To Live And Die In L.A., Literally.

Crime Fiction and Murder Mysteries in The City of Angels

Is there a city perfect for crafting murder mysteries, a place that acts as an ideal backdrop for crime fiction in entertainment? Sure, you’ve got your quaint English village. But where do you go when you need a metropolis for murder? The City of Angels, of course.

Los Angeles is a city of four million people, and almost ten million if you count the sprawling suburbs in all of Los Angeles County. Los Angeles is grimy in spots, too illustrious in others, with huge disparities in between. There’s always been an influx of new residents, a cyclical class of wannabes attempting to make their mark. There are brief love affairs with the city and short-lived pursuits of entertainment industry careers. There are also families who’ve been here for several generations. There’s plenty of backstabbing — in the industry, not to mention in the streets — and crime occurring everywhere simultaneously, from a street corner to a palatial estate. We’ve got car chases, crime sprees, celebrity murders and serial killers on one hand; breathtaking vistas, delicious food, high fashion, art and culture on the other. Los Angeles is unique, sparkling and gritty, and for me personally, even better still…it’s home.

It also happens to be the setting of many, many of the best murder mysteries ever written. Ambitious, hardworking screenwriters and story departments craft the best killers in entertainment here. A rich bevy of new novelists thrown in with seasoned, critically-acclaimed authors makes Los Angeles not only a diverse city, but a mystery fan’s paradise.

L.A. has contributed quite a bit to mysteries in entertainment. One of the most popular categories in the Mystery genre, hard-boiled detective fiction, has roots in California, largely to the credit of influential writer Dashiell Hammett in the 1920s. Hammett is best known for Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man. That’s not to downplay the importance of New York author Carroll John Daly — who actually became an Angeleno in the 1940s — because between the two, they paved the way for other crime fiction writers and ushered in a new era of mysteries.

What is a hard-boiled detective mystery? The subgenre is defined as an unsentimental style of storytelling, always set in an urban environment with descriptive sex and violence. The protagonist is usually a P.I., cop, or ex-cop, never an amateur detective. Graphic crime is accompanied by fast-paced dialogue and street slang, and the investigation usually uncovers corruption, exposing the toxic underbelly of the city in which it’s set, commonly Los Angeles, San Francisco, NYC, and Chicago.

After Hammett popularized hard-boiled detective fiction, other writers followed, such as James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler, crime writers who recognized the importance of a city as a character within a novel. Mystery readers were fortunate such authors fell in love with Los Angeles because many of the best murder mysteries ever written in literature or produced for the screen originated right here in the Golden State. More modern-day bestselling authors such as Michael Connelly and Walter Mosley took elements from earlier hard boiled mysteries and molded them into new elements within their stories, still recognizable as classic crime fiction but updated for a new generation of readers. Sam Spade eventually stepped aside for Harry Bosch. Philip Marlowe made way for Easy Rawlins.

In the 1940s, the Mystery genre had an enormous influence on pop culture and more specifically, film. Hollywood’s response to hard-boiled fiction developed into a new style in cinema: Film Noir.

What is Film Noir? Film Noir is a style of filmmaking with high contrast cinematography, a strong use of shadow and light, with storylines aligned with or derived from hard-boiled detective fiction. Film Noir is centered around morally ambiguous protagonists, sultry supporting characters, and an existential undertone in both action and response.

Arguably, the best in Film Noir took their scripts directly from classic hard-boiled detective fiction. You can’t mention mysteries in L.A. without touching on this style of filmmaking. However, I’ll save a deep dive into Film Noir for another newsletter edition because International Film Noir is a whole other category, and for the purpose of this newsletter, we’re sticking to the City of Angels.

Knowing this, it’s easy to see how important L.A. is to the Mystery genre and is the perfect setting for murder. Here I present my case with my personal favorites in literature, film and television. Not all of the below suggestions are Film Noir or hard-boiled mysteries, but there are plenty to recommend if you’d like a taste. Let me know what you think!

Literature

Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Series The twenty-fifth installment in the Harry Bosch series, The Waiting, is arriving this November. The popular Connelly novels skyrocketed in popularity in the 1990s with The Black Echo. In this series of books, the city is more than the mere background of a murder investigation. The true main character in a Harry Bosch novel is the city of L.A. (Fun fact: When we were living in the northeast neighborhood of Mount Washington, field producers scouted our house to be Bosch’s home, but, as my mother reminded me at the time, the gorgeous view needed to face south toward downtown, not north to the mountains as our home did, so, alas, that didn’t come to fruition). Two favorites in this series are Echo Park and Angel’s Flight. When you’ve finished the books, Prime Video has a successful television adaptation of the novels, Bosch, as well as a spin-off, Bosch: Legacy.

Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins Series The incomparable Walter Mosley is synonymous with L.A. detective fiction. He’s the author of more than sixty novels and is best known for the Easy Rawlins series. Devil In A Blue Dress was his first novel back in 1990 and was later adapted for the screen, starring Denzel Washington. He is considered to be one of the best writers in American crime fiction. His character Easy is based in the neighborhood of Watts, and is relentless when he latches onto a case. He’s likeable and rough around the edges, too, just like most hard boiled protagonists. The sixteenth Easy Rawlins mystery, Farewell, Amethystine, hits bookshelves June 4th.

