From Bosch to The Lincoln Lawyer to his latest novel Nightshade, few authors have done more to shape how the world sees Los Angeles than bestselling crime novelist Michael Connelly. In this episode, we talk to the man behind more than 40 books — nearly all set in L.A. — whose work has been adapted for film and television and translated into more than 40 languages. He tells us about the chilling moment that first sparked his interest in crime stories at age 16, the unpublished novels he wrote along the way, and why he didn’t quit his day job until his fourth book came out. We also learn what it’s like to have your characters brought to life by Hollywood icons like Clint Eastwood, Matthew McConaughey, and Titus Welliver — and why Connelly still reads the same chapter of a Raymond Chandler novel before starting every new book. Recorded at Musso & Frank Grill — where, as we later discovered, we were seated in Raymond Chandler’s old booth — this conversation is part master class, part love letter to Los Angeles, and 100% Connelly.
From Bosch to The Lincoln Lawyer to his latest novel Nightshade, few authors have done more to shape how the world sees Los Angeles than bestselling crime novelist Michael Connelly. In this episode, we talk to the man behind more than 40 books — nearly all set in L.A. — whose work has been adapted for film and television and translated into more than 40 languages.
He tells us about the chilling moment that first sparked his interest in crime stories at age 16, the unpublished novels he wrote along the way, and why he didn’t quit his day job until his fourth book came out. We also learn what it’s like to have your characters brought to life by Hollywood icons like Clint Eastwood, Matthew McConaughey, and Titus Welliver — and why Connelly still reads the same chapter of a Raymond Chandler novel before starting every new book.
Recorded at Musso & Frank Grill — where, as we later discovered, we were seated in Raymond Chandler’s old booth — this conversation is part master class, part love letter to Los Angeles, and 100% Connelly.