Unfortunately, I struggled through this book. The title suggests a look into why, as a society, we've made murder into something fascinating instead of horrific. What it is, is a dryly written textbook on obscure films. It is meandering and needed a better focus. I am sure that intense noir lovers would love it though.

Engaging and insightful. A recommended purchase for collections where pop culture and crime titles are popular.

If you are a crime fan and love Noir, this one is for you.
Very well researched with a plethora of information to indulge in.

This one was interesting and well detailed, but just lack something for me. There where aspects I like and Aspects that I didn't like.

The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir by David Lehman is a 2022 Cornell University Press publication.

Well, I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was not what I was expecting, for starters. Once I settled in to read it, I immediately struggled with the author’s presentation- but I thought it was just an introduction of sorts- and felt it was still on track with my expectations.

But then the book became hyper-focused on noir- not all crime or detection, just the ‘spirit of noir’.

Despite the confusion, I continued because I do like noir. I appreciated the author’s obvious respect for noir, and agree that it is, perhaps unlike many other forms of crime fiction, an actual art form. Poetry noir, though? Um- okay. I'm 'poetry impaired' to begin with, so that's a fusion I’m not fully comprehending.

But, if you are a huge fan of noir films, and are looking for a unique study of noir authors, films, the dialogue and vernacular specific to noir fiction, then this book might be what you are looking for.

Unfortunately, for me, personally, the author’s presentation, organization, and execution didn’t come together for me. I’m sure it’s one of those times when I'm the one at fault, rather than the author or the book. I think I got off on the wrong foot with this book and never fully recovered from it.

Overall, this book is going to work for those who know up front what they are in for, and for those who wish to study noir films from a dialogue/ poetry/ speech angle, and not so much from a psychological point of view, as the title suggests.

2 stars

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a detailed and interesting book covering a topic many love to consume. I found it informative and interesting! The coverage of the genre and its history was well done.

Princess Fuzzypants here: For fans of Noir, this book will be an excellent addition to your library. Not only is it written with the passion of a true fan but it also has the knowledge of an expert in the field. That is a potent combination that makes for some fascinating reading.

It explores the roots of Noir from its birth to its adaptation both through time and place. It covers both books and films of the style. I enjoyed the way the author looks at the differences and the similarities of Noir in the US, Britain and elsewhere. I also enjoyed the comparisons of the various authors and their characters and then how the stories and characters translated to film. He also looked at the actors who are best known for noir and the directors who have interpreted it best on the screen.

It is one of those books that you could read in segments or all at one time. I sat down and read it from beginning to end so either way works. Five purrs and two paws up.

I'm very grateful for the chance to read this arc; however, I will not be formally reviewing it on social media or my blog because I could not finish it.

This book has a really interesting premise and delves into different aspects of noir in books and film. It read like a textbook on noir that might feature in a higher-education classroom, and I think it might be a good fit for that setting. It reminded me of textbooks I read when I took detective fiction and film classes. However, I was unable to finish it. I tried really hard and made it to 50% but it just could not keep my attention. Additionally, the formatting was absolutely atrocious. I completely understand that advanced copies, especially digital ones, might have some formatting issues, but this was unacceptable. Every other page contained the standard copyright jargon--generally in the middle of the page, often in the middle of sentences...sometimes splitting words. It was aggravating and made it difficult to stay invested in this book.

I wanted to share my thoughts, but I don't think it is fair to review a book I did not finish and share to other sites.

I loved this book. Being a fan of noir films and books this was a must read. The detail put into this book about the processes of these stories was fantastic. Breaking down this style of story into genres and their sub genres was really educational.

As someone who loves this genre I felt very overwhelmed at the knowledge and titles out there that I was not aware of. It is eye opening to learn the backstories on how certain gripes develop from writer to writer. Things that are now commonplace being a first time idea and shocking it’s audience.

This should be a must read for any film major as it does feel after reading this book that I should be taking an exam. The author did some serious digging into the concepts and spells them out in textbook format almost. This book would not be for most but for those that love getting the down and dirty Of how this genre has developed overtime it is a treasure trove.

I think the title of this book threw me off a bit--I thought it would be more of an analysis of why we as a society love murder stories.

If you are a film noir enthusiast, you will probably enjoy this book more than I did. As a noir novice, I was often lost at whatever point was trying to be made, since the author often does not explain many of his examples in much detail. Additionally, at times this book simply rattles off examples of something, with little analysis or opinion to link these examples to the central thesis (if there is one). For example, there is a whole chapter about the use of cigarettes in noir, but beyond showing that it was popular, I'm not sure what the point of the chapter was.

Being (slightly) more familiar with the literary side of this subject, I did at least understand the references made a bit more in the parts of the book that addressed murder mystery novels. The information provided was interesting, but it again often didn't seem to tie back to much of a central theme; it was more of a recitation of facts.

All in all, I think this book shows a great understanding of the subject by the author, but I would have liked it a lot more if there was more of an effort to connect the topics or to make some kind of a conclusion. It didn't really tie together in a cohesive thesis, which kind of left me feeling empty at the end, as I felt I had read through all of the pages for nothing.

