EPISODE 87: 10 MUST READ MYSTERY NOVELS SET THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

In this week's episode of Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast, host Jon Steinberg shares his list of 10 must read mystery novels set throughout Southern California. His list includes: "In a Lonely Place" by Dorothy Hughes, "Inherent Vice" by Thomas Pynchon, "IQ" by Joe Ide, "Damage Control" by Denise Hamilton, "California Girl" by T Jefferson Parker, "The Black Dahlia" by James Ellroy, "The Black Echo" by Michael Connelly, "The Moving Target" by Ross McDonald, "Devil in a Blue Dress" by Walter Mosley, "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler.

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Transcript

0:09

Hello, and welcome to another installment of living in the sprawl. So the California's most adventurous podcast I am as always your humble host and correspondent. My name is John Steinberg and I am joined in tandem by my lovely and infinitely talented producer slash my wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises. Ready to bring you yet? Another exciting foray into the vast expansive terrain that we have lovingly dubbed the sprawl. On today's show. We hit the books. We get a bit. Uh, learned on the program today. We're taking a look. At the 10. Must read mystery novels that are set within the glorious. Bounds of the Southern California sprawl. When I was a kid, I first picked up a copy. Of LA confidential. I was about seven. And, um, well, let's just go ahead and say that I was hooked. The mystery at the center of the novel. The juicy. Todd Reed elements surrounding the action. The seemingly endless array of supporting characters. With motivations that were sometimes. Abundantly clear and sometimes not clear at all. In short. I became an early adopter of all things, mystery. Over time. Agatha Christie. Dashel Hamot. James M. Cain. Patricia Highsmith. And there. Other noted. Literary brethren. And snared me with tales ranging from. Private investigators seeking the identity of dastardly culprits behind a series. Of landmark crimes. Or it could be. The disappearance. Of an error. Shrouded. And a mysterious. On determinable Hayes. That certain authors just happen to calculate exactly right. Los Angeles and Southern California. More broadly speaking. R. One of the greatest locales for mysteries in the modern era. That never ending stream. Of Hills mountains. Canyons. Reservoirs. Hidden mansions. Hillside estates. Beaches desert. Mountains. Snow sun. Everything. All of the possibilities exist within the sprawl. And lucky for us. As we'll come to understand. This area has been and will continue to be a fertile breeding ground. For all things mystery. So. Let's take a look this week. At the 10 must read mystery novels set within the bounds of the Southern California spur Raul. And number 10. In a lonely place. By the famed poet, Dorothy B. Hughes. Now those of you unfamiliar with the novel might. I have heard. Of the quintessential 1950 filmed war annotation and that starred one Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Graham. Dorothy B. Hughes was not a lifelong, so Cal resident. She bided her adult time. In New Mexico. Missouri dispel in New York and did enjoy a brief period. Out in LA LA land. And it's in this. Wicked novel. That Ms. Hughes. Crafts. A wonderfully engaging narrative. Centered around the exploits. Of Dixon steel. He's a serial killer question, mark. He's trying to help track down a serial killer. Period. There are a plethora of twists and turns in this. Unsettling. Paige Turner. And the way in which. Post world war two. Los Angeles is depicted. Remind those of us living in current day. L a. That the city once. Really was a place where you could zip around from Manhattan beach to Alhambra back to Hollywood and over the hill to Tarzana. Not so much today. But that's okay because we get to celebrate the legacy of this wonderful place in pieces of literature. Like. The all time great mystery novel in a lonely place by Ms. dorothy b hughes Number nine inherent vice by noted literary recluse, Thomas Pynchon. Now Pinchin along with figures like Don DeLillo. Laurie Moore. Paul Auster and a host of others have come to define post-modern literature in the 20th century. And here at vice. If we're talking about pensions. Bibliography is one of the more accessible works. That he ever put out to the public. Here. We're transported back. To a greasy time in Los Angeles history. We're introduced to doc Spilotro. A pot smoking. Private eye. Uh, tasked with tracking down. A mega wealthy. Industrialist who's gone missing. Enter some shady characters. Uh, bizarre police