The 34 essential crime novels of Los Angeles

Born and raised in Reno, NV, Katie Orphan eventually made her way to Los Angeles via Spokane, WA, where she earned her B.A. from Whitworth University and Sheffield, UK, where she earned her M.A. from the University of Sheffield. She managed the Last Bookstore, located in downtown Los Angeles, for a decade. She now owns her own business, Orphan Books, Inc., and if you ever need help putting together a home library, set/prop library, or a bookstore, she’s your gal.

Her writing can be found on LitHub and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and interviews with her can be found in publications such as the New York Times and Open Skies magazine, as well as with Los Angeles’s CBS, WB, and NBC affiliates. Her debut book, Read Me, Los Angeles: Exploring L.A.'s Book Culture is now out.

At CrimeReads, Orphan tagged "34 novels every lover of LA Noir should read as soon as humanly possible," including:

Kind of Blue, Miles Corwin (2010)

A former Los Angeles Times crime reporter successfully turns his writing talent to the story of a jazz-loving, Jewish LAPD detective.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Page 69 Test: Kind of Blue.

My Book, The Movie: Kind of Blue.

--Marshal Zeringue