James Ellroy
4) Perfidia
THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
"ONE HELLISHLY EXCITING RIDE."
—Detroit Free Press
The '50s are finished. Zealous young senator Robert Kennedy has a red-hot jones to nail Jimmy Hoffa. JFK has his eyes on the Oval Office. J. Edgar Hoover is swooping down on the Red Menace. Howard Hughes is dodging subpoenas and digging up Kennedy dirt. And Castro is mopping up the bloody aftermath of his new...
A Los Angeles homicide detective must catch a serial killer in this breathtaking crime novel from the New York Times–bestselling author of L.A. Confidential.
Lloyd Hopkins was not yet a cop when the Watts riots ripped Los Angeles apart. A member of the California National Guard, he had dreams of trading in his khaki uniform for blue—of serving and protecting instead of learning to kill. Called in to patrol
...The D. A.'s brass, a sheriff's deputy, and a rough-and-tumble bagman are unknowingly chasing a nightmare in this thrilling novel from the author of "some of the most powerful crime novels ever written" (New York Times).
Los Angeles, 1950 Red crosscurrents: the Commie Scare and a string of brutal mutilation killings. Gangland intrigue and Hollywood sleaze. Three cops caught in a hellish web of ambition, perversion, and deceit.
New York Times–bestselling author: An LAPD undercover cop goes missing in this crime novel by "one of the great American writers of our time" (Los Angeles Times).
There was never a better cop than Jungle Jack Herzog. A wiry man whose strength exceeded his frame, his ability to navigate the darkest corners of the City of Angels drew him repeated citations for bravery. Nicknamed the Alchemist for his uncanny
...10) White jazz
Los Angeles, 1958. Killings, beatings, bribes, shakedowns—it's standard procedure for Lieutenant Dave Klein, LAPD. He's a slumlord, a bagman, an enforcer—a power in his own small corner of hell. Then the Feds announce a full-out investigation into local police corruption,...
11) Brown's requiem
A PI investigates a conspiracy at an LA country club: The first book by "the author of some of the most powerful crime novels ever written" (The New York Times).
It would be a stretch to call Fritz Brown a detective. A PI in name only, he washed out of the police force at twenty-five, and makes a cash living doing under-the-table repo work for a sleazy used-car dealer. It's an ugly job, but Fritz is not one to say no to easy