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Palm Springs Noir
Palm Springs now joins Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley in California's Noir Series arena.
Included in Publishers Weekly 's Adult 2021 Announcements (Mysteries & Thrillers)
Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book.
Palm Springs Noir features brand-new stories by: T. Jefferson Parker, Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Tod Goldberg, Michael Craft, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Chris J. Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.
From the introduction: The best noir writers make us feel the heat of the sun, the touch of a lover. Setting can be gritty but can also be sublime, no longer relegated to urban locales and seedy hotel rooms but also mansions and swimming pools. Hence, Palm Springs, which may seem like an odd setting for a collection of dark short stories--it's so sunny and bright here. The quality of light is unlike anywhere else, and with an average of three hundred sunny days a year, what could go wrong?...The stories in this collection come on like the wicked dust storms common to the area. More than half are by writers who live here full-time; all have homes in Southern California. They know this place in ways visitors and outsiders never will. These are not stories you'll read in the glossy coffee-table books that feature Palm Springs's good life. There is indeed a lush life to be found here, but for the characters in these stories, it's often just out of reach.
Included in Publishers Weekly 's Adult 2021 Announcements (Mysteries & Thrillers)
Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book.
Palm Springs Noir features brand-new stories by: T. Jefferson Parker, Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Tod Goldberg, Michael Craft, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Chris J. Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.
From the introduction: The best noir writers make us feel the heat of the sun, the touch of a lover. Setting can be gritty but can also be sublime, no longer relegated to urban locales and seedy hotel rooms but also mansions and swimming pools. Hence, Palm Springs, which may seem like an odd setting for a collection of dark short stories--it's so sunny and bright here. The quality of light is unlike anywhere else, and with an average of three hundred sunny days a year, what could go wrong?...The stories in this collection come on like the wicked dust storms common to the area. More than half are by writers who live here full-time; all have homes in Southern California. They know this place in ways visitors and outsiders never will. These are not stories you'll read in the glossy coffee-table books that feature Palm Springs's good life. There is indeed a lush life to be found here, but for the characters in these stories, it's often just out of reach.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 6, 2021
58 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
10 books141 followersI host "Writers on Writing," podcast wherever you get your podcast and on www.penonfire.com. My first book, Pen on Fire (originally published by Harcourt; reprinted by Mars Street Press). Short stories USA noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series, Coolest American Stories, 2023, Rock and a Hard Place, Literary Hatchet, and more. My most recent book is Palm Springs Noir (Akashic), which I edited and contributed a story to. I teach at Gotham Writers Workshop, Saddleback College's Emeritus Institute, and privately. My last published short story, "Rowboat," (Kelp Journal, Dec. 2023) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 25, 2024
Palm Springs is supposed to be the glamorous movie star Mecca in the Southern California desert. Akashic Noir shows us what's behind the hidden curtain when the desert paradise is the end of the road for some folks, a place they got stuck in and now they are drowning in like quicksand. The desert that surrounds paradise is hot, dry, empty, foreboding. Out beyond the ritzy golf clubs are trailer parks and rundown liquor stores and a huge inland sea so devoid of life that it's even slowly melting into the desert landscape. The best stories here are the ones that surprise you with their attitude because sometimes noir is attitude and mood. Horn's "the Stand-in" gives us a blast from the rat pack past where the an aging criminal who has nothing left but her truth about life among the smooth mafia boys. Bahnsen's "Octagon Girl" shows us how there really is no escape once you've latched onto a bad guy. Santiago's "The Ankle if Anna" puts us in another world up on the mountain.
