L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories

Title: L.A. Noir: The Collected Stories
Author: Rockstar Games (Edited by Jonathan Santlofer)
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Source: Bought it!

Rockstar Games has partnered with Mulholland Books to publish a collection of short fiction expanding the world of the newest groundbreaking achievement in storytelling: the interactive crime thriller L.A. Noire.

1940s Hollywood, murder, deception and mystery take center stage as readers reintroduce themselves to characters seen in L.A. Noire. Explore the lives of actresses desperate for the Hollywood spotlight; heroes turned defeated men; and classic Noir villains. Readers will come across not only familiar faces, but familiar cases from the game that take on a new spin to tell the tales of emotionally torn protagonists, depraved schemers and their ill-fated victims.

With original short fiction by Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski and Andrew Vachss, L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories breathes new life into a time-honored American tradition, in an exciting anthology that will appeal to fans of suspense and gamers everywhere.

L.A. Noire

The month before we turned 40, my husband and I spent a week in New York city to celebrate our upcoming milestone. We dined at fancy (and not so fancy) restaurants, sampled goodies from The Magnolia Bakery and Donut Plant, visited several art galleries and museums, and saw some unforgettable stage performances. I recall the sidewalk advertisements for the video game and short story collection. Upon learning of the various authors in this collection, I purchased it. Don’t we have to hear or read about an item eight times before we’re moved to purchase it?

Fortunately, none of the stories in the collection are repetitive. Each story has its own cover and covers different themes and characters from the genre. It’s a nice survey of Hollywood in the 1940s. I read some of the characters are also in the video game but I can’t say if it’s accurate or not. I’ve never played the game.

Several of the authors were known to me through previous work and I’m sure this was a fun exercise for them. Some of the stories are quite dark in tone so you probably don’t want to read them while eating in a diner or waiting at the bus stop. They may hit a little too close for comfort.

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