21st Century Noir — Michael Bracken

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 5, the fifth entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is another crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor. Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn't often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century. Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finnis a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you've finished reading every story, you'll know that you've been slipped a Mickey. The eighteen contributors, including some of today's most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include: K.L. Abrahamson, Alan Barker, Michael Chandos, Caleb Coy, Eddie Generous, Nils Gilbertson, James A. Hearn, Hugh Lessig, Sean McCluskey, Tom Milani, Bill W. Morgan, Alan Orloff, Travis Richardson, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Robb T. White, Sam Wiebe, Joseph S. Walker, and Stacy Woodson.