Mystery writer prowls the city's unseen streets

In John Shannon's literary world, the neo-noir thriller is more than a lazy weekend read. He charges into Los Angeles neighborhoods where few mystery writers venture, shining a light on the city's sprawling, multicultural enclaves. And unlike many of his brethren, he has a political chip on his shoulder, telling taut, fast-paced stories about underdogs and big shots through the eyes of an aging, disillusioned '60s lefty.

The result is a body of work that has earned Shannon rich critical praise. But he may be one of the best L.A. mystery writers you've never heard of. After 35 years in the literary trenches, he's still struggling for a visibility that other writers take for granted.

"I've tried to capture Los Angeles as it is now instead of the white-on-white world from noir novels of the '40s and '50s," Shannon said, gazing through a hotel window at the downtown skyline. "When you write about the totality of this city, when you get down to the grit, you're blown away by the possibilities."

Although a growing number of local writers have traced one thread in L.A.'s intricate tapestry -- the African American community, perhaps, or the world of Japanese American gardeners -- Shannon has improbably set out to trace them all, one novel at a time. His main character, Jack Liffey, is a lovably flawed, laid-off aerospace worker who has become a private investigator, hunting for missing children. As in eight previous installments, Shannon's newest book, "The Dark Streets," takes readers into places that many only speed by on the freeway.

In the latest episode, Liffey is searching for a Koreatown girl who belongs to a shadowy, left-wing group. As a parallel story, his own daughter disappears into East L.A., pursuing a doomed affair with a gangbanger. The fast-moving, almost cinematic prose wraps in larger themes, including the tragedy of Korean "comfort women" during World War II, corrupt Southern California real estate deals and secret "torture prisons" in the desert.