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romonko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
James Ellroy wrote this book in order for him to tell his own story about Elizabeth Short or The Black Dahlia. Elizabeth is found in a vacant lot in January 1947. She was mutilated, tortured, murdered, cut in half and dumped in the course of two horrendous days. Using real-life people, and some fictional characters, Ellroy has shown us what probably happened to Elizabeth Short, who was The Black Dahlia. The story is about two young policemen who become involved in the investigation of the Black Dahlia's murder, and it depicts how this event shaped and changed their lives. Both men become totally absorbed and the book shows how their lives were forever changed and sent spinning off the rails from this one horrific murder. When I read Ellroy's final words on the book, I found that he too, in his own way, was obsessed by the Dahlia, even though he was born just after she died. He explains that it was almost a parallel story of what actually happened to his own mother in the 1950's. The book is graphic and explicit, but at the same time it shows the strength and goodness that is in some people as opposed to the absolute derangement of others. It depicts the psychotic mind as well as or better than any other book I've read about this. This book is as noir as any book can get. It's full of obsessions, lies, psychoses, sex, torture and murder. For anyone with a queasy stomach, the book might be way too much to take. For me it was like climbing into a tub of bathtub gin, and not coming up for air until I finished the book. it actually wrung me out, but I kept turning pages. No one does crime like James Ellroy, and nobody does it with so explicitly, and with so much aplomb. In a James Ellroy world, just about anything is possible, and the tension does not leave until the very end of the book. So expect the unexpected, be prepared for some pretty horrific scenarios, get angry and frustrated with the main characters, and fall into the world of post-war LA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Torture, and Sexism
linddykal's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Trafficking, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Incest and Dementia
reubs's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Goes hard but lots of content warnings. V different to chandler but I think it picks up from the style he was getting at in the long goodbye
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Murder, Torture, Violence, Gore, Misogyny, and Body horror
Probably the most gruesome crime novel I've ever read
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