When I first started writing crime fiction, I didn’t give much thought to genres or sub-genres. Sure, I’d heard books and TV shows described as cosy crime, and it was obvious what legal thrillers or police procedurals were all about. I’d noticed other sub-genre labels – the list is long – but it wasn’t until I started studying Creative Writing that I realised how important it was for me to get a better understanding of genre. At the very least, it would help me appear as though I knew what I was talking about in tutorials! So, which genre was I writing in?
After studying textbooks, articles, and reviewing the conventions of the fiction that I enjoyed reading, it seemed to boil down to hardboiled or noir crime fiction.
These two genres share characteristics of grittiness and moral ambiguity, but noir fiction is generally pessimistic, fatalistic, and darker in tone compared to the hardboiled genre, which is faster paced with more action and suspense, driving the story forward.
I accept that my main protagonist, Andy Truelove, is wrestling with his doubts and inner demons, perhaps more often associated with a noir protagonist, but he also has inner strength and ambition, sometimes fuelled by anger. As for the bad guys, they’re typical hardboiled characters, motivated by greed and revenge. Throw organised crime and police corruption into the mix, and it’s got to be hardboiled.
