The most recommended books about the Los Angeles Police Department

Who picked these books? Meet our 17 experts.

17 authors created a book list connected to the Los Angeles Police Department, and here are their favorite Los Angeles Police Department books.
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Book cover of The Murder Book

Elizabeth Flynn Author Of Game, Set and Murder

From my list on unravelling knotty murder mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always enjoyed murder mysteries, with spy novels coming a very close second. I like the puzzle aspect of the story and the unravelling thereof. From early in my childhood I have written and it has never occurred to me to write in any other genre than Crime Fiction. I do like, however, both in my own output and that which I read, to gain an insight into other people’s lives and histories. I like to learn about the surroundings in which the stories are set. Also, for me a must, the characters have to be rounded and three dimensional.

Elizabeth's book list on unravelling knotty murder mysteries

Elizabeth Flynn Why did Elizabeth love this book?

This is the first Alex Delaware book that I read, and I became immediately hooked. Delaware is a psychologist-detective based in Los Angeles, who works very closely with his good friend, Milo Sturgis, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. This story has them both looking back in time to a murder that Milo failed to solve. Between them they scour the “City of the Angels” and get to grips with this old case that never quite went away.

By Jonathan Kellerman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Murder Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twisting, brutal and terrifying but ultimately redemptive, THE MURDER BOOK by New York Times No. 1 bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, author of KILLER and BREAKDOWN, is recommended for fans of David Baldacci and Harland Coben.
'Optimism is a feature of The Murder Book although the premise is macabre . . . Kellerman ameliorates the horror with a surprising number of generous characters' (Telegraph)

Alex Delaware's relationship with his long-term partner is on the rocks. He is floored when Robin announces she's heading off on a three-month music tour.

But he soon has other things to think about. He is sent…


Book cover of Inner City Blues

Aaron Philip Clark Author Of Under Color of Law

From my list on crime novels that explore race in America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a novelist and screenwriter best known for my fourth novel, Under Color of Law, which features Black detective Trevor "Finn" Finnegan of the LAPD. I'm a lover of crime fiction, preferably noir, that works to entertain and enlighten readers by exploring the topical issues of today. I hold an MFA in Writing from Otis College and I’ve taught college-level English and creative writing courses for over ten years.

Aaron's book list on crime novels that explore race in America

Aaron Philip Clark Why did Aaron love this book?

A solid police procedural that influenced my own book, the novel explores race relations in Los Angeles amid the 1992 Uprising spurred by the beating of motorist Rodney King. Detective Charlotte Justice not only is tasked with solving the murder of a man responsible for killing her family but also contends with the misogynistic, racist, and overall toxic good old boy culture of the LAPD. The novel delivers a twisty mystery and deconstructs an event that should have served as the tipping point for police reform in America.

By Paula L. Woods,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inner City Blues as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Detective Charlotte Justice, a black woman in the very white, very male, and sometimes very racist Los Angeles Police Department. The time is 48 hours into the epochal L.A. riots and she and her fellow officers are exhausted. She saves the curfew-breaking black doctor Lance Mitchell from a potentially lethal beating from some white officers - only to discover nearby the body of one-time radical Cinque Lewis, a thug who years before had murdered her husband and young daughter. Was it a random shooting or was Mitchell responsible? And what had brought Lewis back to a city he'd long…


Book cover of The Last Detective

M.W. Craven Author Of Fearless

From my list on sidekicks in crime fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a British crime writer with a love of American crime fiction, particularly books with dark plots and quirky, unique characters. I am the author of the Sunday Times bestselling, multiple award-winning, Washington Poe series and the new Ben Koenig series but am first a reader—I read over a hundred books a year. I love discovering a new-to-me series that has a back catalogue for me to work through, and I appreciate recommendations. I’ve been a full-time author since 2015 and, as I suspected, it’s my dream job.

M.W.'s book list on sidekicks in crime fiction

M.W. Craven Why did M.W. love this book?

