DARK DEALINGS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA SUN: SACRAMENTO NOIR edited by JOHN FREEMAN

At this point in the Akashic "City Noir" series, when a new title is announced, I think one of two things, "I can't believe they didn't do that city already." or "That city for noir?". The later was my reaction to Sacramento Noir edited by John Freeman. The California capitol with it's university, fair weather, and fair citizens didn't appear to support the form's staples. However, this collection adheres to the biggest noir rule, things are never as they appear.

Part One- Family Business combines two of the Akashic Noir themes, family and the minority experience. The first story, "Take As Needed" by Shelly Blanton-Stroud has a woman with few options moving into her grandmother's estate with shades of Miss Haversham's or Norma Desmond's, coming at odds with her caretakers. The author employs ouched of humor that make the ending even more chilling. The next story, Naomi J. Williams "Sakura City" views generations of Asian Americans, followed by Maceo Montoya's take on Chicano life through the politics of an art collective, "A Significant Action.". Crimes in Afghanistan follow Jamil Jan Kochai's "The Former Detective."

I found Part 2: Collisions to be the stand out section. Jen Soong's "Ghost Boy" has us wondering if we're reading a psychological or supernatural thriller. In "Down River, 1949", Jose' Vadi plays with point of view and classic noir style with a card game robbery. Janet Rodriguez's "The Key in the Tignangello Bag" connects a collector to a disturbed woman. The editor's own story "Intersection" delivers a quirky noir that begins with the line, "The first thing you need to realize is everyone likes to talk about U.F.O.s". It feels like an early Jim Jarmusch film, but doesn't end that way.

The title of the last section borrows from Dickens, A Tale Of Two Cities. Maureen O'Leary finds a funny humanist vibe in the outlook of a juvenile criminal at a crossroads in "One Thing About Blue'. Luis Avalos also applies moments of comedy with his academia set caper "A Textbook Example." Nora Rodriguez's "Painted Ladies" seems to distill the entire anthology's tones and themes for the capper.

Two other stories are William T. Vollmann's look at the homeless in "Reflections of the Public" and the relationship between an artist in Reyna Grande's "The Sacrament". Most of the writers John Reeman rounded up, including himself, take a left of center approach to noir when setting it in Sacramento. The approach allows you to se both the city and genre in a different light.