Category Archives: Short stories

Short stories

Shades: Detroit Love Stories – Esperanza M. Cintrón

Posted on August 13, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s the 1960s and we follow two women into a bar who just want a diversion from the hardships of everyday life. From there, Shades draws us in and takes hold of us through the entire … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories | Tagged Detroit, sex, urban fiction, women's fiction | Comments Off

Amsterdam Noir (Akashic Noir Series) -René Appel and Josh Pachter (Editors), Josh Pachter (Translator)

Posted on May 22, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “It wasn’t until he’d come to see me a dozen times that he told me he wanted to concentrate on women who looked like the victims who’d escaped from him his first time around.” This man … Continue reading →

Posted in Noir-esque fiction, Short stories, World Literature | Tagged Amsterdam, crime fiction, noir, short stories, translated literature | Comments Off

Fight No More: Stories – Lydia Millet

Posted on May 3, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “South Africans were rumored to be rapists. The white ones especially.” Nina, a single real estate agent specializing in expensive Los Angeles homes was nervous about meeting a potential buyer. Little did she know that her … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories | Tagged family, fiction, Los Angeles, short stories | Comments Off

The Sadness of Beautiful Things:Stories-Simon Van Booy

Posted on April 20, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) The title, The Sadness of Beautiful Things, provides an accurate description as well as the essence of the stories in this short book. These eight tales take a somber look at life and memories and reveal … Continue reading →

Posted in Short stories | Tagged death, life, love, short stories | Comments Off

Marrakech Noir (Akashic Noir Series) – Yassin Adnan (Editor)

Posted on March 3, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Morocco has no tradition of noir literature.” “Marrakechis are willing to read every type of story about the city—except those that are garbed in black.” Yassin Adnan, the editor of Marrakech Noir had a difficult time … Continue reading →

Posted in African Literature, Noir-esque fiction, Short stories | Tagged crime fiction, Marrakech, multiculture, noir, Religion | Comments Off

Vancouver Noir (Akashic Noir Series) – Sam Wiebe (Editor)

Posted on January 27, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…Vancouver may seem idyllic. But living here is different—cold and baffling and occasionally hostile…locals see a heroin crisis…It’s ground zero for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a nationwide catastrophe involving … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Noir-esque fiction, Short stories | Tagged Canadian fiction, crime fiction, noir, Vancouver | Comments Off

Sydney Noir (Akashic Noir Series)- John Dale (Editor)

Posted on January 8, 2019 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Noir is as much a part of Sydney’s character as frangipanis and cockroaches, rusted iron lace and sandstone terraces, torrential rain and potholed roads.” “Crime and Sydney have always been inseparable: a deep vein of corruption … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Literature, Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Noir-esque fiction, Our Best, Short stories | Tagged Australian fiction, Crime, noir, Sydney | Comments Off

Lagos Noir – Chris Abani (Editor)

Posted on June 19, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I have never been to Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and actually, the largest city in the entire African continent. In fact, I have never been anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. That said, I enjoyed the … Continue reading →

Posted in African Literature, Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Culture, Noir-esque fiction, Short stories, World Literature | Tagged Africa, corruption, Crime, Lagos, Nigeria, noir | Comments Off

We Are Taking Only What We Need: Stories – by Stephanie Powell Watts

Posted on May 31, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “What was I thinking? The restaurant was a fishbowl full of floor-to-ceiling windows. Just beyond the parking lot Highway 18 looked like a runway, a straight shot, launching me anywhere…until my eyes settled on the across-the-street … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Short stories | Tagged African-American, North Carolina, rural America | Comments Off