Here's the contents: (1) JANET FITCH Sunrise; (2) ERIC BEETNER The Guest; (3) KELLY SHIRE A Cold Girl; (4) MICHAEL CRAFT VIP Check-In; (5) BARBARA DEMARCO-BARRETT The Water Holds You Still; (6) ROB ROBERGE The Expendables; (7) J.D. HORN The Stand-In; (8) EDUARDO SANTIAGO The Ankle of Anza; (9) ROB BOWMAN Everything Drains and Disappears; (10) TOD GOLDBERG A Career Spent Disappointing People; (11) T. JEFFERSON PARKER Specters; (12) CHRIS J. BAHNSEN Octagon Girl; (13) KEN LAYNE The Loop Trail;(14) ALEX ESPINOZA The Salt Calls Us
Here's the contents: (1) JANET FITCH Sunrise; (2) ERIC BEETNER The Guest; (3) KELLY SHIRE A Cold Girl; (4) MICHAEL CRAFT VIP Check-In; (5) BARBARA DEMARCO-BARRETT The Water Holds You Still; (6) ROB ROBERGE The Expendables; (7) J.D. HORN The Stand-In; (8) EDUARDO SANTIAGO The Ankle of Anza; (9) ROB BOWMAN Everything Drains and Disappears; (10) TOD GOLDBERG A Career Spent Disappointing People; (11) T. JEFFERSON PARKER Specters; (12) CHRIS J. BAHNSEN Octagon Girl; (13) KEN LAYNE The Loop Trail;(14) ALEX ESPINOZA The Salt Calls Us
September 9, 2021
I love the Akashic Noir series--short story collections specific to a city, written by people who know these places intimately. To read any of them is to get an unexpected tour of a place you often think you know well. Not all of these Noir stories are written by crime writers--that is not one of the criteria for being asked to submit a story. So these collections are also wonderful introductions to the city/region's writers. I have the first story in this collection, SUNRISE, about a real estate scam,and a woman who cannot let go of the past. Other desert worlds include air B and B Noir , massage services gone wrong, a fortress town called Bermuda Dunes, a clown for hire, a cult by the Salton Sea, a steamy menage in a small Cathedral Springs apartment. The voices are very different, but assemble into a fascinating puzzle of place and theme and often outlandish character. Lovers of crime fiction will recognize the names T. Jefferson Parker, Tod Goldberg, Eric Beetner, and Michael Craft while others of us are better known for literary fiction and nonfiction. But all have a taste for the shadows in this bright hot world. The perfect holiday companion, the ideal book to slip on a guest's nightstand.
February 28, 2022
Noir creeps up on you, let’s you know things may seem bad but they can always be worse. Even in warm, balmy Palm Springs one can find the broken, the desperate, and the deranged. They’re rubbing elbows with the tourists, the rich, and the wannabe famous.
Palm Springs Noir, the book, is exceptional in its storytelling and leaves no corner of the Coachella Valley unbothered. It’s gritty, it’s deadly, and it’s utterly fabulous.
Enjoyed all 14 tales within this shining star of the long-running Akashic Noir series.
Palm Springs Noir, the book, is exceptional in its storytelling and leaves no corner of the Coachella Valley unbothered. It’s gritty, it’s deadly, and it’s utterly fabulous.
Enjoyed all 14 tales within this shining star of the long-running Akashic Noir series.
July 15, 2021
Palm Springs Noir is one of the latest crime fiction collections in the Akashic Books series that now numbers close to 120 such books. The stories, with a couple of exceptions, in each book are all set in one city or region of the world, and this time around all the action takes place in Palm Springs itself or in places like Joshua Tree National Park, the Coachella Valley Preserve, or Desert Hot Springs which are all nearby. And, as usual, the stories will not disappoint fans of the genre.
The term “noir” can sometimes be difficult to explain to readers who are unfamiliar with the genre, but editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett offers one of the better definitions of noir in her introduction to the collection that I’ve seen - and she does it in layman’s terms. According to DeMarco-Barrett, “In noir, the main characters might want their lives to improve and may have high aspirations and goals, but they keep making bad choices, and things go from bad to worse…characters follow the highway to doom and destruction. They are haunted by the past, and the line between black and white, right and wrong, dissolves like sugar in water. The hero rationalizes why it’s okay to do whatever dark thing they are about to do.” The genre was particularly prominent in the books and movies of the 1940s and 1950s, but it survived its lean years of popularity and seems to have made a nice comeback in recent years.
Palm Springs, in its heyday, was the favorite hangout of movie stars and celebrities, especially of Frank Sinatra and his “rat pack” friends. That’s why, as I was beginning the stories in the book’s third section, I had to smile a little when it finally hit me that the titles of the four parts all sounded familiar for a good reason: they are all also titles of songs recorded by Sinatra. The section titles always foretell or hint at the contents of the stories in the section, and these clever song title choices work particularly well. Beginning with the first section, they are “Strangers in the Night,” “Little White Lies,” “Everything Happens to Me,” and “Ill Wind.”
