Daring tales of kidnap and rescue, assassination and revenge, the politics of death and espionage, these are the themes of this latest volatile concoction of classic and new writing. The days of empire and traditional war have been replaced by cyber warfare but the subtle, lethal methods of agents and spies remain the same, and so has the power of great writing, with stories here to chill and intrigue every reader. Classic authors include Arnold Bennett, Ernest Bramah, John Buchan, G.K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad, Arthur Conan Doyle, R. Austin Freeman, Rudyard Kipling, Maurice Leblanc, Arthur B. Reeve, Sapper, Ellen Wood.

Amsterdam is a very welcome, if long overdue, instalment in the Akashic Noir Series. Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighbourhood or location within the respective city. Brand-new stories by: Michael Berg, Anneloes Timmerije, Murat Isik, Rene Appel, Josh Pachter, Simon de Waal, Hanna Bervoets, Karin Amatmoekrim, Christine Otten, Mensje van Keulen, Max van Olden, Theo Capel, Loes den Hollander, Herman Koch, Abdelkader Benali, and Walter van den Berg.