#18: Brooklyn Noir edited by Tim McLoughlin

Every once in awhile I get a little narcasitic and think certain songs/art/books are for or about me. Whatever, you do it to. The point is, Brooklyn Noir combines my love of dark fiction with the romantic notions I have for my borough. Someone seriously had to have published this book with me in mind. A few of the essays here are better than others, but that’s just the nature of collections. Deal with it. 

Moving on. This anthology has one noir story for just about each neighborhood in Brooklyn. Even the streets with million dollar brownstones have an underbelly, you just have to know where to look. And it’s creepy, too. Especially the one with the murder that takes place on! my! block!! But I don’t feel unsafe. Brooklyn has its ups and downs just like the rest of the country. In fact, I like to think it’s where people like me go because they don’t fit in anywhere else. The twists and turns in Noir actually feel like Flatbush Avenue, Bensonhurst, Park Slope, and Red Hook so much so that it kind of makes me want to take more walking tours. Good thing summer is almost here! But maybe I’ll go home at sunset…