FICTION · AUTHORSHIP
John Dufresne
Jasper Sloan sat in front of the fire, a half-finished glass of whiskey on the arm of the chair beside him, a thick file of papers in his hand.
— from Flash
Most acclaimed
Boston noir
Brand-new stories by: Dennis Lehane, Stewart O'Nan, Patricia Powell, John Dufresne, Lynne Heitman, Don Lee, Russ Aborn, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Brendan DuBois, and Dana Cameron.Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Given Day) has proven himself to be a master of both crime-fiction and literary fiction. Here, he extends his literary prowess to that of master curator. In keeping with the Akashic Noir Series tradition, each story in Boston Noir is set in a different neighborhood of the city; the impressively diverse collection extends from Roxbury to Cambridge, from Southie to the Boston Harbor; and all stops in between. Lehane's own contribution—the longest story in the volume—is set in his beloved home neighborhood of Dorchester and showcases his phenomenal ability to grip the heart, soul, and throat of the reader.In 2003, Lehane's novel Mystic River was adapted into film and quickly garnered six Academy Award nominations (with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each winning Academy Awards).
Flash
Olivia Chantry may keep her desk in disarray, but she's a dynamo when it comes to business: her Seattle-based company, Light Fantastic, organizes dazzling events that create the flash her clients need to promote their products or their causes. Her marvelous success has almost made up for a marriage that ended in disaster and left her wedded to a career instead of a mate. She certainly has enough on her well-sculpted shoulders when she inherits a portion -- 49 percent, to be precise -- of Glow, Inc., her uncle's high-tech lighting firm. But it's the interloper who bagged the other 51 percent with whom Olivia has butted heads: Jasper Sloan, a venture capitalist and dealmaker known as a man with all his ducks in a row, and his neat, orderly life under control. From the start of their feisty business dealings, the so-called partners nearly crash and burn: they are suspicious of each other's motives. They disagree about management style. They argue about Glow's policy of employing members of the Chantry family, from Olivia's cousin Bolivar to her Aunt Zara, the ex-soap star. But the snap, crackle and pop of their sexual energy can not be denied. Now, their steamy joint venture is headed unmistakably in one direction: trouble. As Olivia and Sloan soon discover, a blackmailer is hard at work inside Glow, Inc., uncovering secrets that they both had reason to hide -- and that may come back to haunt them. Suddenly their new relationship faces the acid test of truth...and a need for absolute trust. They might fight each other all the way, but when extortion turns to murder, a union of their minds -- and hearts -- might be their only chance to stay alive.
Naked Came the Manatee
Naked Came the Manatee is a novel like no other: a wickedly funny Florida suspense thriller, written serially by thirteen of the state's most talented writers. In November 1995, a baker's dozen of Florida's finest writers began a serial novel for The Miami Herald's Tropic magazine under the guidance of Tropic's editor Tom Shroder - one writer passing the completed chapters to the next - and with each chapter, the excitement grew.