As the title states, this book is designed to be a guide to crimes and assorted mishaps that took place in the Los Angeles area. At the start of each entry, we're given the address and GPS coordinates of the location where the crime took place. The author then gives us a brief account of the story and the people involved. If you live in or plan on visiting the Los Angeles area, this is a handy book to use for a self-guided tour of the locations of some notorious crimes. I don't live in or plan on visiting LA, but it was fun to take a Google Earth tour of the locations as I read each entry.

I have to say that it must suck for the new(er) owners of the homes mentioned, having found themselves on a crime buff's tour. The author stresses the issue of private property, so do follow his advice and only look from a distance.

The events discussed span a couple of centuries, from the very old to the fairly recent. The book's layout is not in chronological order, and there is no date with each entry's title and location. Consequently, it often took me a paragraph of so to orient myself in the time of the event. I would have liked an ordered timeline and/or headings clearly stating the dates.

The writing style is conversational, with no formality. At times sentence structure is a little awkward but, in fairness, I read a review copy and wording might have changed before publication.

Whether you're interested in LA's criminal history or you enjoy true crime in general, this book offers some interesting stories. Many are infamous, while others I'd never heard of. Some are gruesome and a few made me laugh. This is definitely a well balanced assortment of stories.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* ( )