Toronto Noir (Akashic Noir) Format: Paperback

The Akashic Noir Series moves fearlessly north of the US border.

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Brand-new stories by: RM Vaughan, Nathan Sellyn, Ibi Kaslik, Peter Robinson, Heather Birrell, Sean Dixon, Raywat Deonandan, Christine Murray, Gail Bowen, Emily Schultz, Andrew Pyper, Kim Moritsugu, Mark Sinnett, George Elliott Clarke, Pasha Malla, and Michael Redhill.

From the introduction by Janine Armin & Nathaniel G. Moore:

“In 1834, York, city of mud and canons, became Toronto, city of trauma and free refills. Depending on what side of the CN Tower you stand under, Toronto is histrionic or claustrophobic, gelling or uncool. It’s the 1967 Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs; it’s a fading World Series Blue Jays souvenir cup. It’s gaggles of language-starved landfill stalkers who text and Facebook and spit wads of bubble gum into the world’s cleanest tarmac . . .

Toronto Noir lets a bit of moonlight contour the ever-mobile city, allowing a glimpse, a brief catch and release. Sentimentality and deception bring these stories together. Dog-ear this book, use it as foreplay for further encounters on your coffee table. Sift through the stiff pages written by people who inform and present their city in a way no double-decker gimmick bus whizzing past the Rogers center and Casa Loma could ever hope to do. It is in our emergency rooms and carrying our groceries home that we are

Torontonians.“

JANINE ARMIN writes regularly for the Toronto Globe & Mail and contributes to BookForum, the Village Voice, and Maisonneuve. She is the coeditor of Toronto Noir.