A review by katieinca
Santa Cruz Noir by Susie Bright

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)