For me, three of the book’s fourteen stories especially stand-out, but with the exception of perhaps two others, they are all fun to read. One of my favorites is Barbara Fitch’s “Sunrise,” a revenge-story that doesn’t work out quite as one woman hoped it would despite her determination to rid the world of the evil man who ruined her life years earlier. A similar story, and another favorite, is editor DeMarco-Barrett’s “The Water Holds You Still” in which a woman learns that her brother has been looting the home and bank accounts of their mother who suffers from dementia in order to pay for all the drugs and booze he consumes. As in “Sunrise,” she ends up enlisting a less-than-reliable partner to help her solve the problem.
And then, there’s “Octagon Girl” by Chris J. Bahnsen. It is no accident that this is one of the most disturbing stories in the collection because it deals so frankly with the domestic abuse of a woman and her eleven-year-old son by the woman’s latest boyfriend - a man who has probably never in his life seen a steroid he didn’t like. I realize this will be a difficult read for some, but it does turn out to be one of the most satisfying stories in Palm Springs Noir for good reason.
Bottom Line: Palm Springs Noir is, I’m pretty sure, the sixteenth Akashic Books noir series collection that I’ve read, and I swear they just keep getting better and better. I hope this series goes on forever.
The term “noir” can sometimes be difficult to explain to readers who are unfamiliar with the genre, but editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett offers one of the better definitions of noir in her introduction to the collection that I’ve seen - and she does it in layman’s terms. According to DeMarco-Barrett, “In noir, the main characters might want their lives to improve and may have high aspirations and goals, but they keep making bad choices, and things go from bad to worse…characters follow the highway to doom and destruction. They are haunted by the past, and the line between black and white, right and wrong, dissolves like sugar in water. The hero rationalizes why it’s okay to do whatever dark thing they are about to do.” The genre was particularly prominent in the books and movies of the 1940s and 1950s, but it survived its lean years of popularity and seems to have made a nice comeback in recent years.
Palm Springs, in its heyday, was the favorite hangout of movie stars and celebrities, especially of Frank Sinatra and his “rat pack” friends. That’s why, as I was beginning the stories in the book’s third section, I had to smile a little when it finally hit me that the titles of the four parts all sounded familiar for a good reason: they are all also titles of songs recorded by Sinatra. The section titles always foretell or hint at the contents of the stories in the section, and these clever song title choices work particularly well. Beginning with the first section, they are “Strangers in the Night,” “Little White Lies,” “Everything Happens to Me,” and “Ill Wind.”
For me, three of the book’s fourteen stories especially stand-out, but with the exception of perhaps two others, they are all fun to read. One of my favorites is Barbara Fitch’s “Sunrise,” a revenge-story that doesn’t work out quite as one woman hoped it would despite her determination to rid the world of the evil man who ruined her life years earlier. A similar story, and another favorite, is editor DeMarco-Barrett’s “The Water Holds You Still” in which a woman learns that her brother has been looting the home and bank accounts of their mother who suffers from dementia in order to pay for all the drugs and booze he consumes. As in “Sunrise,” she ends up enlisting a less-than-reliable partner to help her solve the problem.
And then, there’s “Octagon Girl” by Chris J. Bahnsen. It is no accident that this is one of the most disturbing stories in the collection because it deals so frankly with the domestic abuse of a woman and her eleven-year-old son by the woman’s latest boyfriend - a man who has probably never in his life seen a steroid he didn’t like. I realize this will be a difficult read for some, but it does turn out to be one of the most satisfying stories in Palm Springs Noir for good reason.
Bottom Line: Palm Springs Noir is, I’m pretty sure, the sixteenth Akashic Books noir series collection that I’ve read, and I swear they just keep getting better and better. I hope this series goes on forever.
July 18, 2021
Palm Springs Noir is the most recent of the Akashic Noir series. Set in the legendary resort city about a hundred miles from Los Angeles. In any resort area, there is always an innate tension between those who visit and those who live there. Usually, the visitors have conspicuous wealth while the townspeople are often living hardscrabble lives in low-paying service jobs that cater to the wealthy who make their homes unaffordable. Palm Springs is no different and that tension infuses several of the short stories in this fabulous new issue in the series.
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, who edited Palm Springs Noir contributed one of her own stories, a diabolical case of sibling rivalry and the attentions of one of those service workers, the one who cleans the pool. She also wrote one of the shortest introductions ever and I am so grateful. She manages to define noir and how it has changed over time as well as give us a capsule history of Palm Springs and its society all in five pages. Well done!
