Nobody does the Blues like Chicago. This stunning collection of dark stories, from the best of today’s Chicago crime fiction authors, captures the depths to which people sink when they have the Blues. The emptiness and pain spawned by revenge. The violence—and occasionally, the bittersweet redemption—that springs from deceit, desperation, or love gone bad. Contributors include Sara Paretsky, Stuart Kaminski, Barbara D’Amato, Max Allan Collins, Marcus Sakey, Sean Chercover, Michael Black, JA Konrath, Libby Fischer Hellmann, and others. With an introduction by Rick Kogan.
"Chicago: the urban electric blues were born here, and John Dillinger died here. Between these two towers arc great sparks of life, art, madness and soul. Libby Fischer Hellmann has managed to gather superstars and hungry young turks to craft a monument in words to this funky, mysterious and eternal American city. The echoes of backbeats and bullets roll across the haunted inland sea of Lake Michigan, and they'll rock you long after you finish reading this fine collection." -- Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter
"Each [story] has a restless energy and gritty style, like the city itself... This excellent book of short stories has my highest recommendation." -- Midwest Book Review
“Classy… this impressive volume has soul, grit, and plenty of high notes…” -- Publishers Weekly
“Twenty-one excellent reasons to stay out of the Windy City…” -- Kirkus Reviews
“An impressive group of stories… an amazing group of authors…” -- Crimespree Magazine
“If you want a sample of… big city noir, this one is a winner. A keeper.” Carl Brookins of Reviewing the Evidence
Libby Fischer Hellmann, author of the award-winning Chicago based Ellie Foreman series is the editor of Chicago Blues. Originally from Washington DC, Libby has lived in Chicago for 30 years, and finds the contrast between the beautiful and the profane in that city a crime writer’s paradise. When not writing fiction, she conducts executive training programs in presentation skills, speech delivery, and media interviews. Libby lives on the North Shore of Chicago with her family and a Beagle, shamelessly named Shiloh.
