Los Angeles, October 1962: The city reels from the Cuban Missile Crisis, awash in rumors of communist sleeper cells and conspiracies. In James Ellroy’s new novel “Red Sheet,” a determined detective must untangle these threats while navigating a metropolis engulfed in paranoia.

A new opinion piece titled “Red Sheet” depicts Los Angeles in a dreamlike, hallucinatory light, recalling the electric energy of James Ellroy’s key works. From “The Black Dahlia” to “American Tabloid,” Ellroy’s blistering style is likened to an unexpected burst of amphetamines in American storytelling.