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Available
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Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:Christmas 1951, Los Angeles: a city where the police are as corrupt as the criminals. Six prisoners are beaten senseless in their cells by cops crazed on alcohol. For the three L. A. P. D. detectives involved, it will expose the guilty secrets on which they have built their corrupt and violent careers.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rotheche
I love this book. It's so complex, with intertwining plots and subplots, and intricate backstory, and more atmosphere than it knows what to do with.
LA in the 50s, where the cops are often as corrupt as the criminals they're policing. Ed Exley is a straight arrow, living in the shadow of his father
I won't try and describe the plot(s), because a quick summary won't do them justice; suffice it to say that you have to pay attention to what's going on, or you'll be sitting there saying 'wha?' halfway through. The plot's great - but what really makes it is a) Ellroy's writing style, clipped and terse, and at the same time amazingly descriptive, and b) the characters.
They're extraordinarily well-drawn, utterly believable; the fictional characters blend seamlessly with the historical figures - Johnny Stompanato, Mickey Cohen - and the historical events that Ellroy 'borrows' mix just as smoothly.
Amazingly good reading.
LA in the 50s, where the cops are often as corrupt as the criminals they're policing. Ed Exley is a straight arrow, living in the shadow of his father
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and older brother, and a deceitful past; Jack Vincennes is a 'star' cop, working on a television show, pulling down celebrity busts, but with a past he can't allow to be known; Bud White is a thug, the one called in when a confession needs to be beaten out of a suspect.I won't try and describe the plot(s), because a quick summary won't do them justice; suffice it to say that you have to pay attention to what's going on, or you'll be sitting there saying 'wha?' halfway through. The plot's great - but what really makes it is a) Ellroy's writing style, clipped and terse, and at the same time amazingly descriptive, and b) the characters.
They're extraordinarily well-drawn, utterly believable; the fictional characters blend seamlessly with the historical figures - Johnny Stompanato, Mickey Cohen - and the historical events that Ellroy 'borrows' mix just as smoothly.
Amazingly good reading.
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LibraryThing member whirled
You need only read a few pages of this hard-boiled classic to realise how much the hard edges were buffed on plot and characters for the (excellent) film version. Ellroy's book details an even more complicated web of intrigue, presenting Los Angeles law enforcement as a shady underworld built on
With all its plot twists, unforeseen revelations and shifting allegiances, L.A. Confidential ticks along at a cracking pace; its short chapters make it even harder to put down. This was my first foray into Ellroy's minutely detailed world, and I already have more books on order. Recommended reading.
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dirty money, cover-ups and murder. Even 'squeaky clean' wunderkind Edmund Exley wades deep into the muck, his reputation made by an enormous lie the movie's screenwriters later spared him.With all its plot twists, unforeseen revelations and shifting allegiances, L.A. Confidential ticks along at a cracking pace; its short chapters make it even harder to put down. This was my first foray into Ellroy's minutely detailed world, and I already have more books on order. Recommended reading.
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LibraryThing member sharv
A thousand times more complex and amoral than the film of the same name. Not a bad movie, but an excellent novel.
LibraryThing member HotWolfie
It might take you awhile to get used to the writing style -- very clipped pace, almost like jotted down thoughts. All of the characters in the book were well rounded, with good backstories, differing personalities, and individual flaws. The story was dark and gritty. The dialog was excellent. As a
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warning, it does differ quite a bit from the movie. It's a thrilling story about corruption, disillusionment, and facing your inner demons. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ameise1
It took me a while to dip into the story because of the concise and strong spelling style which was switching from one event to the next one. Once, I became accustomed to it I wasn't able to put it away. What made me most impressed was the unimaginable corruption within the police department and
The story is very gripping and praise of James Ellroy's spelling style and historical knowledge a must-read.
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the politic. The gangster had more or less free hand to deal with drugs, prostitution and blackmail and some of the police officers were playing alongside with them. There were only two police officers who tried to solve this state. They couldn't have been more opposed characters and through the most part of the story I've got the feeling that they were trying very hard to put each other obstacles in the way.The story is very gripping and praise of James Ellroy's spelling style and historical knowledge a must-read.
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LibraryThing member jengel
Great and I did the swanky hepcat language. Movie equally good for once!
