Los Angeles, 1956. Glamorous. Prosperous. The place to see and be seen. But beneath the shiny exterior beats a dark heart. For when the sun goes down, L.A. becomes the noir city of James Ellroys L.A. Confidential or Walter Mosleys Easy Rawlins novels. Segregation is the unwritten law of the land. The growing black population is expected to keep to South Central. The white cops are encouraged to deal out harsh street justice. In L.A. 56, Joel Engel paints a tense, moody portrait of the city as a devil weaves his way through the shadows.While RB and hot jazz spill out of record shops and clubs and all-night burger stands, Willie Fields cruises past in his dark green DeSoto, looking for a woman on whom he can bestow the gift of his company. His brilliant idea Buy a tin badge in the five-and-ten to go along with his big flashlight and Luger and pretend to be an undercover vice cop.
