 First edition cover | |
| Author | James Ellroy |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jacket design by Chip Kidd (as Iacone Ink) |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short stories, crime fiction |
| Publisher | Otto Penzler Books |
Publication date | April 1994 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) and audio cassette |
| Pages | 229 pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-1-883402-54-9 (first edition, hardcover) |
Hollywood Nocturnes is a 1994 collection of short stories by James Ellroy. Like many of Ellroy's novels, the majority of the stories are set in 1940s and 1950s. The collection was inspired by Ellroy's having seen the film Daddy-O and finding cosmic significance in the image of Dick Contino, whom Ellroy tracked down to interview for the book. The first segment of the book, "Dick Contino's Blues", is a novella about Contino tracking down a serial killer while trying to repair his public image after being labeled a draft dodger. Several other stories resurrect deceased Ellroy protagonists, recalling major events in their lives as they near death.