Columbus Noir

 Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (ed). Columbus Noir. Brooklyn : Akashic 2020. Print.

First Sentences:

You can kill a lot more than time in Columbus these days. Gang slayings, fetanyl poisoning, murder-suicide: we have it all, soup to nuts. Yet it's not like the older, supposedly kinder and gentler Columbus had completely disappeared. 


Description:

I thought I had found a rare and unique gem in Columbus Noir (edited by Andrew Welsh-Huggins). What a great idea it presented: crime writings by authors from Columbus, Ohio, using their city as the backdrop for every one of their short stories. I revealed great writing from local authors of renown who allowed me to recognize landmark sites in Columbus along with familiar restaurants and neighborhoods on every page. 

 

Little did I know that Akashic Press, publishers of Columbus Noir, had created similar dark crime books from local authors for 123 different cities. So, while Colmbus Noir is not a unique concept, nonetheless it is well worth the time of any reader interested in this seedy mystery/detective/crime fiction, especially if you want to read offerings from authors you may not be familiar with which focus on Columbus.

 

Like all great noir fiction, this collection is full of tales of hardened men, gorgeous women, nefarious baddies, dark streets, and twisty plots. Always, one can never be certain which character is telling the truth, who is plotting a double cross, and who will come through (or run away) when the going gets tough, as it always does. 

 

The characters are clearly drawn, but full of complexities that are only revealed later. The plots are wildly compelling, offering no easy courses of action which will release the characters from threatening situations without engaging in some sort of evil or violent solutions. 

 

Here's a sampling of the crime stories you will find here:

• A college graduate assistant teacher who falls for a beautiful student, but soon needs to end the relationship without incriminating himself;

• A gossipy woman overhears the plans of a young woman and her fiance to marry without her parents' approval, then works behind the scenes to disrupt their future;

• A cop who has been stealing drugs from the police evidence storage is discovered by a ruthless criminal who threatens him with exposure;

• A beautiful real estate agent begins an affair with her ordinary-looking next door neighbor to start a house-flipping partnership;

• A young girl, seeking drugs for her abusive boyfriend, hides out in a cemetery where she meets an old man offering her shelter, wisdom, and maybe more. 

Needless to say, I devoured these tales quickly. Each story was gripping, full of questionable characters that I thought I knew and could predict their intentions and actions ... right up to the very end when everything always got turned on its head. A great read to curl up with and experience a darker side of Columbus and its inhabitants.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Welsh-Huggins. The Mailman.

The editor of Columbus Noir has written this wonderfully gripping, unpredictable thriller that I only recently discovered. One of the best I have ever read, and now highly recommend it. 

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 480 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Fourth Down and Out

Welsh-Huggins, Andrew. Fourth Down and Out. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. 2014. Print.

First Sentences:

"Hey! Woody Hayes!"

I was almost home when I heard the man's voice. I shouldn't have turned around. Partly because I haven't been called that name by anyone I consider a friend in close to two decades.

Description:

I've always evaluated books based on plot, character, and writing style. But sometimes there is one additional characteristic: location. Whether you like stories that take place on the moon, in a historical setting, or some dream spot like a beach or deep jungle, sometimes the environment is lure enough to continue reading. Such is the case for Andrew Welsh-Huggins' debut detective novel, Fourth Down and Out. The hook? It's set in the "Mean streets' of Columbus, Ohio, my home.

There is a special pleasure to reading about characters sitting in your favorite restaurant, driving around familiar neighborhoods, and weaving around on roads you have driven on yourself. And when the protaganist is a former disgraced quarterback from The Ohio State University (who is my former place of employment), I'm all in.

In Fourth Down and Out (a ridiculous title), something Andy Hayes did twenty years ago during the Michigan/Ohio State football game that sent his football and personal life into a downward spiral. Now starting as a private investigor, Hayes is given an assignment to recover computer files being used to blackmail a prominent citizen. But when Hayes' own house in German Village is broken into, he finds himself more deeply involved than merely professionally.

It is the dialog and people that set Welsh-Huggins apart as a writer. Not content to provide a ripping detective story, Welsh-Huggins adds Columbus football-crazed characters who are slow to forget Hayes' on-field transgression (it is revealed near the end). Of course, Hayes constantly has to endure catcalls of "Woody" from passersby, a reference to the famous coach but also, we find out, a link to his downfall.

Fourth Down and Out is a very pleasant addition to modern detective fiction with interesting characters, plot, writing style, and now the setting. Lots of fun for those familiar with Columbus, but prior geographic knowledge of the Arch City is not required. Enjoy.

Happy reading. 

Fred

(See more recommended books)
________________________________________

If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Young, Carrie. The Wedding Dress

More wonderful recollections about the people and life in the small farming community on the North Dakota plains. (previously reviewed here)