RARA-AVIS: Hard-Boiled Gazetteer to Southern California

From: William Denton ( buff@pobox.com)
Date: 31 May 2004


The 1 May 2004 issue of BOOKLIST (from the American Library Association, so North Americans can probably find it at their local library) has a feature called "A Hard-Boiled Gazetteer to Southern California," by Bill Ott. Below are all the books he mentions, which are mostly series. Some seem a bit light on the hardboiled/noir credentials (excepting Ellroy, Mr. Lankford, Crais, etc.), but many names are either new to me or ones I've only seen on bookstore shelves. What's the verdict on, say, Seranella's Munch Mancini series? And has anyone read Stansberry's MANIFESTO FOR THE DEAD, where Jim Thompson is ficionalized?

Santa Barbara
  Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series

Downtown Los Angeles
  Joseph Wambaugh's cop novels
  James Ellroy's LA Quartet

Hollywood
  Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series
  John Morgan Wilson's Benjamin Justice series
  Paula L. Woods's Charlotte Justice series
  Elmore Leonard's two books with Chili Palmer (inc. GET SHORTY)
  Steven Bochco's Eddie Jelko books
  Domininc Stansberry, MANIFESTO FOR THE DEAD (2000), which is a
    "fictionalized treatment of the last days of noir master Jim
    Thompson"
  Robert Ferrigno's Jimmy Gage series
  Edward Wright's John Ray Horn series
  Terrill Lee Lankford, "a Mark Hayes novel," i.e. EARTHQUAKE
    WEATHER (2004) which is the only such thing
  Stuart Kaminsky's Toby Peters series
  Robert B. Campbell's Whistler series

Laurel Canyon and the Hollywood Hills
  Robert Crais's Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series
  Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series

South Central LA
  Gar Anthony Haywood's Aaron Gunner series
  Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series
  Gary Phillips's Ivan Monk series
  John Shannon's Jack Liffey series

West Valley
  Faye Kellerman's Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series

Santa Monica
  April Smith's Ana Grey series
  Barbara Seranella's Munch Mancini series
  Elzabeth M. Cosin's Zen Moses series

Orange County
  T. Jefferson Parker's Merci Rayborn series

Palm Springs
  Michael Craft's Claire Gray series

San Diego
  Steve Martini's Paul Madriani series
  Jack Trolley's Tommy Donahoo series

An earlier list, "A Hard-Boiled Gazetteer to Chicago," is available on the web at:

   http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/mysteryshowcase/hardboiledgazetteer.htm

Bill

-- 
William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.

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