Author Guide · True Crime
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In 2007 Jill Leovy, a crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times, started a blog that tried to record every single homicide in Los Angeles County, not just the ones that made the news. She spent years embedded with homicide detectives in South Los Angeles, where most killings of young Black men went unsolved. Her book follows one detective and one murder, of a detective's own son, to ask why. This guide covers her book and what to read next.
By Lisanne Swart · 1 books · True crime · 2015 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Jill Leovy has published one book: Ghettoside (2015), about the epidemic of unsolved murders of Black men in Los Angeles, told through a single case and the detective who worked it. It was a New York Times bestseller, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the California Book Award.
Where to Start with Jill Leovy
Her one book
→ Ghettoside (2015).
All 1 Jill Leovy Books, in Order
Ghettoside
In 2007 Bryant Tennelle, the eighteen-year-old son of an LAPD detective, was shot dead on a South Los Angeles street. Leovy follows the investigation by Detective John Skaggs and uses the case to argue that Black communities suffer not only from too much policing of the wrong kind but from too little effective investigation of murder. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and one of the New York Times's notable books of the year.
How Many Books Did Jill Leovy Write?
One book, published in 2015.
- True crime — Ghettoside (2015). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Jill Leovy
There is only one book. Her Los Angeles Times blog, The Homicide Report, is the reporting it grew out of.
A reading path
1. Ghettoside (2015)
Quick facts about Jill Leovy
- Career
- Crime reporter at the Los Angeles Times
- Founded
- The Homicide Report, a blog recording every homicide in Los Angeles County, 2007
- Prizes
- California Book Award; National Book Critics Circle Award finalist
- Book
- Ghettoside (2015)
How Jill Leovy Writes: Every Death Counts
Leovy's method grew out of The Homicide Report, which set out to give every victim the same attention, however ordinary the case. Ghettoside applies that to a single murder, followed in detail from the crime scene to the courtroom.
She spent years alongside homicide detectives and the families of victims, and builds her argument from what she saw: the fear of witnesses, the overloaded detectives, and the low rate at which killings were solved.
Jill Leovy on Ghettoside, on Fresh Air
Listen to the interview on NPR's Fresh Air →
Jill Leovy talks to Dave Davies about Ghettoside and unsolved murders in Los Angeles, Fresh Air, January 2015.Frequently asked questions about Jill Leovy's books
How many books has Jill Leovy written?
Jill Leovy has published one book, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (2015).
What is Ghettoside about?
Ghettoside (2015) follows the investigation into the 2007 murder of Bryant Tennelle in South Los Angeles to explore why so many killings of Black men go unsolved.
Is Ghettoside a true story?
Yes. It is based on Leovy's years of reporting with homicide detectives in Los Angeles and on a real murder case.
Footnotes
- Jill Leovy — Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau
- Why a Black man's murder often goes unpunished in Los Angeles — NPR
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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