I haven't read much L.A. based crime, tbh, but it's nice to see noir / pulp draw its fans in. I'm one, 100%.

My man for urban street crime is George Pelecanos. I think I've read damn near all his stuff. His prose hits all the notes to convey an era, a mood. And the plots are excellent and I like his protagonists. Most settings are Baltimore/D.C., from where he hails. Good stuff.

<would not consider downstream posts with fave authors off-topic even if they didn't RTFA (I did, first, honest).> [edit: I transplanted to LA around the 2nd bubble pop, just random timing]