Wednesday, December 26, 2012

CALIFORNIA DREAMING


What are some of your favorite books that are set in Southern California? We have a few Robert Crais and Michael Connelly. What else other than Chandler era writers? 

14 comments:

Chris said...

Don Winslow, certainly. Savages comes to mind, but I think I like Dawn Patrol even more. I'm also a big fan of Johnny Shaw's Dove Season.

Anonymous said...

T. Jefferson Parker - books like The Fallen and L. A. Outlaws among others.

Jeff M.

Brian Lindenmuth said...

Kem Nunn comes to mind: Tapping the Source (Huntington Beach), Unassigned Territory (partly in Pomona), Pomona Queen, The Dogs of Winter (NoCal I think), Tijuana Straits (Cali/TJ border).

Cutter & Bone by Newton Thornburg is set in San Diego.I don't remember specifically where his To Die in California is set. Dreamland is Hollywood.

Don Winslow of course.

Jerry House said...

Can't pass up a chance to mention
Richard Prather's Shell Scott series.

(the Captcha phrase for this post could be a SoCal novel itself: 7 diegimp)

Ron Scheer said...

From Riverside, California, Susan Straight. Also Walter Mosley.

Todd Mason said...

Ron Goulart crime fiction set there. Though he's a Bay Area native. And Loren Estleman has been known to leave Detroit as well. Robert Bloch with THE STAR STALKER and much short fiction. Nathaniel West. Horace McCoy with THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? at very least.

Charles Gramlich said...

Aren't Koontz's books set in southern Cal mostly? I remember a lot of his descriptions of the locals.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes, I preferred DAWN PATROL too. Been meaning to read Parker for years. Read CUTTER AND BONE a million years ago. And the film was great too.
Susan Straight and Mosley I have read some but more are on my shelves. Forgot both.
Nathaniel West-also read but will repeat DAY OF THE LOCUST. McCoy is underead too.
Have not read Prather at all.
Didion and Dunne-have read most of their work.
Haven't read Koontz either.

Cap'n Bob said...

Does Zorro count?

Rick Robinson said...

T. Jefferson Parker's first one, Laguna Heat. There are others, but they just don't come to mind.

Gerard Saylor said...

Series books: T. Jefferson Parker but his Deputy Hood series is much better than Fallen.

Winslow last surfer novel and Parker's Fallen have some neat insights into corruption and graft in San Diego.

I started reading most of an L.A. based series but cannot remember the author's dang name.

Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series.

James Ellroy.

One-offs:
Abbott Jr.'s Die A Little
Lee Goldberg's The Walk and Man With the Iron On Badge (or whatever new title he gave it).
Will Beall's L.A. Rex was outstanding.
Christa Faust's Money Shot

pattinase (abbott) said...

That Parker one looks like a good bet. And LA REX

Gerard said...

L.A. Rex came out several years ago. I emailed Beall in July, 2008 asking if he had another novel coming out and he had nothing due. I had periodically checked online for follow-up books but found nothing but notices about TV or film scripting.

Just now I did a search for Beall and, lo and behold, he scripted the new flick Gangster Squad.

Kent Morgan said...

I have enjoyed Terrill Lankford's novels about Hollywood, John Morgan Wilson's series featuring gay LA journalist Benjamin Justice who won and lost a Pulitzer Prize, Bill Moody's series about California jaze pianist Evan Horne who solves crimes related to real jazz musicians and Edward Wright's first three books set in LA in the late 1940s. His main character is B movie cowboy John Ray Horn who now works for the guy who was his Indian sidekick. Noir movie expert Eddie Muller wrote two excellent mysteries set in San Francisco that revolve around boxing writer Billy Nichols. Dante Mancuso is a former San Francisco cop turned PI in a series written by Domenic Stansberry. All are worth checking out.