This book addresses the voyeuristic dimensions of James Ellroy's fiction, one of the most significant yet underexplored areas of his work. Focusing exclusively on The L.A. Quartet and The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy, it critically reflects upon a vivid preoccupation with eyes, visual culture, and visual technologies that permeates Ellroy's writings.

Introduction: 'Cam-Era': James Ellroy, Voyeurism and Contemporary Culture
Chapter 1: 'Cherchez la Femme': Voyeurism, Narrative Desire and the Female Body in The Black Dahlia
Chapter 2: 'They'll Believe Anything We Can Get on the Screen': Cinematizing the City in The Big Nowhere and L.A. Confidential
Chapter 3: 'Feast Your Eyes': White Jazz, Voyeurism and the Crisis of Ocularcentrism
Chapter 4: 'Window Peeping History': Voyeurising the Past in American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand
Chapter 5: 'You Can't Peep and Prowl Paper the Rest of Your Life': Blood's a Rover, Public Privacy and the Voyeuristic Pleasures of the Archive
Conclusion: Connecting THEN and NOW: Perfidia, LAPD 53 and the Value of Ellroy's 'Voyeur Fiction'