Wall Street Noir

I just discovered the Akashic Books’ Noir Series and Wow, do I have some reading to do! I picked Wall Street Noirup first because it contained a story by Megan Abbot, author of The Song is You, reviewed here in October. I had never read anything by the other authors contained in this anthology of crime stories that revolve around the theme of high finance and corporate transgression, and this was a great introduction to many of them. The wonderful thing about noir short stories as opposed to a novel is that the focus is always on the victims and perpetrators of crimes, not on the investigation that takes place afterward. We never meet any detectives here, just people who are about to wind up dead or in jail. It’s a great way to mix up the genre.

By far my favorite story was Five Days at the Sunset by Peter Speigleman, also the books’ editor. It takes place about as far as mentally possible from Wall Street only to point out just how far the financial world and its misdeeds can reach. The pace is slow to start but builds to a very surprise ending. Other highlights are Stephen Rhoades' At the Top of His Game with its dead-on descriptions of the nouveau riche’s clichéd suburbs and symbols of success; The Consultant by Peter Blauner, the first story I’ve ever read that casts a pregnant woman as the ultimate con-artist, I mean, consultant…; Richard Aleas’s The Quant which humorously explains murder in terms of percentages of financial risk; and The Day Trader in the Trunk of Cleto’s Car (Mark Haskell Smith), a story that combines the movie business, day trading, and L.A. gangs into a darkly funny tale of life’s last moments.

The only disappointment in the bunch was Lauren Sanders' Everything I’m Not. It has a wonderful build-up but the final conclusion leaves too many interesting storylines dangling; and the would-be ironic ending ends up reading a little dull. I wanted Jen to get caught AND her father end up dead, truly capitalizing on the despair of the situation.

It will take me awhile but I can’t wait to read more books in this series!

Silence of the Grave

Arnaldur Indridason hits it again! Silence of the Grave the follow up to Jar City, is a stinger, each storyline is like biting into a lemon, it smells so good but is oh so sour. I don’t know if this sounds complementary but I mean it with the highest praise. We return a few months where we last left Erlendur Sveinnson in Reykjavik. His daughter Eva Lind has disappeared during her seventh month of pregnancy after putting in a desperate call for help to her father, meanwhile Erlendur’s team is investigating the identity of decades old human remains uncovered on a construction site on the outskirts of the city. As usual Erlendur has good instincts about the bones and available clues despite being preoccupied with the search, discovery, and vigil for his daughter. I particularly liked a unique device Mr. Indridason uses throughout the book, he tells the back story of the bones simultaneously with that of the investigation, carefully unfolding a tale of domestic violence, love, and payback which comes to a head at the end of the book when the stories finally collide.

I enjoyed Silence of the Grave both for the mystery at hand and as the second installment in the life of Erlendur Sveinnson. Arnaldur Indridason has created the Icelandic Harry Bosch, who may actually be more compelling because of his sordid past and morose nature. Where Harry is likeable, Erlendur is difficult; his colleagues find him intriguing but keep him at bay. Where Harry has friends that stick by him, Erlendur is a lone wolf, somber and inaccessible, except perhaps to his daughter, if only she can survive the underworld of drugs she is trying to escape. Silence of the Grave lets readers in on a few more pieces of the puzzle that made Erlendur who he is and certainly the drama of his life will keep us coming back.

The only criticism I have of this book is that parts of the mystery are predictable; while there are some twists and turns and a very good dead end, ultimately the resolution of events is somewhat expected. I think the strength of the characters and their thoughts, however, makes up for this, with the human interest side of the story the most intriguing aspect of the book.