Review: Tampa Bay Noir edited by Colette Bancroft

Published: 2020
Acquired and read: August 2020

Tampa Bay Noir 

edited by Colette Bancroft

This is the third of the "urban noir" books from Akashic that I've read, but the first of them set somewhere I actually know; I've lived in Tampa for three years now. Perhaps the reason I got more out of it than the others, that little frisson of knowing what "Swann Avenue" is, or of realizing that a character in one story must be a professor at the same school (and in the same department) that I am!

But I actually don't think that's just it, though I'm sure it helps. A sense of character emanates from Tampa Bay here; unlike in Columbus Noir, it's not just an endless sequence of stories about gentrification. There are stories about the heat, about the cruelty, about the promises and failures, about the wanna-bes and never-bes. It's not a positive character, but it's not like a book of noir stories would be. The stories assembled by editor Colette Bancroft do a good job of capturing the vibe of the city.

Particular favorites of mine included Tim Dorsey's "Triggerfish Lane" (two losers come to the defense of their meek middle-class neighbor with hilarious consequences), Sterling Watson's "Extraordinary Things" (a creepy story of a man finally figuring out what was behind a weird confrontation from decades ago), Luis Castillo's "Local Waters" (a substitute teacher gets desperate as he can neither control his classes nor give his family what they want), Ace Atkins's "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" (a woman falls for an older rich man who is not all he seems), Sarah Gerard's "The Midnight Preachers" (a freelance reporter tries to track down an incendiary preacher in the wake of Trump's victory), Danny López's "Jackknife" (an ex-cop tries to track down his ex-lover's new lover in a carnie town in the middle of a hurricane), Eliot Schrefer's "Wings Beating" (a man with anger management issues tries to bond with his recently-out son on a trip to a mediocre spa), and Colette Bancroft's "The Bite" (a little girl is sexually harassed by colonel from MacDill AFB). They all have a sense of desperation, of a sunny facade covering up dark grime.

There were really only two I flat-out didn't like. Unfortunately one is the opener, "The Guardian" by Michael Connelly, a mediocre mystery with a boring linear plot and no theme or character work of interest. The other was "It's Not Locked Because It Don't Lock" (what a good title, though!) by Ladee Hubbard, where too many characters are discussed in dialogue and I got lost really fast. That's probably the best hit rate I've seen in one of these.

There's also "Pablo Escobar" by my friend Yuly. I might be biased because I read and gave feedback on an early draft, but I really enjoyed this, a dark story of isolation and desperation, as a Colombian immigrant in high school finally meets a friendly face. (It was thanks to this story that I learned of the Clearwater Virgin Mary, surely the most Tampa Bay miracle that could ever exist. Manifested in an office building!)

Review: Columbus Noir edited by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Trade paperback, 284 pages
Published 2020
Acquired February 2020
Read July 2020

Columbus Noir
edited by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Akashic Books's "Urban Noir" books are frequently offered through LibraryThing's EarlyReviewer program; I picked up one many years ago and found it so-so, so I haven't picked up any since... but I have kept an eye on the offerings, because I decided I was sufficiently intrigued that I'd pick up any set in places with which I was familiar. It took a long time, but finally Akashic has released one set in my home state of Ohio, Columbus Noir. I have to admit, however, that despite living in Ohio from birth to age 23, I've only been to Columbus three times, so I'm not overly familiar with it.

I feel like the selling point of a book like this would be to make the city come alive... but you don't really get a sense of Columbus from Columbus Noir. Really the only thing you come out of it knowing is that it is gentrifying: I think half or more of these stories deal directly or indirectly with gentrification, with people remodelling homes or going to fancy coffee shops in run-down neighborhoods. While I'm sure this is an important part of Columbus in 2020, it did get repetitive, and doesn't really feel unique. But can you make a unique book about Columbus? Maybe this is just because I haven't gone much, but the vibe one gets off Columbus is that it's Ohio's least interesting major city (aside from Dayton). I feel like I would have done a Cincinnati Noir or Cleveland Noir long before I did a Columbus Noir-- those cities have dark and seedy histories that lead to dark and seedy presents.

All that said, there are some good individual stories here. Things occasionally get repetitive (there are a lot of hot but ill-intentioned women), but there are some good pieces of dark fiction. I particularly enjoyed Kristen Lepionka's "Gun People" (middle-class woman falls for working-class home renovator), Andrew Welsh-Huggins's "Going Places" (about the governor's bodyguard), Tom Barlow's "Honor Guard" (a guy's dad accidentally kills someone, and he has to deal with the consequences), Mercedes King's "An Agreeable Wife for a Suitable Husband" (a period piece about a woman with an awful husband; I wish there had been more period pieces, actually, but this was it), Laura Bickle's "The Dead and the Quiet" (a homeless junkie finds liberation), and Julia Keller's "All That Burns the Mind" (the rare academia story that gets the details right). So it's worth reading if you come across it and want to spend a diverting couple days reading it.