Much To Like,,,
Much to like here - particularly if the reader is a an aficionado of crime fiction and classic noir. Incredibly well researched and informative and with a mass of examples, information, detail and fact. Why does any form of crime captivate the reader to such an extent and leave them craving more? As the author explores books and other authors some of this is answered. Fun and immersive.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and still have 16 days before the Arc expires on the NetGalley app but today when I clicked on the book to start reading I cannot open it and a message comes up saying 'License has been issued by an expired certificate'. It's quite disappointing. I was looking forward to reading this book. I will still give it a 3* average rating based on the ratings by other readers.

If you decide to read this book, whether or not you enjoy it will probably largely depend on whether you are a fan of noir and crime fiction. An extensive list of movies, books, and poetry is referenced throughout the book. This makes for some interesting analysis, but I can imagine it quickly becoming overwhelming if you're not familiar with any of the material. There's a lot of info here.

That said, you don't have to have read your way through the entirety of this massive amount of material to enjoy the book. I've only read or watched a few of the titles, but I still found the author's take on them to be really intriguing. He is clearly passionate about the genre and his analysis made several points that I never would have thought of. I haven't seen the Maltese Falcon in years (admittedly, I first saw it when I was way too young) but now I'm strongly considering giving it another watch. In fact, I have a whole list of new books on my tbr after reading this.

In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who is a hardcore crime fan or who at least has a casual interest in it. You may find something of interest.

My thanks to Cornell University Press for my galley copy.

It's an interesting book that made me learn something more about noir in the different forms: books, movies, etc
I liked the list of books and I liked how the book is structured.
Some parts were a bit too long and dry.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Mysterious Romance of Murder!
As a big noir fan I was intrigued to read a non-fiction about it. You can tell that the author himself is an admirer of this genre, and that's what I liked about the book. Aside from that it took me much longer to finish the book than I expected. At some point it felt like a chore and I had to almost force myself to finish it. Overall, I'd give it a 3 star rating and would probably recommend it as a coffee table book to have in your house.

The Mysterious Romance of Murder by David Lehman is a fantastic exploration of the world of "crime, detection and noir".

This is a must-have edition for anyone interested the broad genre of novels that range from crime-solving mysteries to espionage. The book explores all the best crime writers, with a wide contrast of well known authors ranging from Arthur Conan Doyle to Agatha Christie to Alfred Hitchcock to Raymond Chandler. There were a number of books and films which I had not heard of; however, Lehman puts every work into a greater context, so that it was easy to keep reading along. Lehman's interests are wide ranging. He does not just give us a summary of books and films but engages our interest in the actors who played the most famous roles and the elements of the genre that create the glamour of noir. Although this book is clearly written for those with an academic interest in the genre, the tone is lighthearted and the language easy to follow.

The Mysterious Romance of Murder is both well-sourced and fun to read. If more textbooks were offered in this format, media studies would be the most popular course on campus.

This was possibly written as a follow up to the author's previous book, "The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection".

The book is divided into five parts (the romance, the props, the authors & directors, the films, and some profiles). The author's key areas of interest - poetry, speech, writing - form the basis for this narrative.

Despite being a huge fan of noir, espionage and crime, I was not a fan of this. The 40 plus page introduction was overly long and nearly finished it for me then and there. I found my attention wavering and I was wishing the author would hurry up and get to the crux of it all. Even when he did, I was not sufficiently engaged to absorb anything that was written down in front of me - the writing style and overall presentation did not inspire me.

What I also found lacking was an exploration of international noir - both authors and film - which is something I would definitely have been interested in, especially as I have been reading a lot of Frederic Dard (the classic French noir author) and his contemporaries.

Definitely one for the dedicated movie fan of the genre as this book explores specialty subject matter that only those seriously immersed in the genre will appreciate.

The description really built up the fun and creativity of this book. I anticipated a clever, incisive look at noir books and film, with captivating visuals and colorful pop culture references, and the author just didn't deliver. I love noir classics, and this book presented them in a way that almost felt... boring. It was written more like a thesis on a niche aspect of the genre rather than a stylish take by a fan for fans.

If you want a great list of movies to watch and/or books to read, then this book has you covered. I expected more of a fun look at the pop culture around mysteries, but I didn't get much of that. It was kind of like listening to someone who likes the sound of their own voice, and if there was a thesis connecting the thoughts, I lost that thread quickly, so the flow didn't work for me. It was strangely dense with information while still feeling very surface-level.

I do not know if it was a problem with the arc or my kindle, but the copyright information was imposed in the middle of a paragraph on every page of at least the first chapter. Could not read it.

From reading the other reviews it seems as if the may have been somewhat misrepresented. I was hoping for some fun background information as to the history and culture behind mysteries and noir, but it seems as if this was more akin to an academic article that was both fairly dense and yet not in depth enough... I would have still liked to give it a try, but the formatting was too messed up.