This is an interesting article on what Zeltserman considers noir. He has some good points, and some interesting reading recommendations.
http://artery.wbur.org/2015/03/16/dave-zeltserman-noir
Zeltserman is making a counterpoint to Dennis Lehane’s view of noir in this article:
I like both there takes, but Hammett and Chandler will always be noir heroes to me, no matter how good an argument Zeltserman has.
everythingnoir 
Glad to see Zeltserman lists Miami Purity, since it’s on my nightstand to be read over the next few days!
Personally, I think that any attempt to precisely define any genre is a bit futile, because the very word “definition” implies the ability to make clear delineations, and genres just aren’t like that. They all have fuzzy edges.
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I agree, I think noir is like porn, you can’t really define it, but you know it when you see it. What some may consider noir others may not, doesn’t really mean one is right and one is wrong. I get his point of view and have seen it a number of times about Hammett and Chandler, but not considering those two noir is crazy to me. In my opinion Hammett started the genre!
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