Rating: 
Summary: Black and bleak Dahlia
Review: This was not a easy book to find, and once I got hold of it, I found it tough to read as well. In San Francisco I saw a photo exhibit of Los Angeles police photographers. Once of the star subjects from the 40s was Elizabeth Short, also know as the Black Dahlia. There were copies of her letters and other documents and I was hooked and had to know more. Ellroy's book was the next step. Unable to find it in SF, at least not in the four bookshops I visited, I finally located it in London. (This time I didn't try Amazon!)I wasn't disappointed but I was frustrated, only because I wanted to know more about Elizabeth Short but THE BLACK DAHLIA is really about police work in Los Angeles. The protagonist, an ex-boxer, also wants to know more about Elizabeth Short and the story involves his obsession with her and her murder, his relationship to his job, his pals and the people linked to Betty Short. Even his tough personality cannot withstand the hideous and twisted goings-on in the police force. The story swings out of control when all the characters start to link up so that Ellroy can tie up his story. He wraps up the Black Dahlia's murder with what I found to be a preposterous conclusion. Nevertheless, whether or not it's a good point, the description written by the murderer in a journal (the conceit being that murder isn't worth it unless it's recorded) is the most shocking account of murderous human suffering I have ever read. Toughness extends through every word: the metaphoric and staccoto cop language, the twists of character and desire, and the hard-hitting story depict a world in which there is little comfort and few resolutions of which none are happy.
Rating:
Summary: perverse, gruesome, memorable... and somewhat flawed
Review: 'Black Dahlia' is my first James Ellroy novel. Clearly the author wishes he was born 50 years earlier so he can live along side the likes of Raymond Chandler, James Cain and Dashiell Hammett ... the champions on 1940s 'noir' fiction. Being a fan of this genre I can say James Ellroy goes a long way in emulating his idols, but he falls somewhat sort of the mark. Oh, the story itself is a wonder. Loosely based on actual events, 'Black Dahlia' involves the horrific mutilation of a young woman and the perversely obsessed cop tracking down her killer. No spoilers here, but Ellroy does a great job in engaging the reader while throwing in some plot twists. And he does a commendable job on the characterizations. So what could be wrong? Well I had the feeling the author tried *too hard* to capture the essence of 1940s Los Angeles, especially concerning the lingo. Raymond Chandler-esque tough guy talk taken to, at times, an almost incomprehensible level. While it did take some getting used to I found this gratuitous verbage to be a distraction during the first third of the book ... enough to detract me from reading any more from James Ellroy. Yet to be fair I found the foul language to be far more realistic compared to the relatively sanitized dialogue found in books written from the period. Bottom line: certainly a bizarre, remarkable story. Recommended.
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