[Anthology 2010 01] • Florida Heatwave

Florida may no longer be the crime-fiction hot spot it was in the wake of Miami Vice (and the cocaine cowboys of South Beach), but perhaps the union’s most distinctive, diverse, and perverse state still boasts an impressive list of crime writers. This anthology brings together many of those writers to celebrate not only the state’s richness as a setting but also the special power of the short story. Included are James W. Hall, Tom Corcoran, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, James. O. Born, John Dufresne, and Jonathan King—names just about every fan will recognize and writers whose use of the Florida landscape is at the heart of their work. Also included are well-known writers, such as John Lutz, whose work is set in a variety of locations not limited to Florida. The quality of the stories is high across the board, making this collection of definite interest both to followers of Florida crime fiction specifically and to anyone who enjoys the hard-boiled and noir styles. --Steve Glassman

From the pine-tree lined rural highways of North Florida through the tourist traps of Central Florida to the tropical, international environs of SOBE, come stories of sun-faded noir, orange pulp served up freshly squeezed by the Sunshine State's very best practitioners.