The release of Michael Connelly’s latest, “The Burning Room,” has me thinking about crime fiction set in Southern California. Here are some favorites:
“The Black Dahlia”: James Ellroy takes the known facts of the 1947 unsolved murder of a beautiful, young woman and creates a brilliant fictional kaleidoscope of obsession, murder and the dark side of postwar Hollywood.
“The Big Sleep”: This 1939 hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler introduces detective Philip Marlowe and is a classic of both the genre as well as Los Angeles fiction.
“L.A. Outlaws”: T. Jefferson Parker’s just-released literary novel “Full Measure” is a bold departure from his crime novels. But my favorite of his is still “L.A. Outlaws,” the story of a modern day, “Ms.” Jesse James.
“Guilt by Association”: By Marcia Clark. Yes, that Marcia Clark. You have to love a female detective, and one who has female friends — both relatively unheard of in this genre.
“Moist”: By Mark Haskell Smith. A weird, darkly hilarious contribution to crime fiction.
The Bosch Series: And, of course, anything by Michael Connelly. Connelly is the master of detective novels. He writes interesting plots with sympathetic, compelling characters and a deep knowledge and understanding of Los Angeles. Start with “The Black Echo,” the first in the Bosch series.
