No, it's used for books, too. Typically for the type of detective novel in which the detective is a world-weary, hard-bitten, character, who has to live as much by his fists as by his brains. Raymond Chandler is the architypal "Noir" detective author, but it would be equally appropriate to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee.
EDIT: Some people use the expression "hard boiled" detective novels for this genre.
Last edited by HarryT; 02-19-2013 at 04:24 AM.
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