I've had this ER book for quite a while, part of that stack I spoke of before in this thread. Reading these 14 stories may prevent me from ever going to Marseille.

On the other hand, I feel like I've already been there. The vivid squalor described in these stories, the crime, mainly drug smuggling, prostitution and murder, the feeling of heat and wet and grit are all palpable. The infamous Chateau d'If is just off the coast, and you can see Marseille from the prison. Imagine Edmund Dantes staring at the city from his prison cell!

Each of the 14 stories is set in one of the villages comprising the city, but the international population is everywhere; immigrants from the Comoros and other African countries, Europeans who strayed into Marseille with romantic notions and got caught in its poverty and disillusionment. In a way these stories are intimate: a boy is mesmerized by four crazy sisters on his street, a woman takes the last ferry to an island in the archipelago that stretches out from the bay, carrying on a conversation by herself, people carry out revenge or don't, another man is tormented by the music from across the narrow street. In spite of the bright Mediterranean and the nearby beaches, these stories are truly noir. ( )

Liked this collection for the stories but had trouble placing myself in the settings having never been to France. Settings and sociological norms help with story appreciation. Ok for collectors of this series but I couldn't get into it. ( )

First off I received this as an LT Early Reviewer. I have really enjoyed this series of Noir mystery short stories. Keep in mind that the authors (and whether you will enjoy a particular story) is all over the board. There are 14 stories in this book and many of them focus on the darker side of Marseille. I am now interested in the Mediterranean Ethnology Museum because it was mentioned in a number of the stories. Great series and another good book in the line. 3 STARS. ( )

I'm a big Jean-Claude Izzo fan and have read his deeply moving and compelling neo noir "Marseille Trilogy" more than one. This collection is like having a bit more of him to read, though not exactly but close enough. What more can I say? Yes, these all-well-written stories make you wonder if you ever want to spend time in Marseille--and if you did end up there you couldn't help but be privy to hidden lifestyle that lay just a scratch below the surface of the quotidian.
So far I've read Noir from this series--Pittsburgh,Mumbai--and they are delightful & dark. Marseille Noir is just another dark beautiful feather in Akashic Books hat. ( )

Another outstanding hard hitting noir collection from Akashic. Like the two previous books I've read in the series, Chicago Noir & Zagreb Noir, the 14 stories here all rate between good and excellent. The stories all have a real dark edge and make you wonder how safe or nice it really is to live there. I remember that while living in Europe back in the 80s and 90s Marseille was known as the seediest (e.g., drunken sailors, North African immigrant street thugs, petty hustlers) and most dangerous city in Europe, with only Napoli approaching it for a crime-ridden reputation. After reading this it seems that the rep was well deserved. All the stories here reflect that seediness, although I note an optimistic overall effort to reflect the perhaps superficial efforts of the city to change its image (The recent opening of Marseille's apparently world-class Mediterranean Ethnology Museum (MuCEM) is mentioned in at least half the stories). So there's a bit of light here, however faint. ( )