Ode to the O's — Charlie Stella

Akashic Books charges forth with its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with BROOKLYN NOIR. Each book is comprised- of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. In the urban locale unaffectionately called Bulletmore, in the state of the Union ingloriously labeled Murderland, there is but one queenpin to handle the job: Laura Lippman.

The writers in this collection eschew nostalgia without sacrificing affection. They confront the full irony that is Charm City, a place where you can go from the leafy beauty of the North Side neighborhoods to the gutted ghettos of the West Side in less than twenty minutes, then find your way to the revamped Inner Harbor in another ten. Homegrown Baltimore philosopher Virginia Baker once said: "If it ain't right and it ain't decent, stay the hell away from it." Alas, Virginia. Baltimdre's not right. It's hardly even polite anymore. But for a Baltmore writer, escape is the one concept where the imagination steadfastly fails. We belong here.
-- LAURA LIPPMAN, from the introduction