Noir Detective

 I tried reading a little noir detective novel the other day. It was a bit too formulaic and far too one dimensional for my tastes, but since I gave it a read, I thought I'd share the first line for the first line series I keep (see here).

I opened the door to Leo Johnson’s apartment. His employer had filed a police report that morning stating that Johnson had not been to work in three days. Nobody had heard from him, he had not called in sick, and he had no direct family who had been in contact with him recently. No wife or kids. I received the call at approximately 9:30 a.m. I arrived at Johnson’s apartment building at 10:15 a.m. The secretary in the main office directed me to his apartment. When I banged loudly on the door, there was no answer. I turned the door handle. It was locked. I went to the apartment office and had the secretary unlock the door for me. I entered the apartment. It was a decent-sized place, not luxurious but roomy. White walls, light green carpet. The kitchen was located immediately to my right. I looked toward the living area and saw a tan fabric couch with a TV facing directly across from it on a small entertainment stand against the wall. Everything was perfectly neat. No signs of struggle or forced entry. I examined the area. Nothing.

D'Aquisto, Joseph - Left for Death

It's exactly what one would expect from a noir detective novella. Sadly, it never gets any better and truthfully, the writing just wasn't engaging. There's somehting to be said for writing in a narrative style like this, but it must still be engaging. 

Oh well . . . gave it a shot.