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
Liked the movie. Great cast. Book consistent with it for first 100 pages or so,then whoosh. Noir, very noir. 50-100 characters, all with a streak of evil. Mickey Cohen. Or worse. Lots of phrases. Some sentences. Lots of jumps. Multi theories of whodunit. Multi suspects. Movie - key character killed
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in kitchen with gun by a cop. Big surprise. Book, he's killed in a shoot-out at end of book. Johnny Stampanato. Why the train holdup? Got completely lost. Didn't care. Wanted it to end. Don't remember ending. Lots of bodies. Some real life characters. 500 pages. 3 other books in the quartet. Including Black Dahlia. Won't read more. Guy = Ed, Crowe = Bud. Show Less
LibraryThing member borhap
I'm looking forward to watch the movie, so I wanted to get done with the book first.
Gave it 60 pages; I'm sure it's not bad and maybe it's just me at the moment, but the style keeps me trailing off of the page after every second sentence, and there are so many names and characters thrown at you,
Will move on to the movie, and keep the book, maybe for later years.
Gave it 60 pages; I'm sure it's not bad and maybe it's just me at the moment, but the style keeps me trailing off of the page after every second sentence, and there are so many names and characters thrown at you,
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that I don't have the endurance to read it right now. Will move on to the movie, and keep the book, maybe for later years.
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LibraryThing member Amusedbythis
This is a terrific police mystery, filled with suspense and continued action. This is the best of the three I have read of Ellroy's LA Quartet.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
I read this book, not sure what I was getting into. All I knew about it is that this is the book that the movie of the same name is based on. Which I hadn't seen.
And I liked it, really I did. But between the length of the novel, the incredibly complex story with a mystery that kept changing (is it
This book is dark, violent, and full of non PC language. Yes, its set in the 50's, when the division between races are very clear cut and a person does not cross that line or your career and character are in ruins. It is hard to read at times. Yes, its a work of fiction, but I have no doubt the sentiments in this book are true to the source.
And I liked it, really I did. But between the length of the novel, the incredibly complex story with a mystery that kept changing (is it
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a porn thing, or a drug thing, or a mobster thing, or prostitute thing...) I found it hard to follow. Once I got the main characters figured out, initially, I found the change of perspectives difficult to follow, they were what made this book from a mess, into a solid novel. Each of the three characters, Bud White, Jack Vincennes, and Ed Exley, are all very different characters.This book is dark, violent, and full of non PC language. Yes, its set in the 50's, when the division between races are very clear cut and a person does not cross that line or your career and character are in ruins. It is hard to read at times. Yes, its a work of fiction, but I have no doubt the sentiments in this book are true to the source.
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LibraryThing member rwt42
One of the very few good "recent" noir crime novels I have read. Complex in every way to read but by shifting gears to accommodate the writing style one could go along with what was an experience, not just a story.
LibraryThing member weird_O
[L. A. Confidential] is the third of a quartet of novels written by James Ellroy that depict the Los Angeles Police Department at war with itself, with the justice system, and with the community it is supposed to be protecting from thugs, murderers, mobsters, drug pushers, porno merchants and the
Here's a sample: A prologue presents Buzz Meeks, a former policeman, hauling almost $100 grand and a suitcase of heroin he stole from mobsters Mickey Cohen and Jack Dragna. Holed up in an abandoned motel in the San Berdoo foothills, he's warily eying a group of Hispanics in the open courtyard. Then...
Meeks saw two white men...They didn't look like cops or Cohen goons. Meeks stepped outside, his 10-gauge right behind him...A finger on the trigger; a make on the skinny guy; Mal Lunceford, a Hollywood Station harness bull—he used to ogle the carhops at Scrivener's Drive-in, pull out his chest to show off his pistol medals. The fat man, closer, said, "We got that airplane waiting."
Meeks swung the shotgun around, triggered a spread. Fat Man caught buckshot and flew, covering Lunceford—knocking him backward. The wetbacks tore helter-skelter; Meeks ran into the room, heard the back window breaking, yanked the mattress. Sitting ducks: two men, three triple-aught rounds close in.
The two blew up; glass and blood covered three more men inching along the wall…
The motel room he's in is burning now, and shooters keep coming.
Then, behind him, "Hello, lad." Dudley Smith stepped through flames, dressed in a fire department greatcoat. Meeks saw his suitcase—ninety-four grand, dope—over by the mattress. "Dud, you came prepared."
"Like the Boy Scouts, lad. And have you a valediction?"
Suicide: heisting a deal Dudley S. watchdogged. Meeks raised his guns; Smith shot first. Meeks died—thinking the El Serrano Motel looked just like the Alamo.
