Austin Noir

by Hopeton Hay (Editor), Scott Montgomery (Editor), Molly Odintz (Editor)

Overview

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions

Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

From the editors' introduction: "You've probably heard of Austin. You may have been here for South by Southwest. Your best friend may have recently relocated here from California. You might have thought about moving here yourself, then decided it wasn't worth it to live in Texas. You may have moved to Austin decades ago. You may even have been born and raised in Austin, and now you're on the outskirts of San Antonio or (god forbid) Waco because you can't afford to buy a house anywhere else. Or you may be living in a shiny new building downtown, watching the final stages of a sleepy town's transformation into modern metropolis. One thing you'll hear from almost any Austin resident: it was better when they got here . . .

"As the city expands, construction never stops, struggling futilely to keep up with new demand. The running joke is that the city bird is the crane. Rents and property values keep climbing.  We fear becoming Dallas . . . The writers contributing to this collection represent a kaleidoscopic view of the city—not just in where they set the stories, but in their different social, economic, and cultural perspectives."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781636140896
Publisher:	Akashic Books
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	437,487
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hopeton Hay is a book talk show host and producer based in the Austin metro area who has been interviewing crime-fiction authors since 2009. Currently, he hosts and produces the Diverse Voices Book Review podcast which features a monthly crime-fiction episode. 

Scott Montgomery became immersed in the crime-fiction scene while working at the Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles. In Austin, he has continued to work as a bookseller at BookPeople, specializing in the genre. His writing has appeared in Shotgun Honey and the anthologies Murder on Wheels, Lone Star Lawless, and The Eyes of Texas.

Molly Odintz is the senior editor of CrimeReads. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Paper Brigade and the Austin Chronicle. After five years in New York, she recently moved back to her hometown of Austin with her cat, Fritz Lang, in tow.

Table of Contents

Introduction

PART I: CROSSFIRE
"The Pink Monkey" by Gabino Iglesias (East Side)
"Stunts" by Ace Atkins (Red River Street)
"Reflections" by Amanda Moore (Arboretum)
"The Good Neighbor" by Jeff Abbott (West Lake Hills)
"A Thousand Bats on an Austin Night" by Scott Montgomery (Lady Bird Lake)

PART II: NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW
"Rush Hour" by Richard Z. Santos (The Domain)
"Sapphire Blue" by Alexandra Burt (Stratford Hills)
"Charles Bronson" by Lee Thomas (Hotel Van Zandt)
"Saving" by Miriam Kuznets (Rollingwood)
"A Time and Place" by Jacob Grovey (Braker)

PART III: THIS LAND
"The Foundation" by Chaitali Sen (Clarksville)
"Michael’s Perfect Penis" by Molly Odintz (Airport Boulevard)
"Stitches" by Amy Gentry (West Campus)
"Bangface vs. Cleaning Solutions, LLC" by Andrew Hilbert (Southpark Meadows)

About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

"Seems like everybody comes to Austin, sooner or later, and now the Akashic Books series of original noir anthologies has finally arrived, its freshly inked pages strewn with shadows and ill intent."
—Austin Chronicle

“With the common thread of Austin, Texas, Austin Noir is a new compendium of original short stories, each of which are showcased gems of noir fiction and unreservedly recommended for both personal reading lists and community/academic library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections.”
—Library Bookwatch

"An example of noir at its best is 'Stunts'  by Ace Atkins . . . Jeff Abbott's 'The Good Neighbor' is another gem that features compelling characters, a unique and fascinating plot, and an ending that is right on the money."
—New York Journal of Books

Praise for the Akashic Noir Series:

"Hold the eggnog: What you need is a draft of 'edgy fatalism and sexy recklessness,' of flashy crime, gallows humor, and 'desperate deals with a variety of devils,' served up every year since 2004 by the editors of Akashic Books' brilliant noir anthologies. From Brooklyn to Boston, from Phoenix to pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, each volume in the series reveals a city's distinctive inner darkness."
—O, The Oprah Magazine

From the Publisher

2023-04-11
Austin has quite a reputation.

It’s a place where hippies and rednecks came together to listen to Janis Joplin. But just as more people bring more money and more experiences into a city, they bring more crime. Some of the dark deeds this volume chronicles are solid and old-fashioned. Gunplay has its place, as Gabino Iglesias documents in “The Pink Monkey” and Ace Atkins shows in “Stunts.” So do the dysfunctional families in Amanda Moore’s “Reflections” and Jeff Abbott’s quietly creepy “The Good Neighbor.” Con games are another pillar of traditional noir, as Chaitali Sen reminds genre fans in “The Foundation.” But other transgressions are more up to the minute. In “Rush Hour,” Richard Z. Santos shows what can happen when a good Samaritan confronts the TikTok generation. Alexandra Burt’s “Sapphire Blue” is a shocking look at America’s child care crisis. Miriam Kuznets offers a wholly unexpected solution to the high price of prescription drugs in “Saving.” Not to neglect Austin’s status as a university town, editor Odintz’s “Michael’s Perfect Penis” and Amy Gentry’s “Stitches” celebrate those bright college years in a way that feels both nostalgic and new.

A perfect testament to Austin’s ability to look backward while moving forward.

Kirkus Reviews