The Big Nowhere (1988) Signed First Edition Reference

The Big Nowhere is the second volume of the L.A. Quartet, published by Mysterious Press in 1988. Set in 1950 during the Red Scare, the novel follows three protagonists — a deputy DA, a sheriff’s detective, and a corrupt cop — whose investigations into a series of brutal murders intersect with the Hollywood blacklist, organized crime, and the LAPD’s institutional corruption. The novel is arguably the darkest of the Quartet, with a relentlessly downward trajectory that makes no concessions to reader comfort.

The Book

The Red Scare setting allows Ellroy to explore the intersection of political ideology, sexual repression, and institutional violence with extraordinary complexity. The three protagonists are morally compromised from the outset, and their descent into the “big nowhere” — the moral vacuum at the heart of Cold War Los Angeles — is both terrifying and compulsive.

The novel deepens the historical tapestry that The Black Dahlia initiated, moving forward from the 1940s to the early 1950s. Characters from the first novel reappear, and the institutional corruption that was personal in The Black Dahlia becomes systemic in The Big Nowhere.

First Edition Identification

Publisher: Mysterious Press, New York Publication date: 1988 Format: Hardcover in dust jacket

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed first edition, fine/fine: $200–$600
• Inscribed copies: $300–$800
• Unsigned first edition: $30–$80

The Big Nowhere is the most overlooked volume of the L.A. Quartet, which means it is often the most affordable. Collectors building a signed Quartet set typically find this volume easier to acquire than The Black Dahlia or L.A. Confidential.