The Noir Found In Hamburg

Bruce Von Stiers

Akashic Books has this fantastic book series that contains noir stories. Noir has been around for a long time. And noir short stories have been around for a long time too. What makes the Akashic Books noir series so special is that each volume is focused on a specific geographical location.

The latest book in the Noir series is Hamburg Noir. It features stories that take place in and around the city of Hamburg, Germany.

This volume in the series was edited by Jan Karsten. He is the publisher and editor for an independent publishing company based in Germany. Most of the stories were translated from German by Noah Harley, who is a musician in addition to translating. Geoffrey C. Howes translated two of the stories and Paul David Young also translated a story. Howes has translated works for over thirty authors. Young is a playwright and critic in addition to being a translator.

The book is broken down into three parts; Water & Schnapps, Dream & Reality and Power & Oblivion. There is a total of fourteen stories between the three parts. There is also an introduction by Karsten which gives a brief synopsis of each story.

The first story, Ant Street, deals with a street gang protection extorsion ring. And a strong-willed Vietnamese restaurant owner. Lien really does like being shook down by one of the local gangs. So, by the end of the story, retribution is duly served. This interesting story was written by Nora Luttmer, the author of a Vietnam police inspector detective series.

Till Raether is a freelance journalist and the author of the crime novel series featuring Commissioner Adam Danowski. His story for this volume is titled I'll Be Gone In A Minute. The lead character is a guy named Strickler. He is a loser and owes big time. He thinks he has a solution to all his problems. But in the end, he doesn't. This story fits right into the definition of situational irony. I just knew from the start of the story that things wouldn't end up the way Strickler wanted them to.

In the story, Way Down Below, a particular bar in a particular neighborhood in Hamburg is highlighted. As is the spiraling downfall of the story's narrator. To me, it was more of a gritty tale of urban decay. Ingvar Ambjornsen is the author of the story. His novels have won several awards and the film adaptation of his novel, Elling, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film.

Under Blackthorn is a mystery story in which privileged people think they can get away with murder. But Manz, a police detective, will get to the bottom of things. This is an interesting story that takes place in 1972. Matthias Wittekindt wrote this story. His novels have won several awards including being a two-time winner of the German Crime Fiction Award.

Marius meets Josepha when her dog jumps up on him. A chance meeting turns into a one-night stand. The delicious food that Josepha prepares seems like just the meal for Marius. The title of this story is Angel Fricassee, which is the dish that Marius is served. But all is not what it seems in this story, which is almost more macabre than noir. It was written by Timo Blunck, a musician and music producer in addition to being an author.

Markus seeks out her daughter's boyfriend after blaming him for her overdose. A pretentious rocker, the boyfriend tries to bond with Marcus, himself a former rocker. But an accident might prove advantageous to Marcus as he tries to frame the boyfriend for a murder. But the scheme doesn't play out well. Bela B Felenheimer is the author of this story, which is titled Who'll Look After Our Women If We Don't? A radio show host and punk rocker, his second novel, Fun, was released earlier this year.

Crazy Angels features a young woman, Nour, who comes to Hamburg by invitation. She is going to be staying at an apartment, whose owner is out of town. But a phone conversation with the owner causes things to shift considerably. There are a couple of people at a bar that brings an eerie perspective on things. In the end, the story plays out a little like a line from the song Hotel California, where you can check out but never leave. Jasmin Ramadan, the author of the award-winning Soul Kitchen wrote this story.

The Assignment is a very good, but strange story. The narrator of the story has to walk around, observe things people are doing, and write it down. But what is the premise for observing people and things? And why does he have such an obsession with a noisy neighbor? This strange story, well, strange to me anyway, was written by Katrin Seddig who has been published in many magazines and is the author of the recent novel, Nadine.

Brigitte Helbling is a freelance cultural journalist. Her story for this volume is Akido Diaries. It follows a young woman, Lara, and her life in and around an Akido dojo. An incident with a janitor ends up becoming akin to stalking. The story is fluid but has some intensity, especially at the end.

Expropriation deals with a young woman and her infatuation with another young woman. Add in harsh factory work, a boss with an eye for a certain young woman and a worker uprising and you have a really interesting story. Told by way of diary entries, this story is from Robert Brack. He is the author of several crime novels with historical and political emphasis.

Abreast Schwartztonnensand was written in a sort of screenplay format. The story unfolds as several people are on a yacht. An accident with another boat leaves its inhabitant with near fatal injuries. A cover-up, pointing fingers and chicanery follows. Zoe Beck is the author of this story, which shows if you know the right people, anything can be swept under the rug. Beck has been a dubbing director for film and television. She is also noted for her award-winning crime novels, the latest being Memoria.

The Outer Façade is all about an infatuation that ends up turning deadly. The story has two paths. One is of an adulterous woman and the other is of a construction worker who becomes enthralled with her from afar. Those two paths merge at the end of the story in true noir style. The story is from Frank Gohre. He's written books about Elmore Leonard and Ed McBain along with the notable Kiez trilogy.

Tina Uebel is the author of Reeperbahn 29 Revisited. It is about the people who live at that address and things that happen there. The story seemed more of a human drama than a noir to me, but there's a grittiness to it that fits the format. Uebel has written five novels. She has also written several short stories and travelogues.

My favorite story in the volume is The Girl At The Dom. Malte is a twelve-year-old boy who loves going to the Dom, which is the largest public festival in Northern Germany. Malte meets a girl, Sarah, who is a year older. Sarah is also a Carny, or, worker at the festival. Her family runs a fun house ride. But it is old and decrepit. As Malte and Sarah become close, a scheme to purchase a new ride comes unraveled. In the end, an act of arson moves things in a different direction. The story is by Kai Hensel, a screenwriter and playwright.

Hamburg Noir is yet another great addition to the Noir series from Akashic Books. All of the stories were good, but I especially liked the ending of The Outer Façade and the twist at the end of Angel Fricassee. And, of course, the carnival backdrop in The Girl at The Dom.

Hamburg Noir is set to be release on August 5th, 2025. You can pre-order it from Akashic Books. You can find out more about Hamburg Noir and Akashic Books at https://www.akashicbooks.com/

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© 2025 Bruce E Von Stiers