“Bekono captures Salomé’s narrative voice. It is a voice at once tender, crass, intellectual, and rebellious, every bit as compelling as Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.” Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Confrontations by Simone Atangana Bekono @ NYJB
As always, Akashic Books crafts a brilliant anthology. Highly recommended for those wanting to explore Hong Kong’s dark underbelly. Continue reading Espresso Shots: Hong Kong Noir, edited by Jason Y. Ng and Susan Blumberg-Kason
Set in the criminal shadow world behind luxury hotels, Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi follows four friends in their attempt to transcend the poverty and violence of their surroundings. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Eve Out of Her Ruins, by Ananda Devi @NYJB
If William Gibson, Michael Connelly, and Neil Gaiman wrote a series, it might end up looking like The Familiar. Continue reading The Familiar, Volume 5: Redwood, by Mark Z. Danielewski @ NYJB
“Season of Crimson Blossoms” by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim represents “a talented new voice in contemporary Nigerian literature.” Continue reading Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim @ NYJB
This week Karl Wolff reviews “Milwaukee Mayhem,” by Matthew J. Prigge, a collection of lurid tales of the Cream City’s dark side. Continue reading CCLaP: Milwaukee Mayhem, by Matthew J. Prigge
Horizontal Collaboration, by Mel Gordon is “an illuminating linguistic, cartographic, and historical exploration of Parisian lusts.” Continue reading Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris, 1920–1946, by Mel Gordon @ NYJB
This week I review “Singapore Noir,” edited by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, about the dreamers, desperation, and bad decisions that make up the noir genre in a city with no crime. This is good crime fiction, lah. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Singapore Noir, edited by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
A review of Deconstructing Organized Crime, a uncommonly readable academic text about the intersections of organized crime, terrorism, and globalization. Continue reading Reviews in Brief: Deconstructing Organized Crime: a historical and theoretical study, by Joseph L. Albini and Jeffrey Scott McIllwain
The Driftless Area Review 