detective. Multiple. Damsels in distress. And you've got yourself the makings of a classic mystery novel. For those of you that haven't. Sat with one of Mr. Pensions books. I dare you to read gravity's rainbow the all time example of a book. That universally has elicited the response. I got through it when people complete the story. Here. It's a low down. In the mud. Reckless version of the city of angels. Albeit contrasted with the. Ever flowing sunshine. Matriculating in the air. Thomas Pynchon. Never intended for the work to be turned. Into a film, but that's exactly what happened when. Living in the sprawl. Favorite son, Paul Thomas Anderson. Adapted this book. For the big screen. Some years back. Joaquin Phoenix portrays. Doc's below TRO in the movie. Josh Brolin's involved. Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson. A cast of cinematic luminaries. But go back and read this engrossing novel. That'll transport you back to a time. When people showered far less war, significantly more hair product. And everyone seemed to have an a Pfarius side hustle. Uh, number eight. I Q. Bye Joe EDA. A more recent entry. On our list, this 2016 Edgar award finalist. Demonstrates. That be it in the 1940s, the 1970s or in the present day. The city of angels. Has the market cornered on mysterious. Here, the action takes place largely in the south Los Angeles portion. Of the city. Where amateur. Sleuth Isaiah Quinn Taba. Attempts to piece together. Some truly horrific events. Now we get. Some action concerning the music industry. Some downright nasty rappers are in the mix. And all the action is neatly juxtaposed. With the. Stark reality imposed by the socio economic reality. Of the Southern part of the city. This is far removed from. The Hilltop mansions that dot. The roads. Hovering over Hollywood. It's a gritty. Blue collar. Landscape that is heavily divorced from the more glamorous. Side of Los Angeles. Joe Or EDA. Who was raised in south Los Angeles draws upon. His own set of experiences growing up in the area. Tapping into is Japanese American background. And using all the tools at his disposal to craft a truly memorable. Work. Of fiction. It's IQ by Joe EDA. And number seven, damage control by Denise Hamilton. Again. On the newer side of things. The book. Concerns. A dead girl, a corrupt politician. A series. Of wrongdoing folks up to. No good. In west Los Angeles. The way in which Hamilton. Draws upon the city's unique character to flesh out the narrative is truly impressive. Our main. Protagonist here. Comes to her unique set of circumstances. Slightly jaded. But still clear-eyed enough. To be able to see a situation for what it is. The writing here is terrific. Ms. Hamilton. Also a Southern California native. Has. Curated. Some excellent. Mystery oriented and thought In the last 20 years or so. So it's no surprise that her own work would be this suburb. And number seven, we highly recommend. That you dive into. The proverbial swamp. With damage control. Uh, number six, California girl by T Jefferson Parker. Now, right off the bat. The first thing that I was struck by was the fact that this author. Has a first initial that doesn't actually stand for anything. The T. Is merely a T. And his mother thought. That by listing T Jefferson. It would make him appear more Regal and estimable in the eyes of others kind of reminds me of the world, according to Garp where Ts Garp. Really stands for nothing. In any event. Mr. Parker. Has said. His relatively modern story. Within the confines of orange county. Here we get. Some of the seedier characters. Breathing in. The ocean side air in places like Laguna beach and Newport beach. The narrative is tight. The details. Leap off the page. And one cannot help, but continue turning pages once they've really gotten started. Mr. Parker has long been renowned. As a Maestro in the mystery field. Panning. A host of successful mystery novels that all pretty much derive. Their essence. By looking in. To the toddler, your side. Of the OSI. At number six. It's California girl. By T which doesn't stand for anything. Jefferson Parker. And number five, the black Dahlia by James Ellroy. I alluded to the work of Mr. Ellroy at the outset of the podcast. And indeed you may be reasonably wondering, well then why isn't it higher on the list? Well, I didn't want to put LA confidential on there. See, I never liked repeating stuff on the podcast. And for long time listeners, you may recall. An episode early on where we discussed some of our favorite authors. That draw from. The sprawl as a character. James Ellroy was discussed at that point. And though the black Dahlia is not on the same level as LA confidential. It is pretty close. This