Minneapolis and St. Paul are the focus of Akashic's ninth anthology in its popular series (Brooklyn Noir
, etc.) to marry crime and place. The eclectic group of 15 contributors includes such well-known mystery writers as David Housewright, whose "Mai-Nu's Window" gets the volume off to a strong start, and William Kent Krueger, whose "Bums" is a classic noir tale of folly and futility. A couple of authors manage to create stories that tantalize and give readers something to think about long after the ending. Ellen Hart's "Blind Sided" and Mary Sharratt's "Taking the Bullets Out" both pull off that trick. Gary Bush ("If You Harm Us") and Larry Millett ("The Brewer's Son") reach into the cities' rough and tumble past for their inspiration and turn out entertaining stories of corruption and gangsterism. Steve Thayer's "Hi, I'm God" starts as a gripping tale of young bravado and morphs into an otherworldly farce. Both K.J. Erickson ("Noir Neige") and Judith Guest ("Eminent Domain") show that noir can be humorous and still have bite. (June)
