Richmond Noir

November 30, 2009
David L. Robbins's “Homework,” a moving account of a brief encounter between a burglar and a teacher, stands head and shoulders above the 14 other tales in Akashic's solid noir anthology devoted to Richmond, Va. Pir Rothenberg's “The Rose Red Vial,” among the better of the many recent Poe-inspired stories, features nicely nasty betrayals and counterbetrayals among those who covet Poe memorabilia on loan to the Virginia Historical Society. Set in 1807, Dean King's concise “The Fall Lines” supplies an intriguing backstory to Aaron Burr's treason trial. In Howard Owen's “The Thirteenth Floor,” a well-done contemporary fair play whodunit, a political reporter reassigned to the night police beat ends up investigating a murder-by-gunshot in his own apartment building. The three editors have done a better job offering variety than some other volumes in this acclaimed series.

March 15, 2010
Richmond, VA, is a city of contrasts. Steeped in historyas the capital of the Confederacy and a center of slave tradethe city has become known for state politics, commerce, culture, and crime as it has become increasingly diverse, while still symbolizing Southern gentility. Although each of these 15 stories reveals a side of Richmond, its contrasts are shown most vividly in Dennis Danvers's "Texas Beach," in which a man finds the body of an immigrant killed accidentally while illegally felling trees so that a prominent white politician would have a better view of the James River from his mansion. Murder, scattered through these entries, is most chilling when it is imminent, as in Tom De Haven's "Playing with DaBlonde," in which a laid-off ad exec who's into porn sees premonitions coming true. VERDICT A lovingly compiled entry in Akashic's strong regional noir series, this could have appeal beyond the Commonwealth and its capital. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 11/1/09.]Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

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