Here’s a brief definition of noir fiction, from Wikepedia.

"Noir fiction is the name sometimes given to a mode of crime fiction regarded as a subset of the hardboiled style. According to noir aficionado George Tuttle,

'In this sub-genre, the protagonist is usually not a detective, but instead either a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator. He is someone tied directly to the crime, not an outsider called to solve or fix the situation. Other common characteristics...are the emphasis on sexual relationships and the use of sex to advance the plot and the self-destructive qualities of the lead characters. This type of fiction also has the lean, direct writing style and the gritty realism commonly associated with hardboiled fiction.'"

To me, the central element of noir is “the self-destructive qualities of the lead characters,” because they are what drive the plot and create the questions that, when answered, become a story’s messages.

I suspect all of us humans have self-destructive qualities, and as we learn how to see them, we can at least moderate their effects on our lives and on the lives of others. 

A Christian friend mentioned recently, in an email, that he didn't read much fiction. Since I imagine he reads plenty of non-fiction I replied, "That's not okay. I was just at a conference with Gay Talese and Philip Yancey, (who both write exclusively non-fiction) and when they named their favorite authors, the ones who held the most truth, all of them were fiction writers." Fiction has lots to offer besides entertainment, which is one reason I'm dismayed that most Christian fiction of the CBA variety is, if not trivial, then at least not very courageous, unique, or grounded in any kind of reality. And meanwhile, mainstream publishers shy from Christian content for fear of offending readers who believe that anyone who takes the Christian faith at all seriously is at best a crank, and more likely a nitwit.

What is Christian Noir?

It’s been almost a year since I posted here. I got busy, and the subject I’d meant to write about didn’t stir my passions enough to draw me back. So, the other day I changed the concept and title to something that started my mind churning when my novel The Do-Re-Mi got called “the first hardboiled Christian mystery.”

The whole story of this blog and its title goes back some years, to when I sent a manuscript to a Christian agent, and got the following reply. “I’d be happy to represent you and I would try to sell this book, but I don’t think I can. It’s too Christian for the secular market and has too much sex for the Christian market.”

I said, “Huh? There’s no sex in it.”

He said, “The character thinks about sex.”

I said, “But what he thinks isn’t very graphic, and besides, Christians I know think about sex a lot.”

He said, “Not in Christian books, they don’t.”

So, I have wondered for years, where does somebody publish books that present Christian characters like the ones I know, who can be delusional, tormented, misguided, doubtful, horny, and sometimes even downright wicked.

If anyone can send me an answer to that, please do.