LAPD Lt. Dudley Smith is the principal antagonist in the novel. He's a veteran officer, well-regarded, oft-honored, well-connected on the force, in the community, and in the criminal world. He's calm, thorough, careful, ruthless, cruel, and murderous. Sure, just about every character is antagonistic to at least one other. Dudley's antagonisms, though, are special. Antagonisms do come and go as the story unfolds and as more and more links and secrets are uncovered. And cautiously shared. More antagonists:
• Edmund Exley infuriates most cops because a.) he's the son of legendary former detective Preston Exley, b.) he's a war hero, c.) he's openly ambitious, d.) he's a snitch, e.) he's a self-righteous prig. The Top Brass use him as a clean and polished front for the force.
• Wendell "Bud" White is a thug, a rookie cop whose seminal moment was watching his drunken father beat his mother to death. To him, the ends justify the means. After executing a bad guy, Bud fires a shot into the door through which he came and presses the gun into the corpse's hand. Why, he shot first! Such enterprise wins him the admiration of Dudley Smith.
• Jack Vincennes is a colorful, tacky narco squad detective who accepts payoffs to occasionally stage flashy, trumped up drug busts of Hollywood notables for the invasive camera of the publisher of a sleazy exposé mag. Nicknamed "Trashcan Jack," Vincennes is advisor on a popular TV cop show, thus is well-known among performers and behind-the-scenes techies.
• Sid Hudgens, the smarmy publisher of Hush-Hush (as in: "Hush-Hush, off the record, on the QT") seems to have a secret file on everyone. Ellroy scatters Sid's articles in the novel to summarize events and suggest directions the story might take. Vincennes is at pains to find and destroy the file Sid has on him.
• Ellis Loew is the Assistant D.A. Ambitious, he runs for D.A. and wins the election only after the incumbent is busted in a shabby motel room, passed out naked in bed with an underaged black girl. Hmmm...
• Pierce Patchett is an enigmatic, icy calm, self-assured, under-the-radar entrepreneur whose many ventures include investments, financing the occasion shady B-movie, drugs, pornography, and a bevy of high-pricedhookers escorts, each surgically altered to resemble a celeb hottie—Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, Ava Gardner. The portal to Patchett's goods and services is Fleur-de-Lis ("Twenty-Four Hours a Day—Whatever You Desire").
• Raymond Dieterling is a stand-in for Walt Disney: a gifted impresario, creator of animated characters Moochie Mouse and Danny Duck, developer of Dream-a-Dreamland amusement park.
• Preston Exley owns a construction company that's building Dream-a-Dreamland and the Los Angeles area freeway system. In the 1930s, he was the LAPD detective who cracked the infamous Atherton case, a grisly series of child kidnappings and dismemberments. His son Ed is now on the force.
If you've seen the movie, you still should read the book. The novel had to be boiled down—distilled, if you will, the storyline truncated, characters eliminated, much of the shock and gore tidied up, the ending changed. Ellroy doesn't hold back: Theft. Kickbacks and payoffs. Beatings. Torture. Mutilation. Murder. Prostitution. Deviant sex. Pornography. Gambling. Heroin and other illegal drugs. Extortion. Perjury. Blackmail. You name it, Ellroy's got it in there. It's not your Agatha Christie.
Two thumbs up!
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likes. Variations on corruption and mayhem populate page after page.Here's a sample: A prologue presents Buzz Meeks, a former policeman, hauling almost $100 grand and a suitcase of heroin he stole from mobsters Mickey Cohen and Jack Dragna. Holed up in an abandoned motel in the San Berdoo foothills, he's warily eying a group of Hispanics in the open courtyard. Then...
Meeks saw two white men...They didn't look like cops or Cohen goons. Meeks stepped outside, his 10-gauge right behind him...A finger on the trigger; a make on the skinny guy; Mal Lunceford, a Hollywood Station harness bull—he used to ogle the carhops at Scrivener's Drive-in, pull out his chest to show off his pistol medals. The fat man, closer, said, "We got that airplane waiting."
Meeks swung the shotgun around, triggered a spread. Fat Man caught buckshot and flew, covering Lunceford—knocking him backward. The wetbacks tore helter-skelter; Meeks ran into the room, heard the back window breaking, yanked the mattress. Sitting ducks: two men, three triple-aught rounds close in.
