My mother recently asked me what “noir” means in the context in which I often use it: reading and watching. I tried to explain to her that noir isn’t the same as classic mystery or hardboiled in that there’s an event that happens that permanently changes the behaviors of all persons, drawing them into difficult circumstances. But that felt like a weak definition to me. So I’ll roll with Megan Abbott’s classic definition in this interview with LitHub…
I lift this up because Patrick Hoffman is a great example of a modern day noir writer.
Hoffman’s from the ground-floor-to-the-penthouse crime tales are imbued with a sense of verisimilitude into how crime actually works in America. They’re not sensationalist but they capture all the gory details in fiction form. It helps that Hoffman is a true-to-life private investigator who actually knows his stuff. Everything about his books feels real.
Every Man a Menace is one of the best looks at the drug trade ever; examining all the moving (and disposable parts) of a massive heroin shipment. Clean Hands didn’t impress me as much as it should but I think that’s because my standards were too high; it’s a very good look at corporate espionage in New York City.
Friends Helping Friends, a little ditty on class in America, falls in the middle. Eschewing views of the big players this time, Hoffman focuses mostly on the little guys sucked into the federal war on white supremacists. While fighting white supremacists in America is an ennobling thing to do, Hoffman examines in detail the dirty tactics used on Bunny to force him into a dangerous undercover role for which he is ill suited. Another example of how someone gets lost in the system.
Each of Hoffman’s books has had a different end and they’re never predictable, nor is this one. Hoffman isn’t trying to shock you; he’s simply telling a story. Either way, I appreciated this ending, though I didn’t expect it at all. One has to appreciate a writer who can keep us guessing. It’s increasingly rare in the crime genre.
The plot meanders a bit and I wish Hoffman had spent more time developing the machinations of the ranch but this is still a great crime novel from someone who only gifts us with new work every 4-6 years. It’s worth the wait.