Tony Bellotto

It’s difficult to review any anthology, do you criticize every story, or just talk about the ones you like, either way you can’t add much to the book. Anyway, with an anthology, you don’t sit down and read it cover to cover, you pick and choose and hope to stumble across bits you like, and come back to the others later.
The Akashic Noir series is quite daunting, over 100 volumes in the series, with tales from all over the world. Rio Noir is I assume a typical example. I read the first two stories, The Hanged Man by Adriana Lisboa, and Toned Cougars by Tony Bellotto (who is also the editor of the anthology) and liked them both. They are not particularly “noir” and would fit in to any collection of stories. I don’t expect to like all the others, but that doesn’t matter, I am sure there are other surpises.
It's well worth browsing the list of titles at the front of the book, pick a few places you like, and hope for the best.… (lisätietoja)

I received this book for free from Early Reviewers. Part I of the book was great. I tried to read the stories in Part II but couldn't get past them, either boring or not my cuppa tea. In part III, only one of the stories held my interest. Therefore, the stories I read fully are listed below with each of my reviews:

Cross Contamination - Excellent story about two maids who clean up a murder. The one maid goes on and on about weird stories that go on in the motel. Cool ending that I didn't see coming.

Boniclaide and Mrs. ALS - So a woman who is bedridden with a disease hears gunshots. Somehow it's related to her maid. Very interesting and very shocking ending! Great story.

Useless Diary - At first, I thought hey this should be an interesting story. The P.I. looking for a missing man at the same time John Lennon got shot and killed. It was good until the end. The end was dumb and I just shook my head thinking why?

My Name is Nicky Nicola - My favorite! It's a Brazilian Inspector Clousseau! I laughed the entire story about the bumbling P.I. I can't give this story enough praise. I can't understand how someone can be so stupid... and he thought he solved the case. :)

Teresao - Different kind of story where a rich woman purposefully gets herself kidnapped in order to lose weight. Strange story and it was just okay.

The Force is With Me - Good story. Loved the Star Wars references. Two perspectives from two women. One is sick and the other
is accidently with men in the arms business. Interesting ending.… (lisätietoja)

There are two things that keep intrigued in a mystery; a flawed but alluring protagonist and a strong sense of place.
In this jaunty tale I was taken by Remo Bellini, a private detective, who is plagued by the premature death of his twin Romulo, as being the one who lived but does not live up to the perceived expectations of his father, and being privy to an insider’s bird’s-eye journey through the captivating city of Sao Paulo.
The arresting qualities of the secondary characters, the philosophical musings of the males, and the elusiveness of the females keeps the reader engaged.
While the mystery itself is a little predictable, it is written with style, verve and taunting humor
.
Overall, I enjoyed how the author put his own spin on this noir mystery, and I am interested in reading more about Remo Bellini and his escapades.… (lisätietoja)