Detective noirs don't get much more hard-boiled than this! It was quite hard to get into at first, mainly because of the language style: totally authentic 1950s LA underworld talk, including the first-person narration of muscly prick Lt Dave Klein. However, once I was used to the mention of '#$%& pads', 'narco', 'ad vice', and so on, it was addictive as hell and a top read. One very noticeable thing about this book is the racism: even the title reeks of it. Southside LA is called 'niggertown', the Hispanics are called 'pachucas', and if you wanna get a good deal with someone, you 'Jew them up'. But it has to be like that, if it's to be in the least bit authentic. There's violence on every page, plenty of gory death, lots of organised crime, and a tonne of police corruption. This is the first Ellroy I've read - maybe it gets easier from here on! As with every hard-boiler, the ending is way too confusing for me, but a sweet-as book nonetheless. And remember, hepcats, you heard it first here: off the record, on the Q.T. and very Hush-Hush.
Author: James Ellroy
Year published: 1992
Filed in: Crime