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amerynth 's review for:
The Black Dahlia
by James Ellroy
What James Ellroy does well in "The Black Dahlia" is his creation of a gritty world full of dirty cops, hookers and other folks in compromising positions. The novel really sets the reader into a seedy world very effectively -- it was a world that I personally found difficult to take at times.
The novel is based on true events -- the murder of Elizbeth Short, whose body was found, severed in half on a California lawn in the 1940's. The murder, which became a big news story that shocked the nation, remains unsolved to this day. Ellroy's narrator, Bucky Bleichert, is a cop who becomes obsessed with solving the crime.
While Short's murder is central to the story, it takes Ellroy a long time to actually get there and even longer to fit together a solution. Ultimately, the book is well done, but not really suited to my taste.
The novel is based on true events -- the murder of Elizbeth Short, whose body was found, severed in half on a California lawn in the 1940's. The murder, which became a big news story that shocked the nation, remains unsolved to this day. Ellroy's narrator, Bucky Bleichert, is a cop who becomes obsessed with solving the crime.
While Short's murder is central to the story, it takes Ellroy a long time to actually get there and even longer to fit together a solution. Ultimately, the book is well done, but not really suited to my taste.