Colette Bancroft’s story, “The Bite,” has received the 2021 Robert L. Fish Memorial Award, presented by the Mystery Writers of America!

“Wings Beating” by Eliot Schrefer has been selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021!

“Local Waters” by Luis Castillo is included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021‘s Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense of 2020!

A Tombolo Books Bestselling Book of 2021!

“At last, the popular Akashic Noir series has adopted the Tampa Bay area . . . The notion of elevating place to the status of a character in a story, a frequent topic in writers workshops, works to maximum effect. The descriptive forays are full of observations that can only be gleaned by living here.”
—Tampa Bay Times

“Move over Miami, Tampa Bay proves it has a dark side too . . . This somber anthology spins tales of sinister family secrets, business deals gone bad and tragedy on the bay in short stories.”
—Flamingo Magazine

“Anyone who lives in the Tampa Bay area knows there are stories of intrigue here, just waiting to be told.”
—The Gabber

“A new collection of noir fiction features all sorts of miscreants finding their way through this part of Florida.”
—Ocala Star Banner

“[A] lively collection of superior short stories.”
—South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“These stories are so rich, detailed and engaging, that it’s hard to say one stands out over another. Each one offers its own dark seductive pleasure. And all embody what it’s like to live—and perhaps die—in Paradise.”
—Florida Book Review

“[Tampa Bay Noir] has a contributor list that includes a handful of bestselling crime novelists, but more importantly, the stories are pretty excellent, too.”
—Mystery Scene Magazine

“Akashic Books has long made a name for itself with an impressive string of award-winning original noir anthologies; thus, it is no surprise that its latest, Tampa Bay Noir, continues in that edgy, first-rate, compellingly dark tradition . . . All [stories] carry a punch and are worth reading. The collective impact rivals any full-length novel from the best of its many excellent authors for suspense and mystery.”
—Southern Literary Review

“Tampa Bay Noir is a strong addition to the Akashic Books noir short story collections. Its fifteen stories are largely atmospheric and dark, exactly what fans hope for when they pick up a new book in the series. Too, this one would be a great introduction to the books for those who are yet to discover them.”
—Book Chase

“For too long readers have connected Florida Noir with the admittedly fascinating locales of Miami-Dade County, thanks to a slew of talented and popular writers no doubt, but there’s another major metropolitan area on the Gulf Coast that’s every bit Miami’s equal for bizarre noir. Tampa Bay gets a much-deserved turn in the spotlight with this new collection in the Akashic series, edited by Colette Bancroft and featuring some stellar contributions from writers out of the greater Tampa diaspora, including Michael Connelly, Tim Dorsey, Sarah Gerard, Ace Atkins, and Lori Roy.”
—CrimeReads, One of the Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020

“Books can transport us to faraway, exotic places we’ve never seen, but they can also show us new angles of familiar places we thought we knew. Places closer to home like Hyde Park, Tierra Verde, Davis Islands, Palma Ceia, Clearwater Beach, Pass-a-Grille, Indian Rocks Beach, Westshore, St. Petersburg’s 34th Street, Gibsonton, Lake Maggiore, Pinellas Park, Largo, Safety Harbor and Rattlesnake. Those are the local settings—yes, Rattlesnake is a real place!—for the 15 stories collected in Tampa Bay Noir, an anthology of new crime fiction due out in August.”
—Creative Pinellas

“Being a local, it’s cool to read about locations and think, ‘I’ve been there.’ Tampa has enough sordid and colorful history to deserve another volume.”
—Ink19

“Every classic mystery-fiction theme is represented here—murder, fraud, love, sex, money—and, overall, the writing is top quality. Lovers of short crime fiction should eat this one up.”
—Booklist Online

“Fifteen tales that reveal the dark side of sunny Tampa Bay.”
—Kirkus Reviews