the Hassidic Jew population, the Irish and Italians and had some references to Dodgers lore. Overall, however, it did not add value for me.