Los Angeles Through a Reader's Eyes: 30 Books Set in the City of Angels

Los Angeles is more than just movie stars and sunshine; it’s a city with countless stories hidden in its neighborhoods, streets, and history. If you love books that capture the feel of a place, LA offers so much material.

From hardboiled detective tales in shadowy bars to stories about dreamers searching for fame or just a place to belong, these novels really bring the city to life. Here are 30 reads that explore the many different sides of Los Angeles.

  1. 1
    The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

    This book takes you straight to 1940s LA. Two LAPD detectives investigate the horrific, real-life murder of Elizabeth Short. The case becomes an obsession.

    You follow them through a city thick with corruption and secrets, and you see how the darkness they uncover affects their own lives.

  2. 2
    L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy

    Welcome to the gritty 1950s LAPD. This story follows three cops: one brutal, one flashy, and one driven by ambition. A bloody massacre at the Nite Owl coffee shop throws them together. They uncover scandals and power plays that reach high places in the city.

    It’s a story full of tough choices and flawed characters.

  3. 3
    Ask the Dust by John Fante

    You feel the heat and dust of Depression-era Los Angeles in this one. Arturo Bandini wants desperately to be a famous writer, but mostly he’s just poor and full of doubt, living in a Bunker Hill hotel.

    His intense, troubled relationship with Camilla Lopez, a waitress, is unforgettable. Fante shows you the city’s tough beauty and the people who chase dreams there.

  4. 4
    The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

    Meet Philip Marlowe, the classic private eye. A rich old general hires him because someone is blackmailing his wild daughter. Marlowe finds himself tangled in a mess of lies, murder, and secrets that stretch from grand mansions to illicit bookstores.

    Chandler’s sharp wit and descriptions of LA make this a cornerstone of detective fiction.

  5. 5
    City of Bones by Michael Connelly

    Detective Harry Bosch gets a case when a dog digs up a child’s bone in the Hollywood Hills. The remains are decades old. Bosch follows the cold trail back through LA history, uncovering family secrets and forgotten pain.

    His commitment to the victim puts him at odds with department politics.

  6. 6
    Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

    It’s 1948 Los Angeles. Easy Rawlins, a Black WWII vet who just lost his job, needs money. He takes a job finding a mysterious woman named Daphne Monet.

    This search pulls him out of his quiet life and into the dangerous world of smoky Central Avenue jazz clubs, powerful politicians, and deadly secrets. You really root for Easy as he navigates this treacherous landscape.

  7. 7
    Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

    Philip Marlowe returns. He gets mixed up with a huge ex-con named Moose Malloy who just wants to find his old girlfriend, Velma. The search leads Marlowe through smoky bars, a shady psychic’s parlor, and encounters with dangerous people on both sides of the law.

    The plot twists keep you guessing in classic LA noir style.

  8. 8
    Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

    This book gives you a stark look at wealthy LA youth in the 1980s. Clay comes home from college for break and reconnects with his high school friends. He finds them adrift in a world of endless parties, drugs, and emotional emptiness.

    It’s a haunting picture of excess and the detachment beneath the glamorous surface.

  9. 9
    Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion

    Maria Wyeth is an actress whose life is falling apart. She drives the freeways of Los Angeles and retreats to the desert, trying to make sense of personal tragedy and the hollow nature of Hollywood.

    Didion’s sharp, fragmented style perfectly captures Maria’s despair and the city’s bleak emptiness.

  10. 10
    The Sellout: A Novel by Paul Beatty

    This is a wild, satirical ride. The narrator, a resident of a forgotten LA neighborhood called Dickens, tries to put his community back on the map. His methods are outrageous: he reinstates segregation and even takes on a willing slave.

    The book uses sharp humor to tackle race, identity, and American history head-on.

  11. 11
    The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West

    West shows the desperate side of 1930s Hollywood. Tod Hackett comes to LA to design movie sets but gets caught up with the wannabes and has-beens on the fringes of the film industry.

    You meet aspiring starlets, washed-up vaudevillians, and angry crowds drawn by the promise of glamour, only to find disillusionment. The final scene is incredibly powerful.

  12. 12
    What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg

    This story chronicles the relentless rise of Sammy Glick. Narrator Al Manheim watches Sammy claw his way from poverty on New York’s Lower East Side to become a powerful Hollywood producer. Sammy uses charm, manipulation, and betrayal to get ahead.

    The book asks tough questions about ambition and the price of success in the movie business.

  13. 13
    The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

    This is the book that introduced Harry Bosch. The LAPD detective investigates the death of a fellow Vietnam “tunnel rat” whose body is found in a Mulholland Dam drainpipe. The case connects to a daring bank heist and forces Bosch to confront his own past.

    It’s a great start to the Bosch series, full of LA atmosphere.

  14. 14
    Hollywood by Charles Bukowski

    Bukowski’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, gives his unfiltered take on the movie business. Based on Bukowski’s own experience writing the screenplay for the film “Barfly,” the book follows Chinaski through the absurd process.

    He deals with eccentric directors, demanding actors, and the general chaos of filmmaking. It’s funny, crude, and shows a side of LA far from the usual glitz.