is actually one in a series of four. The others being elite confidential, the big nowhere and white jazz. In Mr. Ellroy's. Much ballyhooed Los Angeles. Quartet series. Corrupt police. Fast women. A little bit of all time boxing. And some. Historical revision. Make this an unforgettable novel. Now of course the black Dahlia. Which for those that don't know is the unsolved 1947 murder. Um, Elizabeth Short. And then the subsequent. Arrangement of the body in a grotesque gruesome manner. In Leimert park. Has. As I mentioned never actually been solved. But Mr. Ellroy provides. His analysis on the case. And indeed. Comes up with a potential. Culprit behind. The disturbing murder. This one was also turned into a film. Brian de Palma. One of my favorite directors. Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart. Scarlett Johannson. Unfortunately, the film is not that great, but the book really is. And for those of you. Like the team here at sprawl enterprises that are interested in all things, true crime. This is a wonderful. Must read. Novel. That does its darndest. To create. A reasonable solution. To the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short. More commonly known as the black dahlia At number four, the black echo by Michael Connolly. This is the first. In the Hieronymus Bosch series. Written long before Mr. Connolly. Would enjoy. Fame the world over in a much deserved reputation as one of the real Alions. Of. Crime fiction. In this. Novel. We learned a great deal about the tunnels. Hiding. Beneath the city. And. All of the skullduggery. That could potentially go on. Underneath the pavement. The success of this book prompted Connolly to continue on. His Hieronymus Bosch series. And as of this recording, He's been writing. Bosch stories for going on 30 years now. The team here at sprawl enterprises actually got to attend a recent. Michael Connolly interview in person. We got a book signed. He had a nice moment with the man. And it was important that we did that because. If we're talking about active mystery writers. There are basically none that are as decorated as Michael Connolly, the Bosch series. It's coming close to rivaling the output of other folks that we haven't talked about yet on this podcast. And it all started. Within the pages of the black echo. So for those of you. That adore the Amazon show. By all the Harry Bosch books. It may have been easy to have skipped this first. Installment in the series. But we assure you, it is definitely worth your time. The black echo from michael Connolly. At number three. The moving target by Ross MacDonald. This is the first. In the Lu Archer series. By the end of it. And there would be 18 books in the series. Multiple film adaptations. And. The justification for a lengthy. The spell at the top. Of the metaphorical crime fiction mountain. Ross MacDonald real name, Kenneth Miller. Created the Archer character. Known. In the Paul Newman movies as Harper. And here we've got a grizzled. Private investigator. The guy that likes to drink, likes to smoke. Chase women. What. In the 1950s would have seemed like a quote unquote man's man. And we transport that man's man. To the fictional locale. St Teresa. Sorry, Santa Teresa. Which was McDonald's stand in for Santa Barbara. And it would be decades later that Sue Grafton, who we also talked about on that aforementioned. Episode concerning sprawl authors. Who would also set her. Alphabet series in. Santa Teresa. And the moving target. Uh, Lou Archer finds himself. Attempting to track down. A missing. Financial whale. Some less. Then scrupulous daughters enter the equation. And Archer finds himself. Plumbing the depths of the Southern California underworld. A riveting tale. That has captivated audiences for going on 50 plus years now. The moving target kicked off. A glorious. Crime fiction run. That continues to the present day. Ross MacDonald. Perhaps isn't quite as famous as some of his literary counterparts. But he is. More than deserving. I have a place near the tippy top of the heap. When we discuss. Great. Crime fiction, mystery writers. And it all started here the first book and the Lou Archer series the moving target And there were two devil in a blue dress by Walter Mosley. Mostly grew up in the south land. And draws upon the experiences from his upbringing to craft this narrative. With as much realism. And grit as humanly possible. This is the first in the easy Rawlins series. A. Ridiculously successful. Compilation of novels. Focusing on. Amateur private investigator, easy Rawlins. The happenings on display here. It take place. In Watts. And other portions of the city. But it's Mosley's. Seemingly effortless ability to capture