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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is very gripping but takes time to get into the crux. The friendship between the two detectives takes up a lot of time but it only serves as a way for tying things up towards the end, for the reader's satisfaction. This somehow is not very satisfying.
The noir setting of the book comes through very nicely, given the flawed characters, and unescapable situations that the characters find themselves in, mostly a fault of their own flaws.
The noir setting of the book comes through very nicely, given the flawed characters, and unescapable situations that the characters find themselves in, mostly a fault of their own flaws.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ellroy is not my kind of writer. Story is over-long, disjointed, and not believable.
Los Angeles, 1947: Betty “Black Dahlia” Short, one of the thousands of girls who flocked to postwar Hollywood hoping to make it big, makes headlines after she is found gruesomely murdered in an empty lot. There are no witnesses. There are few clues. Hundreds come forward, claiming to have committed the murder. The crime stirs up old ghosts for cops Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard, who become obsessed with unraveling the so-called “Black Dahlia” murder, even at the cost of their partnership, their lives, and their sanity. It has everything you could want in a thriller: tortured souls, a tantalizing mystery, and some really bizarre villains. A hard-hitting psychological drama almost as strange as the real-life crime itself, The Black Dahlia is one thriller that really delivers the goods.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
I probably would’ve been much more into this one if it was a LOT shorter.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My first time reading James Ellroy and what an experience. An absolute thrill, gritty, violent, full of deceit, lies, sex and fantastic characters.
The story was very different to what I was expecting, more plot to what I thought and that was a plus. I loved some of the back and forth between characters, especially the scenes in New Jersey interviewing the suspect, some laugh out loud bits of dialogue. The ending was great and unexpected, some good twists in the plot regarding Lee.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the LA Quartet and in the future the Underworld US series and second LA Quartet. Based off this experience James Ellroy will be a favourite. I wish I had read it sooner, it must have been sitting on my bookshelves for almost a decade. Better late than never.
The story was very different to what I was expecting, more plot to what I thought and that was a plus. I loved some of the back and forth between characters, especially the scenes in New Jersey interviewing the suspect, some laugh out loud bits of dialogue. The ending was great and unexpected, some good twists in the plot regarding Lee.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the LA Quartet and in the future the Underworld US series and second LA Quartet. Based off this experience James Ellroy will be a favourite. I wish I had read it sooner, it must have been sitting on my bookshelves for almost a decade. Better late than never.
this book was a lot to deal with.
Gripping, but so fucked up.
Gripping, but so fucked up.