Rating: 
Summary: Tough as nails and well worth my time
Review: LA Confidential begins as hardboiled as a book has ever begun. It's Los Angeles in the early 1950s with plenty of organized crime and questionable police tactics. The just of the story is in the first page, Mickey Cohen the gangster that runs Los Angeles is going to prison which leaves a vacuum in the city. The rest of the book is figuring out who is trying to take over his rackets. The fun of the book is watching the characters battle to figure it out. As is usually my wont, I read the book because I liked the movie so much. And with many great movies that are books, LA Confidential is just more of a good thing. The same main characters and a couple of interesting tertiary ones roll through Los Angles with a show horse of justice, though ambition and corruption are the real guiding factor. Having seen the movie doesn't ruin the book, because the book is enough different to keep you wondering and Ellroy is such a good writer that you'll enjoy even the familiar dialogue. This is the kind of book that makes guys want to read books.
Rating:
Summary: dark and disturbing
Review: More than any other writer since Jim Thompson and the early Greats (Chandler, Hammett, Cain), Ellroy is able to create a dark and disturbing world all his own. Much more complex than the movie, the book achieves the fine balancing act of blind-siding you with events without confusing you in the slightest, not an easy task. The writing is so intense at times that the tension is almost unbearable. Required reading for any mystery fan.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, satisfying crime novel - if you can follow it!
Review: This novel is FANTASTIC! Because it is so dense and complex, getting to the end is truly gratifying - this is the most satisfying Ellroy novel that I've read yet! I read it once and immediately wanted to read it again. (It's kind of like the movie "Usual Suspects" - the first time you see it, you're not quite sure you got it all.) Reading this book a second time only enhanced my enjoyment of it. I agree with the other reviews - Ellroy's greatest strength is in character development. Each of his characters is remarkably intriguing, particularly Jack Vincennes. (The movie version really doesn't do this character justice!) I also really enjoy Ellroy's bang-bang, minimalist style of writing. He gets to the meat of the story right from the start. This novel is NOT for the laid back reader - it's like a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish. The story is a truly thrilling, almost dizzying, portrayal of a corrupt Los Angeles in the 1950s. A quick note: some friends of mine have said that they couldn't follow the movie and therefore weren't really able to enjoy it - I told them that they probably wouldn't like the book at all. The book really is a confusing web; the movie is quite easy to follow in comparison.
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