There are fourteen stories and not a stinker among them. I thought “The Salt Calls You Back” to be particularly chilling. “The Expendables” is a perfect fit for our Qonspiracist era despite being set in 1981. “VIP Check-In” is another perfect little story .
Palm Springs Noir is an outstanding collection of noir short stories. I cannot tell you how much I love it when editors focus their innovations on finding more diverse voices and characters rather than trying to redefine noir. I love it when editors show they understand the noir aesthetic is already deep and wide and does not need to be elevated. This is an excellent collection and I came away feeling like I understood Palm Springs better than I could if there were a “Real Housewives of Palm Springs” series.
I received a copy of Palm Springs Noir from the publisher through LibraryThing.
Palm Springs Noir at Akashic Books
Barbara Demarco-Barrett author site
Akashic Noir Series
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, who edited Palm Springs Noir contributed one of her own stories, a diabolical case of sibling rivalry and the attentions of one of those service workers, the one who cleans the pool. She also wrote one of the shortest introductions ever and I am so grateful. She manages to define noir and how it has changed over time as well as give us a capsule history of Palm Springs and its society all in five pages. Well done!
There are fourteen stories and not a stinker among them. I thought “The Salt Calls You Back” to be particularly chilling. “The Expendables” is a perfect fit for our Qonspiracist era despite being set in 1981. “VIP Check-In” is another perfect little story .
Palm Springs Noir is an outstanding collection of noir short stories. I cannot tell you how much I love it when editors focus their innovations on finding more diverse voices and characters rather than trying to redefine noir. I love it when editors show they understand the noir aesthetic is already deep and wide and does not need to be elevated. This is an excellent collection and I came away feeling like I understood Palm Springs better than I could if there were a “Real Housewives of Palm Springs” series.
I received a copy of Palm Springs Noir from the publisher through LibraryThing.
Palm Springs Noir at Akashic Books
Barbara Demarco-Barrett author site
Akashic Noir Series
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
December 15, 2021
Read my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.c...
I was at loose ends on Monday after a busy holiday prep weekend. I picked up Palm Springs Noir, knowing that I would be entertained and enlightened about a city that I had been to several years ago. What I remembered best about the Palm Springs experience were the fields of wind turbines in the valley. Those wind turbines show up frequently in the short stories in the book, but apparently I didn’t have the same kind of Palm Springs experience that the characters in these stories had. I may have to go back.
In her introduction, DeMarco-Barret defines noir thus: “In noir, the main characters might want their lives to improve and may have high aspirations and goals, but they keep making bad choices and things go from bad to worse.” She goes on: “In noir, characters follow the highway to doom and destruction. They are haunted by the past, and the line between black and white, right and wrong, dissolves like sugar in water. The hero rationalizes why it’s ok to do whatever dark thing they are about to do.”
DeMarco-Barrett used that definition as she selected the stories to go into this volume of noir. The stories are just as sleezy as you might expect in a book of noir fiction, but the reader also experiences a lot of suspense and darkness. There are references to famous stars that have lived in the area and includes the music of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Through the stories we visit the places the tourist knows, like the golf courses and the pools, the mountains and the desert. My favorite place, Joshua Tree, however is spoiled by homicide, and a beautiful pool by a drowning. DeMarco-Barrett’s story concerns a brother who drowned in a mother’s pool. Could the sister have caused the drowning?
There are fourteen stories by several well-known Southern California authors. They are pure naughtiness happening in one of America’s most beautiful places. As steamy as the air. A great review in the NY Journal of Books.
I have written extensively over the years about the Akashic series of more than 100 noir books in settings all over the world. You might also like to read my description of noir and neo-noir literature. You can find it here. Stay tuned for the February arrival of Paris Noir: The Suburbs, which I will review the next time I have a day of loose ends.
I was at loose ends on Monday after a busy holiday prep weekend. I picked up Palm Springs Noir, knowing that I would be entertained and enlightened about a city that I had been to several years ago. What I remembered best about the Palm Springs experience were the fields of wind turbines in the valley. Those wind turbines show up frequently in the short stories in the book, but apparently I didn’t have the same kind of Palm Springs experience that the characters in these stories had. I may have to go back.
