The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

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Hello crime fiction readers! We’re thrilled to be a part of this discussion.

Akashic Books is an independent company publishing a range of literary fiction and political nonfiction by a diverse array of authors, from Ziggy Marley to Amiri Baraka. Of particular interest to the Mystery, Crime, and Thriller readers of this group, we host the Noir Series, one of Akashic’s additional imprints.

Our Noir Series is an award-winning collection of noir short story anthologies, each set in a specific locale (typically cities, though there have been a few exceptions!). We began our series in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir , edited by Tim McLoughlin; over the past ten years, we've published over 60 volumes in the series, and count Dennis Lehane (Boston), Joyce Carol Oates (New Jersey & Prison Noir (forthcoming)), George Pelecanos (DC), Edwidge Danticat (Haiti), and Lawrence Block (Manhattan) among our list of many, many other wonderful editors. A complete list of our Noir Series, including our confirmed forthcoming titles, can be found on our website.

We’re very excited to share some of our forthcoming mystery titles of 2014 with you. Here are a few:

Prison Noir
Edited by Joyce Carol Oates
9/2/14

Enter to win a copy via Goodreads’ First Reads Program!

Prison Noir is the newest anthology in our Noir Series, due to be released on September 2, 2014. Unlike our typical Noir Series volumes, this anthology — curated and edited by Joyce Carol Oates — features fifteen brand-new noir stories, all set within prisons across the US. All of the contributors to the anthology have been or are currently incarcerated, making Prison Noir a groundbreaking collection of stories that presents readers with a unique behind-the-bars perspective into prison life.

“A remarkable anthology of stories written by inmates of correctional institutions across America. Most importantly, this landmark volume amplifies the voices of the incarcerated.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Included in Publishers Weekly’s Fall Preview (Mysteries & Thrillers)

The Luminous Heart of Jonah S.
By Gina B. Nahai
10/7/14

From Tehran to Los Angeles, best-selling author Gina B. Nahai’s thrilling and hilarious new novel mixes murder mystery with family saga, exploring the history of Los Angeles’s Iranian Jewish community and a broader cross-cultural immigrant experience.

“With The Luminous Heart of Jonah S., Orange Prize and IMPAC Award finalist Gina B. Nahai returns after seven years with another novel of bristly beauty, offering a distinctive look at Iranian Jewish life in America.” —Library Journal, Books for the Masses/Editors’ Picks BEA 2014

“Gina B. Nahai has written a brilliant, funny, poignant, and thrilling novel about an Iranian Jewish family’s struggle to find its identity in exile in America. Part murder mystery, part comic novel, The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. is a book you will not be able to put down.” —Reza Aslan, author of Zealot and No god but God

“Nahai’s writing recalls that of Gabriel García Márquez and Amy Tan, yet her prose bears its own stamp of inventiveness and vivacity...A modern-day Scheherazade.”—Orlando Sentinel

“From her clear-eyed yet deeply emphatic perch in the New World, Nahai sounds the emotional costs of exile as she explores the trauma of loss for her fellow émigrés. She is, after all, that subculture’s finest chronicler.” —Chicago Tribune

Tehran at Twilight
By Salar Abdoh
10/7/14

Salar Abdoh offers a telling glimpse into contemporary Tehran in his exhilarating new novel, set in 2008. Tehran at Twilight follows Reza Malek, a former reporter now living a modest life teaching at a local university, as he reluctantly returns to Tehran during a time of impending revolution. Friendship betrayal and international intrigue populate this brilliant novel in the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carré.

“Abdoh deftly captures the uneasy atmosphere of 2008 Tehran, swirling with betrayal and corruption.” —Library Journal, Books for the Masses/Editors’ Picks BEA 2014

“A smart political thriller for our modern times.” —Laila Lalami, author of Secret Son

“Tehran at Twilight is a remarkable meditation on violence, and on all the ways one bears witness to pain…At the center lies the story of two friends whos paths have diverged, and of love restored between a mother and a son. A smart, eloquent novel.” —Dalia Sofer, author of The Septembers of Shiraz

You've some very interesting looking books, especially the Noir series. I'll have to check them out. Thanks for posting here.

Just want to say hi, and thanks for posting. I've enjoyed several of your anthologies over the years - plus I live in the DC area and am a huge George Pelecanos fan!

I love the noir anthologies. Glad to "see" you here, Susannah!

Glad to be here, and thanks for inviting us to participate in this great group, Nancy!

I just preordered Prison Noir -- this looks incredibly good! Thanks!