Order of Book Series
0

James Ellroy Books in Order

James Ellroy has written 28 books, published between 1981 and 2026. The first book is Brown's Requiem (1981) and the newest is Red Sheet (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
28
Published
1981–2026
Pages on record
9,130 in 21 of 28 books
Reading time
152–228 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 9,130 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 28 titles with a page count on record.

See all 28 books in order Printable James Ellroy checklist
Photo of James Ellroy, author

Los Angeles crime is James Ellroy's territory - police, murder and hard-boiled detective fiction. Brown's Requiem (1981) opens the catalogue; the Lloyd Hopkins books follow in the mid-1980s, and The Black Dahlia (1987) and The Big Nowhere (1988) start the L.A. Quartet. Underworld U.S.A. and a Second L.A. Quartet came after. Ellroy has 28 titles catalogued, arriving at Red Sheet in 2026.

How many James Ellroy books are there?

James Ellroy has 28 books, released between 1981 and 2026. They include 5 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.

James Ellroy Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 28 James Ellroy books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Brown's Requiem by James Ellroy (1981)
  2. Cover of Blood on the Moon by James Ellroy, book 1 of the Lloyd Hopkins series (1984)
  3. Cover of Because the Night by James Ellroy, book 2 of the Lloyd Hopkins series (1984)
  4. Cover of Killer on the Road / Silent Terror by James Ellroy (1986)
  5. Cover of Suicide Hill by James Ellroy, book 3 of the Lloyd Hopkins series (1986)
  6. Cover of The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy, book 1 of the L.A. Quartet (1987)
  7. Cover of The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy, book 2 of the L.A. Quartet (1988)
  8. Cover of L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, book 3 of the L.A. Quartet (1990)
  9. Cover of Dick Contino's Blues and Other Stories by James Ellroy (1993)
  10. Cover of American Tabloid by James Ellroy, book 1 of the Underworld U.S.A. series (1995)
  11. Cover of My Dark Places by James Ellroy (1996)
  12. Cover of Crime Wave by James Ellroy (1999)
  13. Cover of The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy, book 2 of the Underworld U.S.A. series (2001)
  14. Cover of Destination by James Ellroy (2003)
  15. Cover of The Hilliker Curse by James Ellroy (2006)
  16. Cover of The Best American Noir of the Century by James Ellroy, book 2 of the Best American Mystery Stories series (2010)
  17. Cover of This Storm by James Ellroy, book 2 of the Second L.A. Quartet (2019)
  18. Cover of Widespread Panic by James Ellroy (2021)
  1. 1
    Brown's Requiem1981 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Clandestine1982 · 328 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982328
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Blood on the MoonLloyd Hopkins #11984 · 262 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Because the NightLloyd Hopkins #21984 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Killer on the Road / Silent Terror1986 · 266 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986266
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Suicide HillLloyd Hopkins #31986 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Black DahliaL.A. Quartet #11987 · 371 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987371
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Big NowhereL.A. Quartet #21988 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    L.A. ConfidentialL.A. Quartet #31990 · 496 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990496
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    White JazzL.A. Quartet #41992 · 354 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992354
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    Hollywood Nocturnes1993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    American TabloidUnderworld U.S.A. #11995 · 592 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995592
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    My Dark Places1996 · 427 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996427
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    Crime Wave1999 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    The Cold Six ThousandUnderworld U.S.A. #22001 · 688 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001688
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    The Best American Mystery Stories 3Best American Mystery Stories #12002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Destination2003 · 389 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003389
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    The Hilliker Curse2006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Blood's A RoverUnderworld U.S.A. #32009 · 656 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009656
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    The Best American Noir of the CenturyBest American Mystery Stories #22010 · 752 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010752
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    Shakedown2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    PerfidiaSecond L.A. Quartet #12014 · 720 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014720
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    LAPD '532015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    This StormSecond L.A. Quartet #22019 · 589 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019589
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    Widespread Panic2021 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2021336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    The Enchanters2023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    Red Sheet2026 · confirmed 2/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James Ellroy books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

L.A. Quartet in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Black Dahlia
  2. 2. The Big Nowhere
  3. 3. L.A. Confidential
  4. 4. White Jazz

Lloyd Hopkins in order

3 books
  1. 1. Blood on the Moon
  2. 2. Because the Night
  3. 3. Suicide Hill

Underworld U.S.A. in order

3 books
  1. 1. American Tabloid
  2. 2. The Cold Six Thousand
  3. 3. Blood's A Rover

Best American Mystery Stories in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Best American Mystery Stories 3
  2. 2. The Best American Noir of the Century

Second L.A. Quartet in order

2 books
  1. 1. Perfidia
  2. 2. This Storm

Standalone books

14 books

14 James Ellroy titles here are not listed as part of any series.

James Ellroy Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the James Ellroy books run from Brown's Requiem (1981) to Red Sheet (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for James Ellroy in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read James Ellroy books in order?

You only need to read James Ellroy books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with James Ellroy

Start with Brown's Requiem (1981), the earliest published title.

What is the newest James Ellroy book?

Red Sheet (2026) is the newest James Ellroy book released so far.

Is there a new James Ellroy book coming?

No next James Ellroy book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards James Ellroy has won

Wikidata records 1 award for James Ellroy. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Edgar Awards2015Won

James Ellroy at a glance

Still publishing
James Ellroy published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
James Ellroy books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
9,130 pages across the 21 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 371 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James Ellroy books, 8 of 28, were published in the 1980s.

What the James Ellroy books are about

22 of the 28 James Ellroy books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: los angeles (calif.) is tagged on 12 of 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.