In her introduction, DeMarco-Barret defines noir thus: “In noir, the main characters might want their lives to improve and may have high aspirations and goals, but they keep making bad choices and things go from bad to worse.” She goes on: “In noir, characters follow the highway to doom and destruction. They are haunted by the past, and the line between black and white, right and wrong, dissolves like sugar in water. The hero rationalizes why it’s ok to do whatever dark thing they are about to do.”
DeMarco-Barrett used that definition as she selected the stories to go into this volume of noir. The stories are just as sleezy as you might expect in a book of noir fiction, but the reader also experiences a lot of suspense and darkness. There are references to famous stars that have lived in the area and includes the music of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Through the stories we visit the places the tourist knows, like the golf courses and the pools, the mountains and the desert. My favorite place, Joshua Tree, however is spoiled by homicide, and a beautiful pool by a drowning. DeMarco-Barrett’s story concerns a brother who drowned in a mother’s pool. Could the sister have caused the drowning?
There are fourteen stories by several well-known Southern California authors. They are pure naughtiness happening in one of America’s most beautiful places. As steamy as the air. A great review in the NY Journal of Books.
I have written extensively over the years about the Akashic series of more than 100 noir books in settings all over the world. You might also like to read my description of noir and neo-noir literature. You can find it here. Stay tuned for the February arrival of Paris Noir: The Suburbs, which I will review the next time I have a day of loose ends.
March 9, 2023
This was another fantastic installment in the Akashic Noir series, and probably one of my favorites in the series so far. It offered up a number of new authors whose work I'm going to enjoy looking up in the future, as well, which is always a sign of a great anthology (in my opinion, at least). My standout favorites were "A Cold Girl" by Kelly Shire, "Everything Drains and Disappears" by Rob Bowman, "A Career Spent Disappointing People" by Tod Goldberg, "Octagon Girl" by Chris J. Bahnsen, and "The Salt Calls Us Back" by Alex Espinoza.
As always, the book left me looking forward to more collections in the Akashic Noir series.
As always, the book left me looking forward to more collections in the Akashic Noir series.
Read
November 11, 2024Helpful in moving me past my reading slump.
July 31, 2021
I received this through Library Thing Early Reads.
I’ve read other books from this Akashic series. They may be noir, but each is different based on its location. This was no exception, but it was very different.
Palm Springs isn’t your typical city setting you’d expect to find noir tales from, but it isn’t exempt from greed, graft, murder and other dark deeds.
Take the tale about the vacation rental. The owner, Randall, works and lives in L.A. and is looking forward to the day he’ll retire to his Palm Springs home. The Airbnb gig is just to help pay it off.
Mid-week, Grayson calls and tells Randall he needs to come out to the house immediately. Grayson is a friend who lives at the house and acts as caretaker. Grayson’s voice sounds serious and Randall goes.
When Randall arrives he finds the current guest is floating in the pool — dead. This is not a good situation for the upscale neighbourhood. How can the two men cover it up? What do they do when a family member shows up looking for the person? Desperate time — desperate measures…
These are dark tales but there are quirks and humour to be found in them. And also a sadness that can be found in the human condition.
It is enjoyable to read the variations of plots, character and styles of writing by this selection of authors. It shows the desert isn’t just one big sandbox.
I’ve read other books from this Akashic series. They may be noir, but each is different based on its location. This was no exception, but it was very different.
Palm Springs isn’t your typical city setting you’d expect to find noir tales from, but it isn’t exempt from greed, graft, murder and other dark deeds.
Take the tale about the vacation rental. The owner, Randall, works and lives in L.A. and is looking forward to the day he’ll retire to his Palm Springs home. The Airbnb gig is just to help pay it off.
Mid-week, Grayson calls and tells Randall he needs to come out to the house immediately. Grayson is a friend who lives at the house and acts as caretaker. Grayson’s voice sounds serious and Randall goes.
When Randall arrives he finds the current guest is floating in the pool — dead. This is not a good situation for the upscale neighbourhood. How can the two men cover it up? What do they do when a family member shows up looking for the person? Desperate time — desperate measures…
These are dark tales but there are quirks and humour to be found in them. And also a sadness that can be found in the human condition.
It is enjoyable to read the variations of plots, character and styles of writing by this selection of authors. It shows the desert isn’t just one big sandbox.