In A Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes You can watch the screen adaptation of In A Lonely Place starring Humphrey Bogart (playing Dixon) and Gloria Grahame (as Laurel) but the book is considered by most mystery lovers to be superior in many ways. In this mystery, a screenwriter and his neighbor have just started dating when the police begin questioning Dixon about his involvement in the murder of a girl. Convinced her new love interest is innocent, Laurel supports Dixon, but as the police put on the pressure with their investigation, Dixon begins to act erratically. Their love affair suffers as Laurel begins to wonder if Dixon really might be a killer.

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy In 1947, a young woman is found murdered in a vacant lot. Two squad cops, Bucky and Lee, are investigating the murder and soon become obsessed with finding her killer. Bucky is reserved and cautious; Lee is gregarious and personable. The opposites find themselves caught up in a love triangle (and you wonder where True Detective Season One got its plot) while digging for the truth.

Film

Devil In A Blue Dress (Rated R, 1 hour and 42 min., Available now on Netflix) Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is a desperate man in need of money, so he reluctantly takes on the task of finding a missing woman, Daphne Monet, to make ends meet. His search has unforeseen and deadly consequences, and soon he’s caught up in a deadly hunt for the truth. Based on Walter Mosley’s detective novels, this L.A. Noir stars a young Don Cheadle (straight out of CalArts) in one of his earliest roles, and a brief appearance by Maury Chaykin from the television adaptation of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series. This movie is especially satisfying because it’s Southerners in L.A. which is a favorite premise of mine for obvious reasons.

Chinatown (2 hours, 11 min., Rated R, Available now on Paramount+ and Prime Video) Los Angeles private investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Mrs. Mulwray to investigate her husband, assuming he’s being paid to confirm a case of infidelity. However, he soon meets the real Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and realizes he was hired by an imposter. When Mr. Mulwray suddenly dies, Jake’s investigation is sent into a tailspin as he uncovers lie after lie to expose corruption and a web of family secrets.

The Long Goodbye (Rated R, 1 hour, 52 min., Available now on Prime Video) Private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) gives his old friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) a ride to Mexico. When he returns to L.A. he learns Terry's wife has been killed. His suspicion of his friend grows as he’s pulled into the murder investigation. This was one of the best crime dramas of the 1970s.

L.A. Confidential (Rated R, 2 hours and 16 minutes, Available on Prime Video) This is hands down my favorite movie, let alone my favorite L.A. Noir. This film is based on the bestselling novel by James Ellroy. In this story set in the 1950s, three policemen find themselves tangled in an unsolved murder at a downtown L.A. diner. Detective Lieutenant Exley (Guy Pearce) is determined to avenge his father, a detective killed in the line of duty. The ex-partner of Officer White (Russell Crowe), implicated in a scandal rooted out by Exley, was one of the victims. Sergeant Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), a cop with questionable morals, acts as the police consultant in Hollywood, all while feeding classified information to a tabloid magnate for extra cash. All three men are hunting for the truth and their investigations collide as they uncover motives and solve the case.

Song of the Day, Part One: “To Live and Die in L.A.” by Wang Chung

Television

Bosch (TV-MA, Available On Prime Video, 7 Seasons Total) Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels have inspired not one, but two of the aforementioned television shows for Amazon’s Prime Video. If you love strong characters, heavy drama and compelling storylines, you’ll love this series. Titus Welliver is a convincing Bosch, and Madison Lintz as his daughter Maddie adds a layer of credibility to the series. There are plenty of twists and turns in episodes to satisfy Connelly fans, too.

The Closer (TV-14, Available On Prime Video, Fandango At Home, 7 Seasons Total) Brenda Leigh Johnson, an Atlanta police detective, moves to Los Angeles to head up a special investigations homicide squad. She’s a sugar addict with a Southern drawl who happens to be a disarming, persuasive, hardheaded detective. Her unorthodox methods causes friction with her colleagues, and her boss is her ex, which makes for a tricky situation. Unlike many detective dramas on television, this is a rare instance where the quality of the mystery plots and character development are consistently good throughout the run of the series.

Lucifer (TV-14, Available On Netflix, 6 Seasons Total) This show is a very guilty pleasure, loosely based on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman (although for a more faithful version of the popular Vertigo comic book series, see Sandman, also on Netflix). Lucifer Morningstar — the name alone is a bit excessive, right? — is the devil in human form helping Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) solve murders. There are compelling cases and sexual tension similar to Castle; episodes like “Trip to Stabby Town” showcase Tom Ellis’s acting chops and the writing of a talented story department who know how to craft witty dialogue. This series is so popular, its reruns kicked Squid Game out of the number one spot in streaming when it was added to the Netflix catalogue.

Coming Soon

Only Murders In The Building, Season Four The exciting news in television right now is that Only Murders In The Building filmed a portion of their fourth season here in L.A. Of course, dedicated fans have mixed feelings about this story arc, with the Arconia in Manhattan being such an important part of every season’s murder mystery, but I trust John Hoffman and Steve Martin implicitly, and am convinced this will be the best season yet! The Hulu show premieres on Tuesday, August 27th.

Song of the Day, Part Two: “To Live & Die in L.A.” by 2Pac

What’d I miss on this list? Please tell me in the comments!