"The big city has no lock on misery in these 16 portraits of dark doings in the Deep South."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Mississippi, as Franklin notes in his introduction, has the most corrupt government, the highest rate of various preventable ills, and the highest poverty rate in the country. In short, the state is a natural backdrop for noir fiction. The 16 stories...emerge from a cauldron of sex, race, ignorance, poverty, bigotry, misunderstanding, and sheer misfortune."
--Publishers Weekly
"With the most corrupt government, the highest rate of preventable diseases, and the highest poverty rate in the country, Mississippi is a natural fit for Akashic's noir anthology series."
--Publishers Weekly, Fall 2016 Announcements
"Mississippi boasts a notably corrupt state government and the highest rate of poverty in the country. No wonder, then, that area writers have found some pretty nasty stories to tell, several of which are included here: stories about a girl who murders her mother's live-in boyfriend; a drug dealer who goes to extreme lengths to repay his source; a jilted lover who kills her exlover's wife; college students who are having their fingers removed. And, of course, stories about sex and rage and white trash. Some of the 16 contributors are appearing in print for the first time, and some big names--Megan Abbott and Ace Atkins, for example--offer fine stories."
--Booklist
"The prose reflects the striking, albeit morbid, writing that has been associated with Southern fiction since Faulkner dreamed up Yoknapatawpha County...This collection provides readers with well-crafted, dark stories of Mississippi mistakes and misdeeds that are told in such a way that allow for each individual contributor's voice to shine through...The latest addition to dark Mississippi fiction is not one to be missed.
--Oxford Citizen
Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the geographic area of the book.
Brand-new stories by: Ace Atkins, William Boyle, Megan Abbott, Jack Pendarvis, Dominiqua Dickey, Michael Kardos, Jamie Paige, Jimmy Cajoleas, Chris Offutt, Michael Farris Smith, Andrew Paul, Lee Durkee, Robert Busby, John M. Floyd, RaShell R. Smith-Spears, and Mary Miller.
From the introduction by Tom Franklin:
"Welcome to Mississippi, where a recent poll shows we have the most corrupt government in the United States. Where we are first in infant mortality, childhood obesity, childhood diabetes, teenage pregnancy, adult obesity, adult diabetes. We also have the highest poverty rate in the country. And, curiously, the highest concentration of kick-ass writers in the country too. Okay, maybe that's not a Gallup poll–certified statistic, but we do have more than our fair share of Pulitzers and even a Nobel...I could go on, and in fact I do, in this very anthology...
Here are sixteen stories from seasoned noir writers like Ace Atkins and Megan Abbott as well as Mississippi's new generation of noirists, authors like William Boyle and Michael Kardos. You'll also find unknown, first-time-published writers like Dominiqua Dickey and Jimmy Cajoleas, who won't remain unknown for long. I'm thrilled to bring these writers to you. In Alabama, where I grew up, we had a saying: Thank God for Mississippi, otherwise we'd be at the bottom in everything.
Welcome to the bottom."
