Kansas City: Where East and West collide. Where blues and the night go together like rye whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Kansas City is a surprising place of grit, gore and betrayal, at least in the imaginations of the contributors to Kansas City Noir, the newest addition to Akashic Books' acclaimed Noir anthology series. Each story peels back the city's polite Midwestern exterior and digs deep to uncover the raw truth of human condition as lived in this heartland, third-coast city. It is a compelling tour of a vibrant city, complete with accents of jazz, barbecue and blues.