Review: "Eight Very Bad Nights" edited by Tod Goldberg

 

Eight Very Bad Nights edited by Tod Goldberg Soho Crime, 2024   This holiday themed collection, edited by Tod Goldberg, is an eclectic assortment of eleven entertaining tales—they are scattered across the hardboiled tradition with a couple crowding into noir—centered around the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Ivy Pochoda’s “Johnny Christmas” is an ironic take on crime, grandmotherly love, and the reasons why someone named Goldfarb would chuck it all for a handle like Christmas. “Shamash,” by David L. Ulin, is a thought-provoking and surprising noir about a son and his dying father; its bite so hard even the most callous reader will bleed. James D. F. Hannah’s “Twenty Centuries” is about murder, hatred—the kind of racist and antisemitic crap we’re seeing more and more of in our neighborhoods—and a mother’s sideways sorrow. Nikki Dolson’s “Come Let Us Kiss and Part,” is a noirish love story about hope, bad decisions, and even worse luck. “Dead Weight,” by Liska Jacobs, is an energetic tale verging into psychological thriller territory, about a romantic couple at the end of their relationship. But Raquel—one-half of the duo—isn’t eager to leave the other’s, Joel’s, beautiful apartment without a fight. Stefanie Leder’s “Not a Dinner Party Person” is a marvelous riff on the sociopath career climber motif, with a perfect twist played out during a latke celebration with her sister and mother. My favorite story in Eight Very Bad Nights—and it is likely yours will be different since every tale is good—is Lee Goldberg’s “If I Were a Rich Man,” featuring his anti-hero Ray Boyd tracking down a bundle of stolen cash during Hanukkah. Boyd plays all the notes just right and even falls into a honeytrap with both eyes open. Of course, everything works out for Boyd and the trip is a blast. There are also great stories from J. R. Angelella, Gabino Iglesias, Jim Rutland, and Tod Goldberg.

Check out Eight Very Bad Nights here at Amazon.