For those with work to do and kids to homeschool, the idea that you might have lots more time on your hands amid the coronavirus lockdown probably seems like a bad joke. But for those who have a bit of extra reading time to make the most of, here are five crime fiction series to help pass the lockdown hours:
The LA Quartet, James Ellroy
James Ellroy L.A. Confidential (Cornerstone)
James Ellroy is well deserving of his status as the pre-eminent crime fiction writer of our times, and for those yet to discover the demonic delights of his oeuvre, the original ‘LA Quartet’ is definitely the place to start. The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential and White Jazz are self-contained, labyrinthine mysteries united by recurring characters (most notably, the monstrous Irish detective Dudley Smith), caustic language and plotting that paints Los Angeles as a seething hotbed of violence, racism and sexual depravity.
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