Noir

by Christopher Moore
339 pgs

Christopher Moore's latest book Noir is set in San Francisco in 1947. As the title implies, it's a moody crime story in the spirit of Mickey Spillane or Raymond Chandler. The protagonist is Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin, a bartender at Sal's Saloon who falls in love on page one with Stilton, the blonde bombshell who walks in one day wearing a dress two sizes too small and knowing it.

Because of the genre Moore writes in this time, there's also a dirty politician, a profane rug rat, a boxer, a dirty cop, and a group of gangsters. But, because it's Moore writing, there're also drag queens, a Chinese man obsessed with collecting snake urine, a snake (the supply of said urine), men in black, and a little alien affectionately called moonman.

What I enjoy most about Moore's books is the witty, and frequently hilarious dialogue and descriptions he writes. In this area the book doesn't disappoint. Where I was left feeling a little disappointed however was in the plot. The story never grabbed me. While I enjoyed reading it, I never felt excited and anxious to pick it back up again. This is not the book of his I'd recommend to the uninitiated.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