Milwaukee Noir

In Milwaukee Noir, a city of manufacturers and booze, as well as a growing immigrant community, makes perfect grist for the Noir Series mill.

Derrick Harriell has received the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for his story, "There's a Riot Goin' On," presented by the Mystery Writers of America!

Jennifer Morales's story "Cousins" has been named an Honorable Mention for the Zona Gale Short Fiction Award, presented by the Council for Wisconsin Writers.

Milwaukee Noir is a Boswell Book Company best seller: #1 Paperback Fiction Bestseller for the week ending May 25, 2019, and a #2 Paperback Fiction Bestseller for the week ending May 4, 2019!

"Luxuriate in the seedy, wallow in the angry and shiver at the horrors that surely await you around the corner...The sheer localness of Milwaukee Noir is superb, and the seediness of many characters here would qualify them for membership in a Tom Waits song."
--Milwuakee Journal Sentinel

"Fourteen fictional tales of people behaving badly in the city and the 'burbs, including top-shelf writers Valerie Laken, Jane Hamilton, Larry Watson and Nick Petrie."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, included in Summer Reading 2019; Editor's Pick

"In Milwaukee Noir, among the latest titles in Akashic Books' Noir series, 14 writers who've lived here offer a sinister tour of Brew City's radically diverse neighborhoods...Many of these pieces...work effectively not only as atmospheric fiction but also as influential social commentary."
--Shepherd Express

"Akashic's distinctive series of crime fiction anthologies arrives in Brewtown. The fourteen contributors include familiar Wisconsin writers Valerie Laken, Jennifer Morales, Jane Hamilton, Larry Watson, Nick Petrie and my Journal Sentinel colleague James E. Causey. Like other volumes in this series, Milwaukee Noir foregrounds specific locations: for example, Watson's story has a Yankee Hill setting, and Morales' is set in the Silver City neighborhood."
--Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal

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 neighborhood or location within the respective city.

Brand-new stories from: Jane Hamilton, Reed Farrel Coleman, Valerie Laken, Matthew J. Prigge, Shauna Singh Baldwin, Vida Cross, Larry Watson, Frank Wheeler Jr., Derrick Harriell, Christi Clancy, James E. Causey, Mary Thorson, Nick Petrie, and Jennifer Morales.

From the introduction by Tim Hennessy:

Presently, Milwaukee is going through a renaissance--abandoned factories being converted to condos, craft breweries and distilleries pushing out corner taverns--yet at the same time it is among the most segregated and impoverished big cities in the country. The gentrification of neighborhoods outside of downtown bear the impact of twentieth-century redlining efforts, forcing residents out due to housing demand, adding fuel to the affordable-housing crisis. Such an environment and atmosphere make excellent fodder for noir fiction...

The book you're holding is the first of its kind--a short fiction collection about Milwaukee, by writers who've experienced life here. The crime/noir genre at its best can be one of the purest forms of social commentary. I've gathered contributors who can tell not just a fine story, but who can write about the struggles and resilience of the people who live here...I'm honored to compile a body of work that represents what I love, and fear, about Milwaukee. I love my city's lack of pretension; its stubbornness and pride in the unpolished corners. I fear that my city faces an uncertain future--that as it becomes more divided it may pushes our best and brightest to find somewhere else to shine.

Introduction

Part I: Schlemiels & Schlimazels
"Runoff" by Valerie Laken (Downer Woods)
"3rd Street Waltz" by Matthew J. Prigge (Westown)
"Summerfest '76" by Reed Farrel Coleman (Murray Hill)
"Cousins" by Jennifer Morales (Silver City)
"All Dressed in Red" by Vida Cross (Franklin Heights)

Part II: Sweet Misery Blues
"Friendship" by Jane Hamilton (Odgen Avenue)
"Transit Complaint Box" by Frank Wheeler Jr. (Midtown)
"There's a Riot Goin' On" by Derrick Harriell (Sherman Park)
"'Mocking Season" by Christi Clancy (Whitefish Bay)
"Two Cents" by Shauna Singh Baldwin (East Town)

Part III: What Made Milwaukee Famous
"Night Clerk" by Larry Watson (Yankee Hill)
"The Clem" by James E. Causey (Lincoln Creek)
"The Neighbor" by Nick Petrie (West Allis)
"Wonderland" by Mary Thorson (Cambridge Woods)