First, I can’t pronounce it. Second, I wasn’t even sure exactly what it was, so I had to look it up. Bing explained, (and this is directly from their site):
noir[nwär]NOUNa genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity.”his film proved that a Brit could do noir as darkly as any American”a film or novel in the noir genre.”he says he’s making a noir”
The reason the word mattered to me is: 1. A friend of mine writes it, Les Edgerton. And his is grim. And #2. I just started reading Our Noir, a collection of short stories that includes a Louis Kincaid novella, by P.J. Parrish. I’ve read the first three stories, and OMG are they good! Dark, but good. The editing is HORRIBLE. More missing words, use of the wrong word, or grammar mistakes than I’ve seen in a long time. And that’s saying something these days. .But the writing is rich and weighty. The characters are complex and well done. So far, I love what I’ve read!
The cover reminds me of the True Crime magazines my grandmother used to read. (She wasn’t a warm, fuzzy person and preferred murder stories to grandchildren. I love them both:) But these stories are a lot more sophisticated than Granny enjoyed.
![OUR NOIR: A collection of short stories and the Louis Kincaid novella CLAWBACK by [PJ Parrish]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41uAhdhG+FL.jpg)
I don’t know if any of you have tried noir, and I’m still trying to decide if the Louis Kincaid novels fit the genre. He seems a little too honorable to me, (not the one that features his romantic interest, the female detective Joe, though). Or maybe it’s the villains who define the genre. Do they have to be a bit depraved? or darker than usual? Do any of you have a favorite noir author? And how do you define them? Just curious.
Judi Lynn 
Love the way Edgerton writes but the darkness is not for me.
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Yes, I’ve read several and like them. Guess they remind me of some of the 50s stuff. But there is not just noir these days, they’ve branched out i.e. Nordic noir etc.
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Nordic noir? Is that like the Swedish mystery The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? I didn’t read that but watched the movie. Definitely not a cozy:)
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I never thought of Louis Kincaid as noir, but I tend to think of noir as being hard-boiled 50ish detective/murder fic.
I’ve read Clawback in novella form. Wasn’t one of my favorites with Louis. I’m really surprised about the bad editing you’ve encountered in “Our Noir.” I would expect better from P J Parrish.
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Clawback wasn’t one of my favorites either, and I was pretty disappointed. The lead-ins to the short stories were really interesting, though–who invited them to write a story for an anthology, etc. If I’d have skipped Clawback and just read the stories, I’d have been happy.
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I’ve tried to include some of the dark elements, and a few cynical characters from time to time. Love it in film mostly for the visuals.
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Do you channel Humphrey Bogart for cynical and noir? I’ve never read or watched enough of it to get it right.
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Not exactly, but he’s a prime example. You can see slivers of it in Jason Fogg, and a character named Clovis. Jason is almost always in first person, and that’s part of it, too.
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I thought of Jason Fogg when I thought of the old hard-boiled detectives:)
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First person helps sell some of it. Kind of like Joe Friday used to narrate parts of Dragnet.
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I love noir. I tend to think of it as the old black-and-white shows with the hard-boiled PI who’s buried in a bottle when the femme fatale walks in and needs his help. He knows she’s trouble, but he can’t say no. And it all gets worse from there. (Sure, there are modern versions, but that’s where my mind goes when I think of the genre.)
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LOL. A great description. Loved “buried in a bottle.” Now I’m in the mood to watch an old Humphrey Bogart movie.
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I love Bogart. My favorite is Casablanca. Not really noir, but I’d watch that any given day of the week.
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Wow, you make me want to read this book, despite the editing deficiencies. I heard of “noir”, but never connect it with any of the movies I’ve watched.
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The short stories were great. The Louis Kincaid novella was a little disappointing.
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I looked it up just the other day. I’m pretty sure I bought a book (or got it free) that’s this genre. I haven’t read it yet.
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Good luck with the book. Hope you like it!
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