London Noir (Mask Noir)

Rating:
Summary: Unsettling
Review: I looked forward to this collection and was disappointed with it. The stories had a nasty, bizzare bent. There were three stories I liked, but the rest were strange. That said, if stories that end darkly and leave you with a feeling of despair are what you're looking for--you've found it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Sampler of UK Noir
Review: This collection of fifteen crime stories was commissioned with the notion of capturing the dark side of the city in some manner. This attempt is largely successful, but the book also works as a sampler of modern British crime writers. Among the better stories are: "Perfect Casting" by Christopher Fowler, "Brand New Dead" by Derek Raymond, "A Deep Hole" by Ian Rankin (cf. Knots and Crosses), and "Angel's Day" by Molly Brown. For some reason, other than the Molly Brown story, I found the other female contributions (by Liza Cody, Denise Danks, Jessica Palmer and Liz Holliday) to be rather sub-par. Actually one of the stories that does the best job of showing the underbelly of London is by John Harvey, who has his Nottingham policeman Charlie Resnick (cf. Lonely Hearts and subsequent novels) down in London for a funeral.