August 15, 2021
“Palm Springs Noir” is a clever collection of modern Noir stories. Each story is set in different desert towns and in the high desert mountains. The characters are contemporary, original, and relatable. Noir, most commonly features hard boiled denizens of the 30s and 40s but here they are present day characters that fit the mold: cynical, fatalistic, morally ambiguous and above all, desperate.
As with all collection stories readers have favorites.
I have two favorite stories: The Water Holds You Still by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and The Ankle of Anza by Eduardo Santiago.
The Water Holds You Still is full of suspense and surprise as little white lies wrapped around a Palm Springs family shake loose and float to the surface of their pristine swimming pool. Yes, there is death in the water but not in any way you might expect.
The Ankle of Anza takes the reader to the high desert mountain community. The story is full of secrets, lies, and lust. The protagonist runs away from the Betty Ford Clinic, leaves her husband and child and becomes a cat burglar. During a town meeting the reader is introduced to the funny and diverse small-town residents of the community she is pillaging. The story is clever, the dialogue is witty and the ending packs a heck of a wallop. My only regret in reading this short story is that it’s not a full-length novel
As with all collection stories readers have favorites.
I have two favorite stories: The Water Holds You Still by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and The Ankle of Anza by Eduardo Santiago.
The Water Holds You Still is full of suspense and surprise as little white lies wrapped around a Palm Springs family shake loose and float to the surface of their pristine swimming pool. Yes, there is death in the water but not in any way you might expect.
The Ankle of Anza takes the reader to the high desert mountain community. The story is full of secrets, lies, and lust. The protagonist runs away from the Betty Ford Clinic, leaves her husband and child and becomes a cat burglar. During a town meeting the reader is introduced to the funny and diverse small-town residents of the community she is pillaging. The story is clever, the dialogue is witty and the ending packs a heck of a wallop. My only regret in reading this short story is that it’s not a full-length novel
June 22, 2021
PALM SPRINGS NOIR is edited by Barbara DeMarco Barrett.
This anthology series is published by Akashic Books and was launched in 2004. “Each anthology comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographical area of the book.”
In PALM SPRINGS NOIR, we experience classic noir stories from South Palm Canyon, Historic Tennis Club, Cathedral City, Little Tuscany, Twin Palms, Wonder Valley, Deepwell, Anza, Bermuda Dunes, Indio, Anza-Borrego, Desert Hot Springs, Joshua Tree and Salton Sea.
The editor is Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (who also writes the Introduction and one of the stories), Contributing authors include Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Michael Craft, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Tod Goldberg, T. Jefferson Parker, Chris Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.
A quote from Dennis Lehane opens and sets the tone for the anthology, “In Shakespeare, tragic heroes fall from mountaintops; in noir, they fall from curbs.”
Every title has the same format (I like this).
a sepia-toned book cover (Book covers are great, very under-rated)
a list of the 100 + titles in this noir anthology series with locations ranging from Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, Marrakech, Moscow, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Wall Street.
a map of the area/state/country/place in question (I love the map and refer to it often.)
a Table of Contents which lists the stories and their authors and their locations. In this title, there are 14 stories divided into 4 parts. Part I: Strangers in the Night; Part II: Little White Lies; Part III Everything happens to Me; Part IV: Ill Wind.
an Introduction written by the editor. In PALM SPRINGS NOIR, the editor is Barbara DeMarco Barrett. The Introduction gives us facts and history of the setting, and insights on noir. The Introduction in PALM SPRINGS NOIR was very interesting.
About the Contributors. This is a nice add-on. Personal and publishing information is given about each of the authors.( I have gone on to read more stories from an author I particularly enjoyed.)
The stories. Wow. The stories. Some make a person burst into tears or quickly run to the shower for a good cleansing.
Some remarks:
Michael Craft’s “VIP Check-In” had a very dramatic ending. (Psst. I think Jazz did it.)
“The Expendables” by Rob Roberge. WOW. A hundred WOWs. I probably believe it.
“The Stand-In” by J.D. Horn. Quadruple WOW.
“Specters” by T. Jefferson Parker. very philosophizing. I liked it.
Ken Layne’s ‘The Loop Trail’ is very haunting. “Joshua Tree is a haunted land. Desert wilderness is like that.”
Every story was remarkable in its own way. Brutal, senseless, sad, demoralizing - that’s NOIR.
I received this ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) from Akashic Publishers. I thank them.
