The dank and sweaty crime scenes in Paris Noir testify to the fact that the French invented 'noir.' Among the jarring images in this story collection, Didier Daeninckx's murky view of the after-hours scene in Porte Saint-Denis and Marc Villard's gritty look at the sex trade in Les Halles are correctives to all those persistent romantic fantasies about the city. --New York Times

Featuring brand-new stories by: Didier Daeninckx, Jean-Bernard Pouy, Marc Villard, Chantal Pelletier, Patrick Pécherot, DOA, Hervé Prudon, Dominique Mainard, Salim Bachi, Jérôme Leroy, Laurent Martin, and Christophe Mercier.

From the editor's introduction:

Paris is a city that lives, and thus dies, every day. No point hiding behind history or war memories. What is a threat to Paris, to its noir dimension even, is potential 'museumification, ' the possibility of the city turning into a big theme park. In Paris, after all, everything is still there. All you have to do is look around with eyes wide open . . .

Beyond the lights, beyond the cafés and bars, Paris is sometimes like a grave. It's a city you run away from, or at least dream of running away from. But on every street corner, the past jumps at your throat like a grimacing hyena . . .

You don't inhabit your city, you dream it. All I can do now is invite you to enter the dream.