Fickle

Law school professor Manus’s inventive if convoluted first novel, told in a series of blog entries written by a woman calling herself L.G. Fickel and her followers, pays homage to the authors, books, films, and Hollywood stars of noir. On a Boston subway platform one cold winter evening, a man bumps by Fickel and falls in front of an oncoming train to a gruesome death. Det. Sgt. Tyler Malloy, a cop who shows up at the scene and later does follow-up, becomes Burly-Bear in Fickel’s blog. Unlikely connections between the victim, initially called Mr. Suicide, and Fickel slowly unfold. Meanwhile, Fickel’s regular bloggers, who comment on each new revelation and offer advice, are joined by sinister ones such as Full Frontal. The bloggers aren’t sure whether Fickel’s tale is fact or fiction, though they do their best to find out. The blog format can get tiresome, but noir fans should enjoy the twists and turns that echo such genre classics as Double Indemnity and The Asphalt Jungle. (Jan.)