"Neon noir"? I have to admit that I had never heard that term before... Anthology editor Michael Pool describes the essence of neon noir as "Bright lights, glass-block windows, dark cityscapes filled with unsavory elements all looking for an easy come up, only to discover that nothing in life comes easy. Femme fatales... wacky characters..." he believes it is most appropriately applied to neo-noir films of the 1980's. It is in that spirit that this compilation of stories is presented.

The eighteen short stories presented are all first rate, some better than others, but not a bad one in the bunch. An added bonus is the '80's backdrop. I was 13-years-old when the '80's began, twenty-three when they ended, so I guess it could be said that they were my formative years. While I was not particularly nostalgic for that time it was such fun to revisit it through these stories.

And make no mistake, these stories are chock full of authentic '80's pop-culture references:

"No doy." "No way, Jose." "...and the horse you rode in on!" Wrestle Mania, Duran Duran, Oingo Boingo, Love Connection with Chuck Woolery, cassette tapes, Sony Walkman, and MTV actually played music videos.

As an added bonus there is even a story featuring Crockett and Tubbs - the characters from the Miami Vice television show.

Okay, so enough of the '80's nerd geek-out. Some of the stories in this collection are universal, they would be the same no matter when they were set, a few changes here and there and they could easily be set in any era. Others are so completely part of the decade that they could not take place anywhen else - they simply would not make sense at any other time before or after. And, frankly, there are even two or three that get a little carried away with the "totally awesome '80's" vibe to the point that it gets mildly annoying.

I highly recommend this to any fan of noir with even a passing interest in the '80's. It's also pretty good even if you aren't much of an '80's fan but enjoy a good noir yarn. It's a fun read!

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

Very uneven. The premise was great but most of the stories fell short.