Mystery · Similar reads
Books like The Black Dahlia
The best books like The Black Dahlia are In Cold Blood, L.A. Confidential, and Blood Meridian. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is about obsession and fixation, los angeles mythology, violence against women. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- In Cold Blood
01
Truman Capote · Memoir
Truman Capote's account of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas — and of the investigation, capture, trial, and execution of the killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock — is the founding document of the true crime genre and one of the most admired works of American nonfiction of the twentieth century.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - L.A. Confidential
- Blood Meridian
03
Cormac McCarthy · Literary fiction
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West is set along the Texas-Mexico border in the 1840s and loosely follows a teenage runaway known only as the kid, who falls in with the Glanton gang — a historical band of scalp hunters hired by the Mexican government to kill Apache raiders.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
04
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry · Memoir
Helter Skelter is the account of the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969 written by Vincent Bugliosi, the Los Angeles deputy district attorney who prosecuted Charles Manson, with journalist Curt Gentry.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Blindsighted
05
Karin Slaughter · Thriller
Blindsighted is Karin Slaughter's debut novel, published in 2001, and the first book in the Grant County series set in fictional Heartsdale, Georgia.
Both dig into violence against women.
Read the summary → - The Bat
06
Jo Nesbø · Thriller
The Bat is the first Harry Hole novel, published in Norwegian in 1997 and set almost entirely in Sydney, Australia.
Both dig into violence against women.
Read the summary → - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
07
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson · Thriller
Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist in Stockholm who has just lost a libel case brought by a billionaire industrialist.
Both dig into violence against women.
Read the summary → - A Fatal Grace
08
Louise Penny · Mystery
A Fatal Grace is the second novel in Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - A Is for Alibi
09
Sue Grafton · Mystery
Kinsey Millhone is a private investigator in Santa Teresa, California — Grafton's fictionalized Santa Barbara — recently divorced for the second time and living alone in a small apartment she describes with genuine affection.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - And Then There Were None
10
Agatha Christie · Mystery
Ten strangers are invited to an island off the Devon coast under various pretexts.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Death on the Nile
11
Agatha Christie · Mystery
A luxury Nile cruise becomes the setting for one of Agatha Christie's most accomplished locked-room puzzles.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary → - Devil in a Blue Dress
12
Walter Mosley · Mystery
Easy Rawlins is a Black World War II veteran living in Watts in 1948.
A kindred mystery read.
Read the summary →
Books like The Black Dahlia: quick answers
What are the best books like The Black Dahlia?
The best books like The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy are In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry, Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Black Dahlia, such as obsession and fixation, los angeles mythology, violence against women.
What should I read after The Black Dahlia?
A natural next read after The Black Dahlia is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. A kindred mystery read. Other strong choices are L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry.
What books are similar to The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy?
The Black Dahlia centers on obsession and fixation, los angeles mythology, violence against women. Books with a similar feel include In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry, Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, The Bat by Jo Nesbø — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
