D.C. Noir 2: The Classics (Akashic Noir)

Rather than just traveling the same mean streets as the first “D.C. Noir” — a much-lauded gathering of original tales — this new anthology of 16 works (stories, novel excerpts and one poem) draws on more than a century of published writings. Stretching from Paul Laurence Dunbar’s story “A Council of State” (1900) to the first chapter of Marita Golden’s novel “After” (2006), the collection strives for historical comprehensiveness. The older works combine insight into the past with timeless relevance: Dunbar explores behind-the-scenes maneuvering at a political convention, for example, and Ward Just’s “Nora” (1971) exposes a female journalist’s affair with a young senator with “vice-presidential possibilities.”

Washington Post Book Reviews - D.C. NOIR 2: The Classics - ArcaMax Publishing.