Mario mentioned Ross Thomas as one of the "LA Guys." LA was
just one of the many locales Thomas seemed to know
inside-out. DC and numerous locations throughout Africa,
Europe and Asia, all places he plied his PR
(spy?) trade, get very detailed treatment in his various
books.
I think regional flavor has increased in importance in the
last decade or two of hardboiled/noir, expanding the settings
beyond Southern California and New York. Perhaps Parker's
Boston broke the mold, opening up the genre to new settings.
(Admittedly there are earlier exceptions like Goodis's
Philadelphia.)
I had a friend who used to go on a lot of business trips. He
made a habit of taking along a mystery set in his
destination. He never drew a blank.
Other regionalists:
LA is as much the lead character as Jack Liffey in John
Shannon's books.
The London of Russell James and Mark Timlin.
Ian Rankin's Edinburgh.
Loren Estleman's Detroit.
The underside of Seattle in G.M Ford. Earl Emerson shows
another side of the same city.
And, of course, there is Joe Lansdale's Texas.
Mark
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