re: #242 sagehen

If it makes you want to read more hard boiled detective books, I highly recommend Raymond Chandler (1940’s) and Michael Connelly (1990’s to present). Both are set in SoCal. Walter Mosely’s main character (Easy Rawlins) isn’t quite as hard-boiled, but the settings and plot are still pretty noir (post-WWII, mostly black characters — about evenly split between native Angelenos and transplants from Louisiana.)

I also recommend:

Loren Estleman (Amos Walker series, set in Detroit)
Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware series, set in LA but more upscale than “hard boiled”)