Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Bestselling novelist James Ellroy — “the American Dostoevsky” of crime writing (Joyce Carol Oates) — joins us for the launch of his propulsive new novel, Red Sheet.
Daring, artful, and addictive, James Ellroy’s books — including L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, and many others — are masterclasses in modern crime writing, making him not only one of the finest hardboiled writers of his generation, but one of the great literary chroniclers of Los Angeles. His newest novel, Red Sheet, is a Cold War story par excellence following Freddy Otash, injudiciously named the lead investigating officer of a communist probe in October 1962 sent down by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. A stone-cold criminal with police sanction and a harrowing dope habit, Freddy is the wrong man for the job — and then there’s a murder on Halloween night. A gleefully subversive, addictive detective story and a brilliant historical novel about Los Angeles in the 1960s, Red Sheet is Ellroy’s most audacious work yet. “Faster than a stray bullet … Ellroy spares no sensibilities” (Los Angeles Times).
In a reading and conversation about his new novel, find out why Ellroy has been called “the demon dog of American crime fiction” — the heir to Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler, and a novelist for the ages.
Recorded Jun 22, 2026 at The 92nd Street Y, New York.
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Bestselling novelist James Ellroy — “the American Dostoevsky” of crime writing (Joyce Carol Oates) — joins us for the launch of his propulsive new novel, Red Sheet.
Daring, artful, and addictive, James Ellroy’s books — including L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, and many others — are masterclasses in modern crime writing, making him not only one of the finest hardboiled writers of his generation, but one of the great literary chroniclers of Los Angeles. His newest novel, Red Sheet, is a Cold War story par excellence following Freddy Otash, injudiciously named the lead investigating officer of a communist probe in October 1962 sent down by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. A stone-cold criminal with police sanction and a harrowing dope habit, Freddy is the wrong man for the job — and then there’s a murder on Halloween night. A gleefully subversive, addictive detective story and a brilliant historical novel about Los Angeles in the 1960s, Red Sheet is Ellroy’s most audacious work yet. “Faster than a stray bullet … Ellroy spares no sensibilities” (Los Angeles Times).
In a reading and conversation about his new novel, find out why Ellroy has been called “the demon dog of American crime fiction” — the heir to Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler, and a novelist for the ages.
Recorded Jun 22, 2026 at The 92nd Street Y, New York.
Your support helps us continue creating online content for our community. Donate now: 92NY.org/Donate
Facebook: facebook.com/92ndStreetY
Instagram: Instagram.com/92ndStreetY
TikTok: tiktok.com/@92ndstreety
Archives: 92ny.org/archives