Although many fans consider Crais’s preceding book, L.A. Requiem, to be his masterpiece, I’ve chosen this because it perfectly encapsulates the relationship between flamboyant Elvis Cole and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike.

Pike is the ultimate sidekick. He’s taciturn, monosyllabic, and extremely complex. Dangerous as hell and completely loyal to Cole and anyone in Cole’s life; he’s taken bullets, knives—a whole bunch of weapons during the nineteen-book series.

In The Last Detective, the son of Cole’s girlfriend gets kidnapped and the evidence points to Cole’s service in Vietnam. Cole’s first call isn’t to the LAPD, it’s to Joe Pike. His message: ‘Joe, I’m scared.’ Pike drops everything and together they start hunting...

Pike is the third sidekick on my list to get his own series.

By Robert Crais,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Detective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'THE LAST DETECTIVE is literally a thrill-a-minute read. Crais is on top form, which, believe me, is about as good as it gets. Don't miss it' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

'The narrative is taut, the menace palpable, the suspense unbearable' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Elvis Cole has got a problem to solve - and this time it's personal.

Elvis Cole's girlfriend, Lucy, is out of town, and she has left her young son Ben in Elvis's care. Elvis and Lucy have had a few problems lately - not least over his job as a private investigator. But at last things seem to be…


Book cover of Spying in High Heels

Jody Holford Author Of Home Is Where the Body Is

From my list on making your inner sleuth swoon.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a romance, romantic comedy, and cozy mystery writer, I not only have a passion for the swoon-worthy moments when I’m creating them but crave them as a reader. There are so many great books out there but chemistry, particularly between a main character and her love interest, is what really makes me want more of a series. It’s not always easy to create that sigh-worthy-make-you-smile element of romance and love in a book that is geared toward solving a murder so I really appreciate when it’s done well. It’s not only enjoyable for me as a reader but a great example for me as a writer. 

Jody's book list on making your inner sleuth swoon

Jody Holford Why did Jody love this book?

This book is adorable and hilarious. My favorite cozies have a heavy punch of romance and sparks in them and this one definitely fits the bill. Maddie lands herself in all the wrong places, at all the wrong times, with all the wrong people. Watching her back, and the rest of her, is an LAPD detective who doesn’t want to fall for her charms but, like readers, absolutely can’t help himself. 

By Gemma Halliday,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spying in High Heels as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 Amazon, New York Times & USA Today Bestselling series! High Crime meets High Fashion when shoe designer turned amateur sleuth Maddie Springer is on the case...with laugh-out-loud results!

Struggling LA shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when her boyfriend suddenly disappears--along with $20 million in embezzled funds--her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. Now her every move is under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop, dead bodies are dropping around her faster than last season's trends, and the deeper she digs the more she realizes maybe she didn't…


Book cover of The Dark Hours

Judy Penz Sheluk Author Of Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide

From Judy's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader Loves research Loyal (probably to a fault) Daydream believer

Judy's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Judy Penz Sheluk Why did Judy love this book?

Part of the LAPD Harry Bosch (#23)/Renee Ballard (#4) police procedural series, The Dark Hours, is primarily told from Ballard’s POV.

The dark hours is cop-speak for midnight to seven on the night shift, but the title equally sums up Ballard’s struggles in her personal life and career. Perfect narration by Titus Welliver (Bosch) and Christine Lakin (Ballard), with Connelly at his best. I love the way he’s allowed his characters to not just grow older, but to change and evolve through the years. Brilliant.

By Michael Connelly,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Dark Hours as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Wall Street Journal and South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Book of the Year

“A masterpiece”—LAPD detective RenĂŠe Ballard must join forces with Harry Bosch to find justice in a city scarred by fear and social unrest after a methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve (Publishers Weekly).

There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD detective Renée Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop…


Book cover of The Onion Field

Rod Sadler Author Of Killing Women: The True Story of Serial Killer Don Miller's Reign of Terror

From my list on killers.

Why am I passionate about this?

