San Francisco Noir - Peter Maravelis (ed.)

Years ago I was wandering around Westwood waiting for a friend and I stumbled upon a Mystery Bookstore. One of their displays featured this "noir" series from various cities across the United States. I wanted the one from San Francisco, but they were sold out. So, I settled on The Maltese Falcon - a great introduction to noir fiction (also known as hardboiled detective stories). Then the other day, I was browsing in the library, and I found it. Each of the short stories in this collection takes place in a different San Francisco neighborhood, and together form a great review of the genre. As expected, some of the stories are unnecessarily bloody and violent. In these stories, the main character is usually the perpetrator or a victim, or somehow tied to the crime - but rarely the detective (unlike Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe). Sex plays a huge role, and the characters are rarely likeable, and always self-destructive. The dialogue is choppy, but direct, and the writing really manages to evoke a mood of dread and anticipation. I question why I enjoy these stories so much. There's just something about them - despite the stereotypes and hopelessness - I keep getting drawn in and left wanting more.