On Dec. 10, Michael Connelly stood on the patio behind his house in the Hollywood Hills and gazed down at a generous slice of the city he’s been writing about for 38 years. There were the spires of Hogwarts at Universal Studios. There was the 101 freeway, flowing steadily in both directions. There was the Hollywood sign, presiding over a slope of trees and scrub.

Depending on the direction of the wind, Connelly said, you could smell smoke from a wildfire in Malibu. Then, with his Chihuahua mix, Pinto, in quick pursuit, he led the way through his kitchen and family room to the office where he starts writing at 5 or 6 every morning.

“The sun comes up over those mountains,” Connelly said, pointing over a shelf of his own hardcovers to a window framing yet another coniferous view. “I just love that moment. It gives me the feeling that I’m the only one awake in the city.”

Connelly, 68, has written 40 books, including a slew of No. 1 best sellers, and sold over 89 million copies worldwide. He’s the executive producer of “The Lincoln Lawyer” on Netflix and “Bosch” and “Bosch: Legacy” on Amazon. (“Bosch: Legacy” begins its third and final season on March 27.) He’s also a podcaster. Oh, and he has two novels planned for 2025 — “Nightshade,” coming out on May 20, introduces a new detective — plus another Amazon show, “Ballard,” launching this summer.

Most of Connelly’s stories feature cops, lawyers and the seedy underworlds they infiltrate and expose. One might not imagine him as a guy who makes time for sunrises — or Chihuahuas, for that matter — but his work contains a certain tenderness, especially around Los Angeles. Connelly returns to the city again and again, in book after book, infusing dark, sometimes violent tales with ocean views, lanky palms and intimate chats at local watering holes.

“There’s a tension here,” Connelly said of Los Angeles. “It’s a place everyone comes to, looking for a big break, but not everyone gets what they want. I’m one of the lucky ones.”