MEN OF THE MEAN STREETS is a collection of 14 short stories
of gay noir co-edited by Greg Herren and J. M. Redmann.
Noir fiction is most commonly associated with detective
stories, and is distinguished by the unsentimental
portrayal of violence and sex. All of the stories in this
anthology represent noir fiction with the distinguishing
factor that the lead character is gay. The amount of
emphasis on sexual relationships varies between stories, so
that in some the lead only mentions his sexual orientation
while others contain graphic sex scenes.
In many noir stories the lead is a tough detective who
confronts danger and engages in violence while displaying a
cocky and flippant attitude. Several of the stories in
this anthology closely follow this ideal. Murder on the
Midway by Jeffrey Ricker is one of the most traditional
noir mysteries. In it a gay activist has sex with wealthy
men in exchange for charitable contributions. Private
Chick by Julie Smith on the other hand gives the genre a
unique twist by making the private investigator a drag
queen. It is also one of very few stories with a humorous
edge.
The protagonist in noir fiction does not always have to be
a detective, but can also be a victim, a suspect, or a
perpetrator tied directly to the crime. Many of the
stories in the collection fall into this category. The
Thin Blue Line(s) by Max Reynolds is about an editor who
murders one of his writers because she tries to force
herself on him. One of the most unique stories is Spin
Cycle by editor Greg Herren, in which an elderly couple's
obsession with doing the laundry drives a man to murder.
One thing all the stories in the anthology have in common
is that they are dark, violent, and have a gritty realism
to them. One of the most interesting yet macabre stories
is Patience, Colorado by Rob Byrnes. A storm forces a
man on the run to spend the night in a run-down town, where
things go from bad to worse, and he soon discovers that
people are not always who they seem to be. It demonstrates
many of the characteristics of noir fiction by portraying a
lead character with self-destructive qualities, using sex
to advance the plot and having a lean, direct writing style.
Anyone who likes their stories on the darker side and
doesn't mind a little sex between men will enjoy MEN OF THE
MEAN STREETS. The diversity of the stories together with
the intriguing mix of the noir and gay fiction genres will
keep readers interested and engaged until the end.
Noir has always been one of the most popular—and
darkest—sub-genres of the mystery field. Following in the
footsteps of such masters of the form as James M. Cain,
Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett, some of the top
writers of gay mystery explore this territory of amoral
tough guys with a cynical view of the world by giving
classic noir a gay twist. Edited by award winning
author/editors Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann, Men of the Mean
Streets changes the face of gay mystery—and the reader may
never look at gay life and culture in the same way again.
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