"She's a touch thick, not quite shed of her winter fat, but she wears her flesh with oblivious self-assurance. I have no doubt a man with a flatter belly could pay her bar tab and bed her the same night, with no idea of the problems she'll cause over breakfast."
-- From "Coffee, Black" by Bill Cameron in Portland Noir, edited by Kevin Sampsell.
This collection of original short stories is all over the map -- if the map is Portland, Oregon. Each one is set in a different neighborhood in the Rose City, but all those neighborhoods are in the seedy underbelly of my city.
I am half-way through the collection, and so far, Bill Cameron's story is my favorite. It is traditional, hard-boiled detective noir -- but caffeinated. This coffee-house mystery perfectly captures Portland's espresso-fueled culture.
Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.
Oh, he's good. Nice tease from Cameron's story. My teaser.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting teaser. Wonder what mischief is in the works for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week and happy reading. My teaser is here .
Very interesting teaser. Wonder what mischief is in the works for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week and happy reading. My teaser is here .
I love the cover of this book!
ReplyDeleteBD -- Yes, he is! I want to find his books and give them a try. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteKaye -- I know! That sentence packs in a lot of possibilities. Thanks for your link.
Connie -- It's a great cover. Do you live in Portland? If not, the picture is of a statue in Pioneer Square downtown. It's just a man with an umbrella, but he seems very Portland, for some reason.
>This coffee-house mystery perfectly captures Portland's espresso-fueled culture.
ReplyDeleteNicely put! I'm thinking about visiting Portland this summer on our way to Ashland Shakespeare, but reading about the underbelly of the city may not be the best way to learn about the city.
Still, I love short stories and this sounds like an interesting collection.
I can totally picture it - what a great teaser.
ReplyDeletehere's my teaser at arch thinking.
I like your description as much as the teaser.
ReplyDeleteMine is here.
sounds like a good read -- love short fiction.
ReplyDeletehere's mine
http://blog.readinggroupchoices.com/content/blog/barbara/10/february/teaser-tuesday-223-angelology-danielle-trussoni
Wow, this one sounds like something I definitely need to check out. Love the teaser!
ReplyDeleteGreat teaser!
ReplyDeleteHere is mine: http://twe.ly/5Ac
Jennifer @ Mrs.Q: Book Addict
http://web.me.com/quirion
Jane -- Thanks! There are plenty of nice places to visit in Portland without seeing the underbelly!
ReplyDeleteLoren -- Thanks for your link. I'll go visit now.
Alice -- Thanks for the compliment! And the link.
Barbara -- I don't usually read short stories, so it is hard for me to get into a whole book of them. But I am enjoying this one. Thanks for the link.
Joy -- This was definitely my favorite of the stories so far. Several are very good, a couple didn't appeal to me because they featured young characters -- I question whether 20-somethings can be "noir." :)
Jennifer -- Thanks for your link.
This sounds really interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat cover, sneaky teaser. It's the kind of thing I wish I'd thought of writing and put in one of my books.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm
P.S. My teaser is here:
http://jockstewart.typepad.com/writers_notebook/2010/02/tuesday-teaser-a-chaunce-of-riches.html
Sheila -- Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteSS -- It is a sneaky teaser! That breakfast comment opens the door to so many possibilities. Thanks for the link.