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katieinca's review against another edition
2.0
When I think noir I think private detective stories. So maybe unsurprisingly, the some of the ones here that most closely fit that mold where my favorites - but I also think they were some of the better written ones. A lot here is dark, but more in the horror/suspense/thriller/violenceforitsownsake vein. A lot of the first section "Murder Capital of the World" was especially ugh, but it got better from there. And if you're a Santa Cruz person, you can definitely tell that these authors have been here, which was fun.
Favorites: Crab Dinners, The Big Creep, Treasure Island
Least favorites: Buck Low (the opening story, after which I almost put this down), Wheels of Justice, and Safe Harbor (this last one feels like a tacky exploitation of a recent death in town)
Favorites: Crab Dinners, The Big Creep, Treasure Island
Least favorites: Buck Low (the opening story, after which I almost put this down), Wheels of Justice, and Safe Harbor (this last one feels like a tacky exploitation of a recent death in town)
bokil's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Engaging short stories but some feel almost annoying in their brevity.
denishaskin's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars if you live in or know Santa Cruz, 3 if you don't.
I enjoyed this mainly because I knew the places the stories were set; Brady's, The Jury Room, the yacht harbor, hell, the street at the bottom of my hill (that's where the creepy UCSC prof lives in one of the stories).
The stories themselves were a little uneven, but on the whole good, and I enjoyed this, overall. The first few stories were almost more horror than noir, but I'm glad I continued past those.
I enjoyed this mainly because I knew the places the stories were set; Brady's, The Jury Room, the yacht harbor, hell, the street at the bottom of my hill (that's where the creepy UCSC prof lives in one of the stories).
The stories themselves were a little uneven, but on the whole good, and I enjoyed this, overall. The first few stories were almost more horror than noir, but I'm glad I continued past those.
chelseamartinez's review against another edition
4.0
Received this as a gift and wasn't sure I would like it; my excursions into genre fiction ended in high school with John Bellairs and Nancy Drew and LA Confidential and Chinatown. I'm too much of an optimist to seek out noir as an adult (I also got sick of House of Cards and even the BRILLIANT veep because they were too cynical).
But this collection is so great and makes me want to seek out more of what I now realize is a huge ongoing series (each story is tagged to a neighborhood or section of the city/region featured in the title). I don't know Santa Cruz well; I've visited, considered grad school there and my brother lived there for many years. So I was delighted by the geographic and demographic and even temporal diversity here (and have a soft spot for the stories featuring protagonists that are wayward academics).
*Monarchs and Maidens
**54028 Love Creek Road
*Possessed
**Miscalculation (great title!)
*To Live and Die in Santa Cruz
***Treasure Island (also great title!)
**Flaming Arrows
**The Big Creep
**Death and Taxez
*The Strawberry Tattoo
**Crab Dinners
*It Follows Until It Leads
But this collection is so great and makes me want to seek out more of what I now realize is a huge ongoing series (each story is tagged to a neighborhood or section of the city/region featured in the title). I don't know Santa Cruz well; I've visited, considered grad school there and my brother lived there for many years. So I was delighted by the geographic and demographic and even temporal diversity here (and have a soft spot for the stories featuring protagonists that are wayward academics).
*Monarchs and Maidens
**54028 Love Creek Road
*Possessed
**Miscalculation (great title!)
*To Live and Die in Santa Cruz
***Treasure Island (also great title!)
**Flaming Arrows
**The Big Creep
**Death and Taxez
*The Strawberry Tattoo
**Crab Dinners
*It Follows Until It Leads
ljkarst's review against another edition
5.0
A delicious look at the seamy underside of the original “Surf City”—Santa Cruz, California. There are terrific stories by well-known authors such as Elizabeth McKenzie and Naomi Hirahara, but the ones by lesser-known writers are equally as good. If you’ve ever visited Santa Cruz—or intend to do so in the future—you should definitely read this collection of stories. But don’t read it right before turning out the lights at night!
trenton_ross's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first of the Akashic Noir series that I have read, and like any collection of short stories with various authors, it is difficult to provide a single rating. There were some stories that I didn't much care for, including Tommy Moore's Buck Low. Unfortunately, Buck Low was the very first story and nearly caused me to put down the collection altogether. Others were a bit strange, the oddest, Mischa and the Seal by Liza Monroy, included seal poachers and selkies . However, the standout for me was Treasure Island by Micah Perks, an enjoyable mash-up of every Facebook community page and Rear Window.
I did enjoy the introduction to Santa Cruz and various authors I'd otherwise likely never known. I'm sure I'll delve into other Akashic Noir's other locales at some point.
I did enjoy the introduction to Santa Cruz and various authors I'd otherwise likely never known. I'm sure I'll delve into other Akashic Noir's other locales at some point.
tonstantweader's review
4.0
Santa Cruz Noir was released earlier this month, another stellar installment in the marvelous Akashic Noir series of anthologies that take readers around the world, the noir world. This time we are visiting sunny, sun-soaked, surfer-town Santa Cruz with the vibrant Susie Bright, the sex-positive feminist author and activist. It’s a generous anthology with twenty stories in four sections.
This book is full of wonderful short stories including “Monarchs and Maidens”, an eerie ghost story of sorts with butterflies and annoying child that I loved. There’s plenty of murders, “Buck Low” is chilling. “Mischa and the Seal” is a strange and wonderful fairy tale. “Whatever Happened to Skinny Jane” will leave you wondering who killed whom. “Treasure Island” is a brilliant sendup of NextDoor and particularly, those Nextdoor members who post when a car has circled the block twice or whenever a person of a darker complexion walk on the streets that belong to us all. Like many great stories, it leaves us wondering.
I loved Santa Cruz Noir. Susie Bright has a brilliant sense of humor and it shows in her story selection. She is also a feminist and that shows in her story selection, too, with many stories focusing on relationships. There are stories of drug dealers, immigrants, surfers, and those on the downside of life. In these stories, you will find struggle and cruelty, madness and kindness, and everything human. I recommend it highly.
I received an e-book of Santa Cruz Noir from the publisher through Edelweiss.
Santa Cruz Noir at Akashic Books
Akashic Noir series
Susie Bright author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/9781617756221/
This book is full of wonderful short stories including “Monarchs and Maidens”, an eerie ghost story of sorts with butterflies and annoying child that I loved. There’s plenty of murders, “Buck Low” is chilling. “Mischa and the Seal” is a strange and wonderful fairy tale. “Whatever Happened to Skinny Jane” will leave you wondering who killed whom. “Treasure Island” is a brilliant sendup of NextDoor and particularly, those Nextdoor members who post when a car has circled the block twice or whenever a person of a darker complexion walk on the streets that belong to us all. Like many great stories, it leaves us wondering.
I loved Santa Cruz Noir. Susie Bright has a brilliant sense of humor and it shows in her story selection. She is also a feminist and that shows in her story selection, too, with many stories focusing on relationships. There are stories of drug dealers, immigrants, surfers, and those on the downside of life. In these stories, you will find struggle and cruelty, madness and kindness, and everything human. I recommend it highly.
I received an e-book of Santa Cruz Noir from the publisher through Edelweiss.
Santa Cruz Noir at Akashic Books
Akashic Noir series
Susie Bright author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/9781617756221/
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