South Central Noir - Gary Phillips

From the editor''s introduction: ''Like ''Hollywood,'' the term ''South Central'' conjures up not a geographic location so much as specific imagery and impressions derived from the news and pop culture... Nonetheless, the South Central where I grew up remains a locale where the majority of the residents work hard and share many of the same concerns as those who reside in Westside neighbourhoods. It''s a place where the demographics and physical characteristics have changed since my youth, where even gentrification has crept in. This, then, is the backdrop to South Central Noir. Within these pages you''ll find stories of those walking the straight and narrow - until something untoward happens . . . [T]he stories [have] a rich mix of tone tales told of hope, survival, revenge, and triumph. Excursions beyond the headlines and the hype.''