Venice Noir (Akashic Noir)

March 19, 2012
Forget the magnificence of Venice’s art, architecture, and music, and delve into this tour of the City of Water’s murky depths. The 14 stories in this solid Akashic noir anthology reveal a Venice where the natives scramble to make a living, as in Matteo Righetto’s “Cloudy Water,” a dark tale of toxic clams dredged while watching for both police and criminals. An old woman takes vengeance on the tourists who have ruined her city in Maria Tronca’s chilling “Tourists for Supper.” The city was an annual treat for lovers in Peter James’s “Venice Aphrodisiac,” until the magic left, only to be reclaimed in unique fashion by one of the pair. Jakubowski’s “Lido Winter” traces the actions of a middle-aged man recalling his most memorable affairs, and then meeting the most fantastic lover of all. Italian authors predominate, but British, Canadian, and French ones chime in, all sharing visions of a Venice not seen in tourist brochures.

June 15, 2012
Sex, food and real estate inspire 14 hot-blooded new takes on crime in the magical city of Venice. Of the three, real estate is the most divisive. Most Venetians can no longer afford to live in their own city. Like the heroine of Barbara Baraldi's "Commissario Clelia Vinci," they flock to mainland towns like Mestre, where they struggle with the mundane: How to balance work and family? How to share custody with a faithless ex? They contend with dampness and bad plumbing, like the old woman in Michelle Lovric's "Pantegana." Or they live in tiny houses near the old ghetto, filled with the odor of other people's cooking, like the heroine of Francesca Mazzucato's "Little Sister," who finds it harder and harder to leave her cramped home. It's the tourists who enjoy the beauty of the canals and the palazzos. In "Venice Aphrodisiac," Peter James shows how one illicit rendezvous can become a lifelong obsession with the city. Sexual energy spirals out of control in Isabella Santacroce's "Desdemona Undicesima." And a tourist finds Venice the endpoint of his romantic dreams in editor Jakubowski's "Lido Winter." Venetians have their own take on the visitors who flock to their city, like Signora Adele, who finds her own special solution in Maria Tronca's "Tourists for Supper." But Adele isn't the only Venetian with a hearty appetite, as a policeman learns in Michael Gregorio's "Laguna Blues." Rather than crimes of passion, this collection focuses on the passion of crime, painting its noir in robust tones rather than gritty gray.

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May 1, 2012
Akashic Books continues its popular, geographically themed Noir series, this time focusing on Venice. The real wonder is that it's taken this long for the publisher to get around to Venice, home to some of the most acclaimed crime series going. With a slowly sinking infrastructure and a historical identity based on the theft of the remains of St. Mark from Alexandria, Venice makes a perfect setting for noir tales. Editor Jakubowski does an excellent job of selecting a variety of stories that represent all strata of Venetian life, from tourists visiting for Carnevale to criminals running illegal operations in the bay; there are even two stories told from the perspective of Venice's largest indigenous population: rats. A must-read for lovers of Venice, especially Donna Leon fans. Although longtime Venice resident Leon is not included herein fact, nearly all of the authors are little known to American readersthe presence of new and intriguing voices, many of them Italian, will pique the interest of international-mystery readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)