****
This anthology series is published by Akashic Books and was launched in 2004. “Each anthology comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographical area of the book.”
In PALM SPRINGS NOIR, we experience classic noir stories from South Palm Canyon, Historic Tennis Club, Cathedral City, Little Tuscany, Twin Palms, Wonder Valley, Deepwell, Anza, Bermuda Dunes, Indio, Anza-Borrego, Desert Hot Springs, Joshua Tree and Salton Sea.
The editor is Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (who also writes the Introduction and one of the stories), Contributing authors include Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Michael Craft, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Tod Goldberg, T. Jefferson Parker, Chris Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.
A quote from Dennis Lehane opens and sets the tone for the anthology, “In Shakespeare, tragic heroes fall from mountaintops; in noir, they fall from curbs.”
Every title has the same format (I like this).
a sepia-toned book cover (Book covers are great, very under-rated)
a list of the 100 + titles in this noir anthology series with locations ranging from Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, Marrakech, Moscow, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Wall Street.
a map of the area/state/country/place in question (I love the map and refer to it often.)
a Table of Contents which lists the stories and their authors and their locations. In this title, there are 14 stories divided into 4 parts. Part I: Strangers in the Night; Part II: Little White Lies; Part III Everything happens to Me; Part IV: Ill Wind.
an Introduction written by the editor. In PALM SPRINGS NOIR, the editor is Barbara DeMarco Barrett. The Introduction gives us facts and history of the setting, and insights on noir. The Introduction in PALM SPRINGS NOIR was very interesting.
About the Contributors. This is a nice add-on. Personal and publishing information is given about each of the authors.( I have gone on to read more stories from an author I particularly enjoyed.)
The stories. Wow. The stories. Some make a person burst into tears or quickly run to the shower for a good cleansing.
Some remarks:
Michael Craft’s “VIP Check-In” had a very dramatic ending. (Psst. I think Jazz did it.)
“The Expendables” by Rob Roberge. WOW. A hundred WOWs. I probably believe it.
“The Stand-In” by J.D. Horn. Quadruple WOW.
“Specters” by T. Jefferson Parker. very philosophizing. I liked it.
Ken Layne’s ‘The Loop Trail’ is very haunting. “Joshua Tree is a haunted land. Desert wilderness is like that.”
Every story was remarkable in its own way. Brutal, senseless, sad, demoralizing - that’s NOIR.
I received this ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) from Akashic Publishers. I thank them.
****
September 13, 2021
I devoured these stories. They’re so good! Gritty and tragic and moody with a perfect touch of dark humor. Here’s a few favorite quotes:
“I ran my hand over my sweaty neck and his eyes followed. Those long-lashed eyes, the color of pool water, drank from my neck, my mouth.” -Janet Fitch
“We watched the glimmery blue water, listened to the mockingbird that ran through its repertoire of cell phone ringtones, and sipped tequila.” -Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
“The Royal Californian sat on a stretch of Highway 111 in Indio that could have been Carson City or Bakersfield or Van Nuys or anywhere else where someone had the wise idea to plant a palm tree and then surround it with cement.” -Tod Goldberg
“I ran my hand over my sweaty neck and his eyes followed. Those long-lashed eyes, the color of pool water, drank from my neck, my mouth.” -Janet Fitch
“We watched the glimmery blue water, listened to the mockingbird that ran through its repertoire of cell phone ringtones, and sipped tequila.” -Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
“The Royal Californian sat on a stretch of Highway 111 in Indio that could have been Carson City or Bakersfield or Van Nuys or anywhere else where someone had the wise idea to plant a palm tree and then surround it with cement.” -Tod Goldberg
June 13, 2021
This is another great collection of noir from Akashic. Every story is very good, and most of them are excellent. I particularly enjoyed "The Expendables" by Rob Roberge and "The Salt Calls Us Back" by Alex Espinoza. I think editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett describes noir perfectly when she says "In noir, the main characters might want their lives to improve and may have high asperations and goals but they keep making bad choices, and things go from bad to worse."
[Note: the publisher provided me with a copy of this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.]
[Note: the publisher provided me with a copy of this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.]
