California Noir

“It’s harder to come back than it is to arrive”

In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes

July 1, 2023 by tiny_bookbot 1 Comment

CBR Bingo Square: Violence Maddeningly, I now don’t know what put Dorothy Hughes’s 1947 noir In a Lonely Place on my radar. (I thought it was Susan Straight’s 1001-book literary map of America, but…apparently not?) All I know is that I am a sucker for A) mystery novels, and B) novels about my home state, and what reliably ticks both boxes? Noir. And Dorothy Hughes was a new discovery for me, which made this novel all the more appealing. Also, deliciously, In a Lonely Place isn’t a […]

“Everyone loves a beautiful dead girl.”

Windhall by Ava Barry

March 21, 2021 by Halbs 2 Comments

Windhall is a novel about Hollywood, the way men treat women, fame, obsession, and Los Angeles. Hailey is an antisocial journalist at a counterculture zine turned blog (I think) in LA. He is obsessed with the decades old murder of a Hollywood star at the home of an infamous director. His obsession weaves in with his own family’s story, as well as the DNA of modern day Los Angeles. It’s hard for him to separate the glamour and allure of the city with the facts, […]

You Don’t Know From Gritty

January 10, 2018 by lumenatrix 1 Comment

L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy OK, well, if you’re looking for a quick little detective romp that makes you feel good about policing in America you REALLY need to look elsewhere. I knew this would be dark going in but man, this book is really dark and pretty graphic. I had to take a few breaks while reading it because it was getting a bit overwhelming. It is also one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. This story is way more […]

We Used to Be Friends (and still are)

April 26, 2014 by Jenny S Leave a Comment

Since the original series was noir fiction transported to the UPN—complete with voiceover (by Kristen Bell) and a sunny California town with a seedy underbelly—it makes perfect sense to create a book series based on Veronica’s world. Actually, when I googled VM to see which network it originally aired on (I thought UPN but wasn’t sure), I read that Rob Thomas had originally conceived of the show as a young adult book series with a male protagonist but decided that a female POV would be […]

tamaranth
on Among the Stars
I think you may have misunderstood the book. Caroline was his sister, not his wife.
Tracy
on I loved this book
Me, too! Glad I'm not the only one who started to tear up at that. But then again, I used...
esmemoria
on I loved this book
This book sounds wonderful and very moving.
finnyfinfinn
on I am Patient 6
Oh my godtopus I did not even consider the lack of air conditioning. Kill me immediately.
Emmalita
on I am Patient 6
My plan in the zombie apocalypse is to be killed early, because I won’t survive an unairconditioned summer on the...

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