The one thing you’ll find in common about the books I recommend and the books I write is the attention to detail. As a retired police officer, I know that it was often the smallest of details that helped solve a crime. In my books, you’ll find an inordinate amount of information that was never known to the public, and I think that’s what truly holds a reader’s interest. Killing Women is the true story of serial killer Don Miller, and you’ll be abhorred at what he did to his victims. Are you ready for his release in 2031?

Rod's book list on killers

Rod Sadler Why did Rod love this book?

As a high school senior planning a career in law enforcement, I was mesmerized by Joseph Wambaugh’s account of the kidnapping of two Los Angeles police officers in 1963, and the murder of one of them.  Wambaugh unsympathetically details the stories of the two men convicted in the case, while at the same time humanizing the officer who survived and suffered from humiliation and guilt again and again throughout seven years of court proceedings against the men who kidnapped him and murdered his partner. The courtroom dialogue is verbatim, and to me, that leads to a feeling that the reader is actually there watching the proceedings. Wambaugh is a superb writer, and I consider this book is another must-read.

By Joseph Wambaugh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Onion Field as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A fascinating account of a double tragedy: one physical, the other psychological.”—Truman Capote

This is the frighteningly true story of two young cops and two young robbers whose separate destinies fatally cross one March night in a bizarre execution in a deserted Los Angeles field.

“A complex story of tragic proportions . . . more ambitious than In Cold Blood and equally compelling!”—The New York Times

“Once the action begins it is difficult to put the book down. . . . Wambaugh’s compelling account of this true story is destined for the bestseller lists.”—Library Journal


Book cover of One of Us

Nikki Dudley Author Of Volta

From my list on memory and forgetting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated by the idea of memory. What sticks in your mind, what is lost, what can be manipulated, how you see things in different ways to others, and how sometimes you can’t trust even your own memories. I studied psychology at A-level and that sparked an interest in me, especially in terms of repression and learned behaviours. I studied creative writing to MA level at university, where I wrote my first thriller, which also focuses on memory. I’m always searching for reads that make me look at human nature differently, or break me out of routine and can offer a surprise. Surprises keep things interesting! 

Nikki's book list on memory and forgetting

Nikki Dudley Why did Nikki love this book?

This is a sci-fi thriller with amazing concepts and a page-turning story! Meet Hap Thompson – his job is to take on other people’s memories. He carries bad memories for a few hours and gets paid for the privilege. When he gets landed with a bad memory by someone who won’t take it back, he finds himself on the run. Then, people start disappearing… This is a fab read – refreshing different with some sci-fi elements, but still a thriller by nature. Michael Marshall Smith’s writing is both dark, humorous, and inventive. I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect novel but for the ideas about memory and forgetting, it delivers a lot.

By Michael Marshall Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One of Us as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A mesmerising SF thriller from a master of the genre. Hap Thompson is a REMtemp, working the night hours, having people's anxiety dreams for them. For the first time in his life, Hap's making big money - and that should have been enough...

Hap Thompson has finally found something he can do better than anyone else. And it's legal. Almost. Hap's a REMtemp, working the night hours, having people's anxiety dreams for them. For the first time in his life, Hap's making big money - and that should have been enough.

But then Hap is made an offer he just…


Book cover of The New Centurions

David Swinson Author Of The Second Girl

From my list on law enforcement who became authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I retired from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, as a detective assigned to the Major Crimes Unit, but I’ve always been a writer at heart and an avid reader. I graduated from California State University in Long Beach, CA, with a major in Film. I am the author of six crime fiction books, three of which involve retired detective turned PI Frank Marr. This trilogy was critically acclaimed. 

David's book list on law enforcement who became authors

David Swinson Why did David love this book?

This pick is a classic from an author who played a huge part in growing the police procedural genre. Wambaugh was also a detective sergeant but with the LAPD. He paved the way for other cops, like me, who want to write books.

All of Wambaugh’s books are wonderful reads, but this is one I remember most because I read it as a teenager, and it blew me away. It delves into some of the tougher aspects of being a cop, though, and the negative side of police culture. 