July 3, 2023
Palm Springs can be beautiful, but it also beastly hot. It's lovely and thriving in places, but run down and desolate in others. It's modern, but has a pulse of the past coursing through it. At times, you half expect to encounter Sinatra and friends. What a perfect setting for a collection of noir stories. And what stories! Barbara DeMarco-Barrett chose some of the best writers in southern California to contribute, then organized them in compelling and page-turning order. The creativity in this collection is astounding. And fun. And dark. And sinister. Yeah, totally noir.
July 27, 2021
Gifted read by publisher for honest review. Review published on blog:
https://nerdygalinthecity.blogspot.com/
I cannot say how much I love this series! The authors being from/or currently living in the area and providing a backdrop that makes you feel like you are there! The authors who highlight different areas and write gripping stories, this is the perfect noir series!
I look forward to reading the rest of the California series asap!!
https://nerdygalinthecity.blogspot.com/
I cannot say how much I love this series! The authors being from/or currently living in the area and providing a backdrop that makes you feel like you are there! The authors who highlight different areas and write gripping stories, this is the perfect noir series!
I look forward to reading the rest of the California series asap!!
January 4, 2022
I can't say there was a bad story in this collection.
I grew up in Palm Springs. Yes, I grew up in Palm Springs. So, I appreciated reading about the various localities. A great diversity of stories and authors. I hope to read other works by these authors.
The book also sparked my interest in reading more short stories.
I grew up in Palm Springs. Yes, I grew up in Palm Springs. So, I appreciated reading about the various localities. A great diversity of stories and authors. I hope to read other works by these authors.
The book also sparked my interest in reading more short stories.
May 30, 2024
In nearly every story, just as a crime is about to be undertaken, I could easily imagine each of central characters asking, “What could possibly go wrong?” And, of course, plenty goes wrong for most of the characters in these stories. My only complaint about the book is that I would have liked most of the stories to have gone on for a few hundred more pages.
November 20, 2024
Sinatra, swimming pools, double-crosses. Palm Springs is an ocean and a continent away from where I live in rural Devon and this book makes me glad.
The stories are punchy, short, and full of unpleasant characters with few redeeming features.
They are well-written and entertaining. A good 'pick-up and put-down' collection.
The stories are punchy, short, and full of unpleasant characters with few redeeming features.
They are well-written and entertaining. A good 'pick-up and put-down' collection.
May 21, 2023
Another winner in this series. The nice thing is if you’re not into a story after a few paragraphs or a couple pages, you can just move on to the next one. But I read almost all of these all the way through; it was a good mix.
June 24, 2021
I really enjoyed this latest entry in Akashik’s Noir series. You wouldn’t expect Palm Spring and Joshua Tree as the most likely setting for noir, but the stories here play out superbly.
August 21, 2021
It was best in middle but , ending lacked
September 28, 2021
I enjoyed the first few stories, but I'm not a huge noir fan, so it was too much noir for me. Fun to see a different side of Palm Springs, though.
May 25, 2023
Highly Recommended!
June 21, 2023
Some of these stories miss for me (naturally in a collection like this) but the ones that hit REALLY hit. The attention to local detail is very high.
Read
June 21, 2023Didn't finish the sample. I like noir but I'm not a fan of anthologies. Good setting. Maybe I'll go back to this at a later time.
December 12, 2023
I’ve read several books in this series. This volume is one of the best so far.
December 19, 2024
Feel like it’s nearly impossible to honestly rate a short story collection with various authors over 3 stars - one or two stories are terrific, most stories here are serviceable…
November 22, 2021
– Love is love. Friction is friction. – Shane
This collection sticks to what Noir is expected to be and has been, and while that can take away the more exploratory materials that challenge Noir, these stories are good.
They focus on the characters and their circumstances, their need to satisfy themselves at any cost, and the desperate acts of revenge, personal scams, and double crosses.
The characters and their actions are one with the arid landscape in which they exist on the edge of prosperity and fame, and the authors deftly use this setting to frame their stories of greed, love, and betrayal.
This collection sticks to what Noir is expected to be and has been, and while that can take away the more exploratory materials that challenge Noir, these stories are good.
They focus on the characters and their circumstances, their need to satisfy themselves at any cost, and the desperate acts of revenge, personal scams, and double crosses.
The characters and their actions are one with the arid landscape in which they exist on the edge of prosperity and fame, and the authors deftly use this setting to frame their stories of greed, love, and betrayal.
October 26, 2021
Consistently great. This is the first I've read in the series and I've already ordered more. Can't imagine any noir fan being disappointed
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