Brooklyn Noir 3

April 28, 2008
In this first nonfiction volume of Akashic's popular Noir Series, Brooklyn's bloody laundry gets a very public airing. Editors McLoughlin (Brooklyn Noir anthologies 1 and 2), and Edgar-winning novelist Adcock compile true crime tales from the borough's near and distant past. From a senseless murder over a bicycle in Prospect Park in Constance Casey's “A Spring Afternoon in the Meadow, That 'Long, Loud Scream' ” to the Russian mob violence of Fort Greene in Patricia Mulcahy's “The Body in the Doorway,” the anthology takes readers on a tour of some of Brooklyn's deadliest spots. Though several entries drag on too long, standouts such as Reed Farrel Coleman's Coney Island coming-of-age story “No Roses for Bubbeh” and New York Post
crime reporter C.J. Sullivan's engrossing look at Son of Sam in “The Brooklyn Bogeyman” more than make up for any slow spots. Fans of Akashic's earlier collections will appreciate this reminder that truth is often more disturbing than fiction.