Hard-boiled – main character usually a private detective, but can be a cynical police officer or former police officer. Unsentimental, gritty, portrayals of violence and/or sex. Setting is usually urban. Main character has a sense of honor that he lives by. He is usually a loner, socially isolated. Man character is usually male.
Noir – main character is directly connected to the crime but may not be a detective. Main character may be a victim or a suspect. Main character is on the fringe of society, anti-social, a loner. Features petty, amoral criminals. Books have feeling of despair and pessimism. A lot of the Scandinavian mysteries fall in this category. Authors James Lee Burke Ken Bruen Lee Child John Connolly Robert Crais Loren Estleman Joe Gores Ed Gorman Charlie Huston Michael Koryta Joe Lansdale Walter Mosely Ian Rankin James Sallis Andrew Vachss Randy Wayne White
Hard-boiled – main character usually a private detective, but can be a cynical police officer or former police officer. Unsentimental, gritty, portrayals of violence and/or sex. Setting is usually urban. Main character has a sense of honor that he lives by. He is usually a loner, socially isolated. Man character is usually male.
Noir – main character is directly connected to the crime but may not be a detective. Main character may be a victim or a suspect. Main character is on the fringe of society, anti-social, a loner. Features petty, amoral criminals. Books have feeling of despair and pessimism. A lot of the Scandinavian mysteries fall in this category.
Authors
James Lee Burke
Ken Bruen
Lee Child
John Connolly
Robert Crais
Loren Estleman
Joe Gores
Ed Gorman
Charlie Huston
Michael Koryta
Joe Lansdale
Walter Mosely
Ian Rankin
James Sallis
Andrew Vachss
Randy Wayne White