This anthology of Mississippi crime fiction “has produced a unique, delicious flavor of noir” with stories by Ace Atkins, Megan Abott and more (New York Daily News).
From poverty to state corruption, Mississippi has a well-deserved reputation for trouble. Could there be a connection between its many misfortunes and its rich literary legacy? Mississippians from Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty to Richard Ford and John Grisham certainly know how to tell a good story. Now Mississippi Noir offers “a devilishly wrought introduction” to a new generation of “writers with a feel for Mississippi who are pursuing lonely, haunting paths of the imagination” (Associated Press).
Mississippi Noir includes brand-new stories by Ace Atkins, William Boyle, Megan Abbott, Jack Pendarvis, Dominiqua Dickey, Michael Kardos, Jamie Paige, Jimmy Cajoleas, Chris Offutt, Michael Farris Smith, Andrew Paul, Lee Durkee, Robert Busby, John M. Floyd, RaShell R. Smith-Spears, and Mary Miller.
Tom Franklin is the author of Poachers: Stories and three novels, Hell at the Breech, Smonk, and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, the Willie Morris Prize in Southern Fiction, and the UK's Gold Dagger Award for Best Novel. His latest novel, The Tilted World, was cowritten with his wife, Beth Ann Fennelly. They live in Oxford, Mississippi, where they teach in the University of Mississippi's MFA program.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Conquest&Revenge “Combustible” by Ace Atkins (Paris) “Lord of Madison County” by Jimmy Cajoleas (Madison) “Losing Her Religion” by RaShell R. Smith-Spears (Jackson) “Most Things Haven’t Worked Out” by William Boyle (Holly Springs)
Part II: Wayward Youth “Uphill” by Mary Miller (Biloxi) “Boy and Girl Games Like Coupling” by Jamie Paige (Lauderdale County) “Oxford Girl” by Megan Abbott (Oxford) “Digits” by Michael Kardos (Winston County)
Part III: Bloodlines “Moonface” by Andrew Paul (Thief) “God’s Gonna Trouble the Water” by Dominiqua Dickey (Grenada) “My Dear, My One True Love” by Lee Durkee (Gulfport) “Hero” by Michael Farris Smith (Magnolia)
Part IV: Skipping Town “Pit Stop” by John M. Floyd (State Highway 25) “Anglers of the Keep” by Robert Busby (Olive Branch) “Jerry Lewis” by Jack Pendarvis (Yoknapatawpha County) “Cheap Suitcase and a New Town” by Chris Offutt (Lucedale)
