In this anthology, uncover a century of dark mystery stories set in America’s mighty capital. Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of city-based noir anthologies launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book is compromised of stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city in the book. The original D.C. Noir, a groundbreaking collection of new fiction by sixteen different writers, displayed the curatorial prowess of bestselling author George Pelecanos. In D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, Pelecanos once again assembles an enchanting array of dark and subversive stories, this time selecting the very best of Washington’s historical literary legacy. Classic reprints from: Edward P. Jones, George Pelecanos, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, James Grady, Julian Mayfield, Marita Golden, Elizabeth Hand, Julian Mazor, Ward Just, Jean Toomer, Roach Brown, Larry Neal, and others. Praise for D.C. Noir 2 “By broadly interpreting what constitutes noir, Pelecanos has been able to include writers as diverse as Langston Hughes and Ward Just in this high-quality reprint anthology. In his introduction, Pelecanos describes his vision of “a century-long overview of D.C. fiction that would focus on issues of race, ethnicity, politics, class, and the attendant struggles and changes that occurred in various eras of our history.” —Publishers Weekly

A trade paperback collection of 16 short stories, some new, some published before, all together for the first time, featuring Tess Monaghan, New York Times Bestselling author Laura Lippman’s acclaimed private eye For the first time together in one collection is a mix of brand new Tess Monaghan short mysteries as well as previously published, award-winning short stories. Split into three parts—Girls Gone Wild (seven stories about girls behaving badly); Other Cities, Not My Own (four stories about places outside of Baltimore); My Baby Walks the Streets of Baltimore (four stories and a profile)—the inimitable Tess Monaghan, along with some old friends and new faces, is back solving crime.

Pelecanos has established himself as D.C.'s reigning King of Noir, but here he pays tribute to the city's other great chroniclers of darkness, past and present, including Edward P. Jones, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Richard Wright, among others.

This original anthology of noir fiction set in Maryland’s Charm City includes new stories by David Simon, Laura Lippman, Jim Fusilli, and more. As fans of the HBO series The Wire have known for years, Baltimore is home to a rich and diverse underworld that is matched by an equally rich and diverse literary tradition. This is the city where Dashiell Hammett worked as a Pinkerton agent. It’s also where Zelda Fitzgerald came for psychiatric treatment. In this sterling collection of noir fiction, some of Baltimore’s best authors “confront the full irony that is Charm City, a place where you can go from the leafy beauty of the North Side neighborhoods to the gutted ghettos of the West Side in less than twenty minutes, then find your way to the revamped Inner Harbor in another ten” (Laura Lippman, from the introduction). Baltimore Noir includes brand-new stories by David Simon, Laura Lippman, Tim Cockey, Rob Hiaasen, Robert Ward, Sujata Massey, Jack Bludis, Rafael Alvarez, Marcia Talley, Joseph Wallace, Lisa Respers France, Charlie Stella, Sarah Weinman, Dan Fesperman, Jim Fusilli, and Ben Neihart.

From the bestselling and Emmy-nominated writer behind HBO's We Own This City: a "gripping, surprisingly soulful" mystery about an ex-offender who must choose between the man who got him out and the woman who showed him another path (Entertainment Weekly). Michael Hudson spends the long days in prison devouring books given to him by the prison's librarian, a young woman named Anna who develops a soft spot for her best student. Anna keeps passing Michael books until one day he disappears, suddenly released after a private detective manipulated a witness in Michael's trial. Outside, Michael encounters a Washington, D.C. that has changed a lot during his time locked up. Once shady storefronts are now trendy beer gardens and flower shops. But what hasn't changed is the hard choice between the temptation of crime and doing what's right. Trying to balance his new job, his love of reading, and the debt he owes to the man who got him released, Michael struggles to figure out his place in this new world before he loses control. Smart and fast-paced, The Man Who Came Uptown brings Washington, D.C. to life in a high-stakes story of tough choices.

Step into Indian Country. Enter the dark welter of troubled history throughout the Americas, where the heritage of violence meets the ferocity of intent. Features brand-new stories by: Mistina Bates, Jean Rae Baxter, Lawrence Block, Joseph Bruchac, David Cole, Reed Farrel Coleman, O'Neil De Noux, A.A. Hedge Coke, Gerard Houarner, Liz Mart nez, R. Narvaez, Kimberly Roppolo, Leonard Schonberg, and Melissa Yi. Sarah Cortez, a law enforcement officer, is the award-winning author of the poetry collection How to Undress a Cop. She brings her heritage as a Tejana with Mexican, French, Comanche, and Spanish blood to the written page. Liz Mart nez's stories have appeared in Manhattan Noir, Queens Noir, and Cop Tales 2000. She is a member of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, and she lives in New York.

This groundbreaking series from ALAN MOORE, the award-winning writer of V FOR VENDETTA and BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history, the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect. WATCHMEN begins as a murder mystery but soon unfolds into a planet-altering conspiracy. As the resolution comes to a head, the unlikely group of reunited heroes—Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias—must test the limits of their convictions and ask themselves where the true line is between good and evil. WATCHMEN NOIR presents the most celebrated graphic novel of all time in gritty black-and-white pencils and inks, highlighting illustrator DAVE GIBBONS’ masterful artwork.