A paler shade of noir

On paper, Dave Zeltserman's 2008 novel "Small Crimes" has all the ingredients for a classic noir novel: A crooked cop trying unsuccessfully to mend his ways, an even-more-corrupt sheriff and a district attorney out to avenge himself on the cop, who maimed him eight years ago.

But "Small Crimes" lacks the spice that would make it sing. The result: A pale imitation of the real thing.

Part of the problem is Zeltserman's prose, which reads more like a high school essay than a down-and-dirty look at small-town corruption. As a result, his small-town setting is flat and lifeless instead of bristling with hints of danger around every corner.

An even bigger problem lies with Zeltserman's people. The main characters — Joe, the crooked cop; Phil, the crusading DA; Dan, the corrupt sheriff; and Charlotte, the woman-with-a-past who gets sucked into Joe's plotting — ought to be larger than life and full of intriguing secrets. Instead, they are only slightly more interesting than the guy next door, despite their less-than-savory pasts.

Most crime novels rely on intricate plotting and last-minute surprises to hook readers, then reel them in with twisted characters and rich, swaggering prose. But if the prose and characters don't live up to their promise, then the reader has little left to savor.

If you're hungry for a classic noir, try another book. "Small Crimes" just doesn't deliver the goods.