Review - Noir Fiction

Buenos Aires Noir - edited by Ernesto Mallo

I read this one prior to "Montreal Noir" and found myself comparing the two.

Predominantly told in first person narrative, the denouement is usually in the last page, at times, the last couple of sentences. Nothing is lost in the translation nor do you have to have an understanding of the city.  The characters are spread across a range of social, economic, political demographics, and periods in the city's history. Loved the added touch of the body map.  The crimes are varied but invariably involve murder. The violence is implied rather than "in your face" - more subtle, classic even.

" .... its inhabitants display the mischief found on the edges of the law ..." - most apt.

This is easy to both read and enjoy - yes, you can enjoy crime because with crime fiction, sometimes, you really can get away with murder!

Montreal Noir - edited by Jacques Filippi

I read this immediately after "Buenos Aires Noir" and found myself comparing the two.  The stories are slight longer than BA Noir, with a more modern feel. These are stories from the streets, with the crimes more in your face, the violence brutal and ugly.

" ... its unsettling, its subversive, its palpable but its never obvious ..."

Loved every page!