Thriller and detective stories

A thriller is first and foremost a detective story. It may admit to suspense and thrills, but it focuses mainly on a single police plot. The figure of the policeman is emphasized, and with him the investigation, the crime and the victim, the culprit and his modus operandi.

The novel noir can be seen as a sub-genre or sub-category of the crime fiction genre, which includes mystery and suspense novels, but also as a genre in its own right with its own generic criteria.