the plight. And desires. Of residents from Watts. That really. Take this novel to the next level. Some of, you may have seen the film adaptation with Denzel Washington. And Jennifer Beals. But again, I think we're noticing a trend. We've got some missing. Uh, figures. Some fast women. Character's not on the up and up. A sorted collection. Of thieves hula gains. And. The elite. Mostly who we also mentioned on our episode from quite a while ago, concerning. Sprawl based authors. Has. Made a career. of documenting. The lives. Of marginalized. Communities in south Los Angeles. Easy Rawlins. Mosley's most lauded creation. Is a war veteran. With a knack for putting complex concepts together. Rollins. Battles discrimination. Doubt. And other elements. To make a go at solving mysteries. indeed Mosley. Has proven. To be. One of the better mystery solvers working in contemporary crime fiction. His books, breeze by you never feel as though. You're stuck in the mud at the action always flows and there's no better example of that. Then the narrative. Contained within the pages of this first easy Rawlins mystery devil in a blue dress. Unequivocally a must read for any. Mystery reader. Out there today. And that means we've arrived at our number one. So lot. So. It simply has to be the big sleep by Raymond Chandler because of course it does. Raymond Chandler only wrote seven novels. But his legacy looms, large and vast. A true underdog story. Chandler didn't even begin. His work as a novelist until he reached his forties. But what he gave to the world in the form. Of iconic, private investigator, Philip Marlowe. Will last. For generations across. The globe. Philip Marlowe. Who we meet? In this novel. Has a tendency to find himself in. Some rather complicated scenarios. I remember reading a quote where Raymond Chandler said, Hey, if. I ever get to a point. In the writing process where I can't really figure out where the next plot point should come from. I just go ahead and throw in some henchman. And I find that interesting. Because Chandler, unlike many of his peers. As someone that made his bones on the back. Of writing that. Really gathered as much as possible. From stuff like atmosphere, vibe, mood. The plot wasn't as central. As Chandler saw it. So in this way. He invites comparison to the Cohen brothers who have famously. You mentioned. That in all of their movies, they are going for atmosphere as opposed to plot. Philip Marlowe is an unforgettable private investigator. Maybe the best. The team here at sprawl enterprises actually argues that it is the best. Example of. A. Character that can sustain. An entire series of novels. See, there's this trend in literature. That has. The 25th book in the filled the blank series or the 50th book in the exploits of such and such person. Here. Just because of the lateness in life. When Chandler began his career, we've only got seven novels draw upon. So he never got to the point in his career where the action became flabby and bloated. It's a tight seven and it all starts. With the. Web of deceit on display within the pages of the big sleep. Now, of course, this is one of the more famous mystery movies of all time. And Humphrey Bogart is involved and you should absolutely watch that film, but don't sleep on the book. I hate making ponds and I did that without thinking about it. The big sleep. Number one on our list of the quintessential mystery novels set within the bounds of Southern California. And that's going to do it for another episode of the show. We'd like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for listening to the work that we put out a couple of easy ways to support the podcast, hop on apple iTunes, or wherever you listen to the show, leave us a five star rating and a nice review. That stuff really helps us out on the business. End. Follow us on Instagram. The handle is living in the sprawl podcast. Write us an email. We always love to correspond with listeners living in the sprawl podcast@gmail.com is the address where you can send those. Additionally, we'd like to remind you about our dynamic, incredible website. And it's on this website where you can snap up living in the sprawl merchandise. If you can think of it. And we can make it happen, which we can. Living in the sprawl, our website, that's the place to order it up. So on behalf of myself. I am one half of the team, your humble correspondent and host. My name is John Steinberg joined by my lovely and talented producer slash my wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. Thanking you again for listening to another episode of living in the sprawl. Southern California's most adventurous podcast. We'll chat again real soon.