São Paulo Noir

For a short-story series literally dozens and dozens of books deep, you would be forgiven for thinking the quality would drop off at some point. And yet, Sao Paulo Noir might be the strongest entry yet in the long-running and globe-spanning Akashic Noir series.

Editor Tony Bellotto clearly has the Midas touch when it comes to selecting stories, as not only does Sao Paulo Noir contain easily the most haunting entry in the entire series — a missing-person case juxtaposed with the parallel story of John Lennon’s murder — it also features the indisputably funniest entry in the series, a bumbling detective’s efforts to solve an old woman’s murder.

Although these two high points for the collection truly stand out, most of the other entries hold their own, adding a heavy-hitter feel to the collection, even though I was unfamiliar with most, if not all, of the contributors. The collection is more eclectic and energetic than previous entries, improving on the strong track record of the series thus far and taking it in new, exciting directions.

At a time when most series would be running on fumes, Sao Paulo Noir excelled.