Istanbul Noir

Istanbul straddles the divide of Europe and Asia, and its polyglot population of 12 million seethes with political, religious and sexual tensions, as shown in the 16 stories in this strong entry in Akashic's noir anthology series. Most of the stories are fittingly dark, though a couple are lit by a macabre humor: Hikmet Hukumenoglu's “The Smell of Fish,” about a woman's efforts to discourage suitors, and Algan Sezginturedi's “Around Here, Somewhere,” about a drug runner's attempted escape. Sadik Yemni's “Burn and Go” delivers a memorable account of a childhood accident's fearsome consequences. A lonely older woman and a polite young man share a ride in Feryal Tilmaç's fateful “Hitching in the Lodos.” Most contributors are either natives of Istanbul or longtime residents, and their stories reflect religious extremism (Jessica Lutz's “All Quiet”) and governmental repression (editor Ziyalan's “Black Palace”) as well as the disaffection common to the genre. This is a welcome complement to the mostly historical mysteries set in Istanbul. (Nov.)