The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 9 books · 1987 to 2019 · Mostly set in Los Angeles

James Ellroy

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspenseHistorical fictionPolice proceduralHistorical crimeNoir and hardboiledPolitical thrillerWartime and twentieth century

James Ellroy writes dark, jagged, obsessive crime fiction about corrupt Los Angeles police and the secret history of America. The L.A. Quartet includes The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential; the menacing Dudley Smith runs through many of the books.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Real historical figures appear in many of his books; only invented characters are charted.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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James Ellroy books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

L.A. Quartet

4 books · Set in Los AngelesNoir and hardboiledPolice proceduralHistorical crime
  1. 1The Black Dahlia1987With Bucky BleichertBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Big Nowhere1988With Danny UpshawBuy on Amazon
  3. 3L.A. Confidential1990With Ed Exley and Bud WhiteBuy on Amazon
  4. 4White Jazz1992With Dave KleinBuy on Amazon

Underworld USA

3 books · Set in various US locationsNoir and hardboiledPolitical thrillerHistorical crime
  1. 1American Tabloid1995With Pete Bondurant and Kemper BoydBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Cold Six Thousand2001With Pete Bondurant and Ward LittellBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Blood's a Rover2009With Wayne Tedrow Jr and Dwight HollyBuy on Amazon

Second L.A. Quartet

2 books · Set in Los Angeles · story order differsNoir and hardboiledHistorical crimeWartime and twentieth century
  1. 1Perfidia2014With Dudley Smith and Kay LakeBuy on Amazon
  2. 2This Storm2019With Dudley SmithBuy on Amazon

Characters

15 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The LAPD

Underworld USA