Akashic Noir books in order

Reading order

The Akashic Noir series is a long-running anthology collection from Akashic Books, with each volume dedicated to a different city around the world. Launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir, the series has grown to include well over a hundred volumes spanning cities from Havana to Helsinki. Each book gathers original short stories from a mix of established and emerging writers, all set in the featured city’s neighborhoods and steeped in the dark, morally complex tone that defines noir fiction.

Tayari Jones is among the many contributors to the series, which has featured work from writers across a wide range of backgrounds and styles. The anthologies are edited by different authors for each city, giving every volume a distinct local flavor. The series has become one of the most recognized anthology projects in contemporary crime fiction, offering readers a literary tour of urban life at its grittiest.