James Ellroy

Otto Penzler

Collects the best noir writing from 1910 to 2010, including works by James M. Cain, Joyce Carol Oates, Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Evan Hunter, Mickey Spillane, Patricia Highsmith, and William Gay.

The Best American Noir of the Century

Bryan Alexander

A delightful romp though literary noir. The selection ranges through the 20th century, emphasizing the later decades more than the earlier. 

Stories cover a lot of ground within the introduction's fairly specific genre definition. Tales work with other domains and genres, including crime, mystery, sex, science fiction, and horror. 

Interesting to see so much rural, rather than urban noir. We often associate the genre with hard-bitten city streets.

The Best American Noir of the Century

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