Nice Girl Does Noir v.1

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Foreword by William Kent Krueger

“Short stories are the poetry of prose. They are precise, cut to the bone, every word a necessity. Not many authors develop that control. Libby Fischer Hellmann has the hand of a master. Take it from a guy who knows her well: Libby is a nice girl. But she writes noir with a savvy edge honed on the hard, dark knowledge of the evil possible in us all.

Take it from a guy who knows her well: Libby is a nice girl. But she writes noir with a savvy edge honed on the hard, dark knowledge of the evil possible in us all. With each story she opens a door to a room that holds a demon—bigotry and politics in her award-winning debut effort “The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared”, greed in “Common Scents”, deadly desire in “A Winter’s Tale”—and with prose too damn good to resist, she seduces us inside.

Kent Krueger is an award-winning novelist but also a prolific short story writer. Find out more about him at www.williamkentkrueger.com

Nice Girl Does Noir was translated into Italian in 2011. You can find out more about it here.

Reviews

I don’t usually like short stories, but these are terrific! I roared through them. Hellmann had a good mix of Chicago historicals and contemporaries. My highest recommendation here.

Molly Weston, Meritorious Mysteries

When Hellmann explores the less sunlit areas of Chicago, her canvas becomes not only more universal but has greater depth and emotional value. Aspiring short-story writers would do well to pay attention.

Naomi Johnson, The Drowning Machine