James Ellroy (born Lee Earle Ellroy on March 4, 1948 in Los Angeles, California) is an American writer.

He is one of the world's best-selling crime writers and essayists with a unique "telegraphic" writing style, which omits words other writers would consider necessary, and often features sentence fragments. His books are noted for their dark humor and depiction of American authoritarianism. Other hallmarks of his work include dense plotting and a relentlessly pessimistic worldview. Ellroy has been called the "Demon Dog of American crime fiction."

L.A. Quartet

* 1987 The Black Dahlia (film, 2006)
* 1988 The Big Nowhere
* 1990 L.A. Confidential (film, 1997)
* 1992 White Jazz (film, 2009)