  15. 15
    Hollywood by Gore Vidal

    Part of Vidal’s “Narratives of Empire” series, this novel explores Los Angeles and Washington D.C. during the early 20th century, particularly around World War I. Newspaper publisher Caroline Sanford moves between the worlds of politics and the booming film industry.

    Vidal mixes historical figures with his fictional characters to show how power, media, and movies were shaping America.

  16. 16
    The A-List by Zoey Dean

    This young adult novel introduces Anna Percy, a sophisticated teen from New York. She moves to LA hoping for a fresh start among the city’s young elite. She quickly finds herself in a world of exclusive parties, backstabbing friends, and Hollywood drama.

    It’s a fun look at the lives of privileged LA teens.

  17. 17
    Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

    Frey presents a wide look at Los Angeles through many interconnected stories. You meet a vast array of characters: hopeful newcomers, a troubled homeless man, a successful movie star, and many others.

    Their dreams, struggles, and encounters paint a picture of the city’s extremes, from incredible opportunity to harsh reality.

  18. 18
    Drive by James Sallis

    The nameless main character is a stunt driver for movies by day and a getaway driver for criminals by night. He lives by a strict code and keeps to himself. When a robbery goes wrong, he becomes the target of dangerous men.

    The book is lean, tense, and captures the lonely, gritty feel of LA’s less-seen corners.

  19. 19
    If He Hollers Let Him Go by Chester Himes

    This powerful novel puts you inside the mind of Bob Jones, a Black foreman in the Los Angeles shipyards during World War II. He constantly faces racism and prejudice, and the pressure builds intensely throughout the story.

    Himes gives a raw, unflinching look at racial tension and the struggle for dignity in wartime LA.

  20. 20
    L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais

    Private investigator Elvis Cole steps up when his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, becomes the main suspect in his ex-girlfriend’s murder. To clear Pike’s name, Cole must explore Pike’s closely guarded past.

    The investigation reveals police corruption and long-buried secrets, leading to a dangerous confrontation.

  21. 21
    Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: A Novel by Quentin Tarantino

    Tarantino expands on his film. He follows fading TV actor Rick Dalton and his loyal stunt double Cliff Booth through 1969 Los Angeles. Rick worries about his career, while Cliff navigates life with a mysterious past.

    The book offers rich details about the era’s film industry, life in LA, and includes more about characters like Sharon Tate and the Manson Family members.

  22. 22
    The Revolt of the Cockroach People by Oscar Zeta Acosta

    This semi-autobiographical novel features Buffalo Zeta Brown, a lawyer deeply involved in the Chicano Movement in late 1960s/early 1970s Los Angeles. Brown defends activists and participates in protests against injustice.

    The book captures the raw energy, anger, and courtroom battles of that turbulent time.

  23. 23
    Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson

    Ann and her flamboyant mother, Adele, leave Wisconsin for California. Adele has big dreams of Hollywood success for Ann.

    Their journey and life in Los Angeles show the complex, often difficult relationship between mother and daughter as they pursue Adele’s ambitions against tough odds.

  24. 24
    City of Night by John Rechy

    This groundbreaking book follows a young man through the underground world of male hustlers in American cities, with significant sections set in Los Angeles. He searches for connection in places like Pershing Square.

    The novel offers a bold and frank look at marginalized lives and hidden communities in the urban landscape of the early 1960s.

  25. 25
    Factotum by Charles Bukowski

    Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s literary counterpart, bounces between low-wage jobs and cheap bars in Los Angeles. He works dead-end positions, gets fired, drinks, and tries to write.

    The book offers a gritty, humorous, and unvarnished look at life on the margins of the city, filled with sharp observations about survival.

  26. 26
    In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes

    This chilling noir novel is set in post-WWII Los Angeles. Dix Steele, an ex-airman, seems charming but harbors a dark side. While he wanders the city at night, supposedly writing a novel, a serial killer targets women.

    His connections with an old war buddy now on the police force and a perceptive neighbor named Laurel create intense suspense.

  27. 27
    Paint it Black by Janet Fitch

    Josie Tyrell, an art model, grieves after her artist boyfriend, Michael, takes his own life. She finds herself drawn into the world of Michael’s wealthy, controlling mother, Meredith, a concert pianist.

    Set against the backdrop of LA’s 1980s punk rock scene and elite Pasadena, the story explores the intense relationship between these two women connected by loss and secrets.

  28. 28
    Southland by Nina Revoyr

    Jackie Ishida is a young Japanese-American law student. After her grandfather dies, she discovers secrets that connect her family to the Crenshaw district and a mysterious death that occurred during the 1965 Watts Riots involving a Black family.

    The story moves between past and present, exploring race relations, family history, and hidden connections in Los Angeles.

  29. 29
    Hollywood Husbands by Jackie Collins

    Collins takes you inside the lives of three powerful Hollywood men: a movie star, a studio executive, and a talk show host. Their careers are booming, but their personal lives are full of secrets, betrayals, and scandals.

    The book shows the cutthroat ambition and drama behind the glamorous facade of the entertainment industry.

  30. 30
    Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins

    This bestseller reveals the luxurious, dramatic, and often treacherous lives of women married to Hollywood’s most powerful men. Behind the designer clothes and lavish parties are affairs, rivalries, and secrets waiting to explode.

    Collins provides a juicy look at the ambitions and struggles for power within LA’s elite social circles.