Vancouver Noir features new stories from Timothy Taylor, Sheena Kamal, Nathan Ripley, Yasuko Thanh, Carleigh Baker, Dietrich Kalteis, Linda Richards, Robin Spano, Nick Mamatas, RM Greenaway, Don English, SG Wong, Kristi Charish...and yours truly. The astonishing cover art comes from the great Mel Yap.
"The stories range widely in their subject matter and writing styles, but they have a couple of things in common: impeccably rendered characters, dialogue that rings true, and a plot that pulls the reader in from the very first paragraph. Another winner in this always-interesting series and a real treat for fans of short crime fiction."
Booklist
"Vancouver Noir is an excellent anthology that would appeal to short-story fans of all types...the new anthology serves as a fantastic introduction for those unfamiliar with the genre and a reminder that Canada, bursting with amazing writers, is one of the strongest countries for crime writing in the world."
Quill and Quire, starred review
"Noir aficionados will find plenty to like"
Publishers Weekly
"Given the book's mix of wily pros, moody misfits, bewildered bystanders, and a touch of the supernatural, Wiebe makes a strong case that as far as crime is concerned, Vancouver is "a city like any other.""
Kirkus
"This is the perfect balance of captivating page-turners and hard-hitting social noirs."
CrimeReads
From the introduction:
"You might wonder what shadows could exist in Vancouver, rain-spattered jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Nestled between the US border and the Coast Mountains, the city's postcard charms are familiar, even to those who've never been here, thanks to the films and TV shows shot in Hollywood North: The X-Files and Deadpool, Rumble in the Bronx and Jason Takes Manhattan. Vancouver is the so-called City of Glass. A nice place, in any case, and much too nice for noir. Looked at from afar, Vancouver may seem idyllic.
But living here is different--cold and baffling and occasionally hostile. While outsiders focus on high-test BC bud, locals see a heroin crises: Vancouver is home to the first legalized safe injection site in North America, now heavily taxed by overdoses resulting from street drugs cut with fentanyl. It's ground zero for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a nationwide catastrophe involving the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of marginalized women. Money and status trample culture and community.
If Vancouver is a city of glass, that glass is underneath our feet."
"All told, there can be no doubt that local crime fiction is having a moment, carving out a new, and very different, space within CanLit."
Montecristo Magazine
The 14 new stories here—selected by renowned Vancouver crime novelist Sam Wiebe,
who has himself contributed a tale—are by a heavy-hitting roster of local talent."
The Georgia Straight
"Vancouver is the noirest city in the country, and probably one of the noirest in the world...be glad [Vancouver Noir] exists, and that it will do the work to wrench Vancouver’s identity away from the banality of real estate into something chewy, like literary murder."
The Toronto Star
"Vancouver Gets its Moment of Noir--a great way to explore murder, violence,
abductions, and unhappy endings."
The Globe and Mail