By Joseph Wambaugh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Centurions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet the Los Angeles blues—a new breed of cop. From the baby-faced rookies to hashmark heroes, they are besieged men, dealing daily with a world coming apart. Hunting killers, quelling gang wars, fighting corruption, they risk death every day . . . every night.

Joseph Wambaugh was a damn good cop and LAPD detective. For fifteen years he prowled the streets, solved murders, took his lumps. Now he’s the hard-hitting, tough-talking bestselling writer who tells the brutal, true stories of the men who risk their lives every time a siren screams.

Praise for The New Centurions

“As explosive as a…


Book cover of Murder at the Nightwood Bar

Aya Walksfar Author Of Run or Die

From my list on prove what love can do.

Why am I passionate about this?

My illiterate grandparents taught me to love learning. A librarian who shared books and food with a ragged, hungry kid cemented my love of books. My fifth-grade teacher in a ghetto school took unpaid time to encourage my writing. My mother taught me to never give up my dreams. Dogs taught me the meaning of unconditional affection and loyalty. And nowadays, when I lose faith in myself, it is my wife’s love and belief in me that keeps me going. Love, in its many forms, has shaped my life. 

Aya's book list on prove what love can do

Aya Walksfar Why did Aya love this book?

I liked the protagonist, Kate Delafield, immediately for her straightforward manner. Within very few pages, Katherine painted a picture of the neighborhood and the bar where a murder occurred in its back parking lot, yet she never caused the story to drag. Katherine pulled me in with her succinct description of the murder scene. It was as if I stood beside Kate Delafield.

As the detectives entered the bar, I felt lesbian history reverberating down through the years. As a lesbian, I identified with Kate Delafield and with the milieu within which she had to live and do her job as a police detective. I also understood the hostility of the bar patrons—all lesbians—toward the police. Without preaching, Katherine described the larger conflict inherent in the situation.

This book was so well-written that I “felt” the emotions of the characters; the sadness that a young life had been destroyed way…

By Katherine V. Forrest,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder at the Nightwood Bar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dory Quillin, nineteen-years old, her white-blonde hair ruffled by the gentle breezes of a June evening, lies dead in the parking lot of a lesbian bar. Her bewildered silver-blue eyes stare beseechingly into the mind and soul of the woman who kneels beside her: LAPD homicide detective Kate Delafield.

The investigation is far from a simple matter. Kate uncovers shocking facts about the brief life of the murdered young lesbian. She finds her road to the killer obstructed by Dory’s uncooperative, judgmental parents, the waning interest of her own partner, and most frustrating of all, the open hostility of women…


Book cover of The Promise

Susan Fleet Author Of Absolution

From Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Jazz lover World traveler Crime novelist Lap swimmer Music historian

Susan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Susan Fleet Why did Susan love this book?

For me, fascinating characters are the best part of a crime novel, and I love Maggie. She may be a dog, but she's smart and quite willing to tell you exactly what she's thinking.

Injured while working as a bomb sniffer dog in Afghanistan, Maggie has now recovered, and she adores her new handler, LAPD K9 Specialist Scott James. She loves helping him capture bad guys, in this case, an obsessive-compulsive egomaniac who builds bombs in his house and sells them to terrorists.

Mr. Rollins has strict rules, and he will kill anyone who doesn't obey them, including Maggie and her beloved handler. Don't miss the thrilling showdown between Mr. Rollins and Maggie.

By Robert Crais,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Promise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'One of the most entertaining thrillers of the year... THE PROMISE is filled with suspense, surprises and ably-drawn characters. ... putting him in the company of such greats as James Lee Burke, Sue Grafton, Stephen King and Elmore Leonard. THE PROMISE shows once again why he belongs there' WASHINGTON POST

Loyalty, commitment, the fight against injustice - these are the things that have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed.

When Elvis Cole is hired to locate a woman who may have disappeared with a…


Book cover of The Murder Book
Book cover of Inner City Blues
Book cover of The Last Detective

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