787. The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy
1987
Around 350 pages

Here's another disturbing read that I really enjoyed. Maybe I am getting creepier in my old age. More likely these authors actually have talent beyond unsettling their audiences, which is more than can be said about some of the other aberrations on the List.

James Ellroy provides a fictionalized solution to the infamous Elizabeth Short murder. If you have gone your entire life without reading about this crime, congratulations! Enjoy that ignorance my friend. The narrator of the novel is Bucky Bleichert, a veteran who is promoted to a detective on the LAPD. He becomes embroiled in the Short case, and naturally, becomes involved with some dames along the way.

Humanity is so sick how we fixate on certain violent crimes (mostly against attractive young white women), then completely ignore other victims (everybody else). This is a fresh take on the noir genre, which by now is more than stale. Hollywood is a well chosen hellscape for Ellroy to take on. Hammett would be proud.

Not an easy novel to stomach, but a good read if you are looking for something well written and morbid.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a 2006 film by Brian De Palma, which flopped. Leave 80s novels alone, De Palma.

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