MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - If you haven't read James Ellroy, you're missing out

raychensmith · 07-27-2012, 02:53 AM

You know, the guy who wrote LA Confidential except LA Confidential wasn't his best book. Once in an interview, Ellroy boasted he was the greatest mystery writer in the history of literature. Now, I'm not sure if I would go that far, but for my money, he might just be the greatest LIVING mystery writer. His is a impressively warped imagination, and his early detective Lloyd Hopkins books put to shame Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch stories. James Ellroy, though, really comes into his own with his mid-career stories, particularly The Black Dahlia (reimagining, what else, the infamous Black Dahlia slaying) and American Tabloid (about the JFK assassination). His later works, like The Cold Six Thousand, aren't as successful unfortunately; the guy seems to become too enamored with his prose, which becomes almost unreadable. But his early and mid-career work--absolutely stellar. So I would recommend (yes, I'm c&ping from Wikipedia, but I've read all of these):

All his early books:
Brown's Requiem (1981), Clandestine (1982), Killer on the Road (1986), Blood on the Moon (1984), Because the Night (1984), Suicide Hill (1985)

The Black Dahlia (1987) -- HIS MASTERPIECE. Read this first.

American Tabloid (1995) -- Read this second.

07-27-2012, 02:53 AM	#1
raychensmith Member Posts: 19 Karma: 330010 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kindle	If you haven't read James Ellroy, you're missing out You know, the guy who wrote LA Confidential except LA Confidential wasn't his best book. Once in an interview, Ellroy boasted he was the greatest mystery writer in the history of literature. Now, I'm not sure if I would go that far, but for my money, he might just be the greatest LIVING mystery writer. His is a impressively warped imagination, and his early detective Lloyd Hopkins books put to shame Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch stories. James Ellroy, though, really comes into his own with his mid-career stories, particularly The Black Dahlia (reimagining, what else, the infamous Black Dahlia slaying) and American Tabloid (about the JFK assassination). His later works, like The Cold Six Thousand, aren't as successful unfortunately; the guy seems to become too enamored with his prose, which becomes almost unreadable. But his early and mid-career work--absolutely stellar. So I would recommend (yes, I'm c&ping from Wikipedia, but I've read all of these): All his early books: Brown's Requiem (1981), Clandestine (1982), Killer on the Road (1986), Blood on the Moon (1984), Because the Night (1984), Suicide Hill (1985) The Black Dahlia (1987) -- HIS MASTERPIECE. Read this first. American Tabloid (1995) -- Read this second.