With regard to tips on studying TBS, you need to know the conventions of the genre... as that is the topic that is being studied. You should know how it conveys the genre to the viewers and how/if it diverts from it. eg, detective, femme fatale... what roles they play, if at all. Damnation was talking about the role that Marlowe plays, you just need to expand on it more using the conventions of film noir/crime fiction genre.
Anything by Patricia cornwell is ok. It shows how the crime fiction genre is progressing with time, adapting to what readers find interesting.
You can see the trend of crime fiction is branching in different directions. eg Patricia Cornwell is the branching into the medical examination, where the crime is seen through the ME's perspective...
Personally, I don't like her stuff, but alot of people use her as a supp.