The two blew up; glass and blood covered three more men inching along the wall…
The motel room he's in is burning now, and shooters keep coming.
Then, behind him, "Hello, lad." Dudley Smith stepped through flames, dressed in a fire department greatcoat. Meeks saw his suitcase—ninety-four grand, dope—over by the mattress. "Dud, you came prepared."
"Like the Boy Scouts, lad. And have you a valediction?"
Suicide: heisting a deal Dudley S. watchdogged. Meeks raised his guns; Smith shot first. Meeks died—thinking the El Serrano Motel looked just like the Alamo.
LAPD Lt. Dudley Smith is the principal antagonist in the novel. He's a veteran officer, well-regarded, oft-honored, well-connected on the force, in the community, and in the criminal world. He's calm, thorough, careful, ruthless, cruel, and murderous. Sure, just about every character is antagonistic to at least one other. Dudley's antagonisms, though, are special. Antagonisms do come and go as the story unfolds and as more and more links and secrets are uncovered. And cautiously shared. More antagonists:
• Edmund Exley infuriates most cops because a.) he's the son of legendary former detective Preston Exley, b.) he's a war hero, c.) he's openly ambitious, d.) he's a snitch, e.) he's a self-righteous prig. The Top Brass use him as a clean and polished front for the force.
• Wendell "Bud" White is a thug, a rookie cop whose seminal moment was watching his drunken father beat his mother to death. To him, the ends justify the means. After executing a bad guy, Bud fires a shot into the door through which he came and presses the gun into the corpse's hand. Why, he shot first! Such enterprise wins him the admiration of Dudley Smith.
• Jack Vincennes is a colorful, tacky narco squad detective who accepts payoffs to occasionally stage flashy, trumped up drug busts of Hollywood notables for the invasive camera of the publisher of a sleazy exposé mag. Nicknamed "Trashcan Jack," Vincennes is advisor on a popular TV cop show, thus is well-known among performers and behind-the-scenes techies.
• Sid Hudgens, the smarmy publisher of Hush-Hush (as in: "Hush-Hush, off the record, on the QT") seems to have a secret file on everyone. Ellroy scatters Sid's articles in the novel to summarize events and suggest directions the story might take. Vincennes is at pains to find and destroy the file Sid has on him.
• Ellis Loew is the Assistant D.A. Ambitious, he runs for D.A. and wins the election only after the incumbent is busted in a shabby motel room, passed out naked in bed with an underaged black girl. Hmmm...
• Pierce Patchett is an enigmatic, icy calm, self-assured, under-the-radar entrepreneur whose many ventures include investments, financing the occasion shady B-movie, drugs, pornography, and a bevy of high-priced
• Raymond Dieterling is a stand-in for Walt Disney: a gifted impresario, creator of animated characters Moochie Mouse and Danny Duck, developer of Dream-a-Dreamland amusement park.
• Preston Exley owns a construction company that's building Dream-a-Dreamland and the Los Angeles area freeway system. In the 1930s, he was the LAPD detective who cracked the infamous Atherton case, a grisly series of child kidnappings and dismemberments. His son Ed is now on the force.
If you've seen the movie, you still should read the book. The novel had to be boiled down—distilled, if you will, the storyline truncated, characters eliminated, much of the shock and gore tidied up, the ending changed. Ellroy doesn't hold back: Theft. Kickbacks and payoffs. Beatings. Torture. Mutilation. Murder. Prostitution. Deviant sex. Pornography. Gambling. Heroin and other illegal drugs. Extortion. Perjury. Blackmail. You name it, Ellroy's got it in there. It's not your Agatha Christie.
Two thumbs up!
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LibraryThing member trile1000
Bloody, brutal, brilliant noir epic about three cops dealing with the aftermath of a violent massacre set in corrupt 1950s Los Angeles.
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
A horrific crime at a late-night cafe unexpectedly brings together very different police officers whose individual burdens to bear may help as much as they hinder.
Picking up where The Big Nowhere left off, L.A. Confidential looks at corruption within the LAPD during the 1950s. Once again, there are
Before reading this series, I had seen the film based on this title; I thought that might prevent me from enjoying this book as much because I would already know where it was going. However, the book is much more complicated in both plot and character development, so there was plenty here, even for those who have already seen the movie.
Although not quite as bad as the previous two titles, the description of the murders can be a bit gruesome at times. Further, Ellroy highlights a bygone era not with nostalgia for "the good old days," but by showing the racism and other problems. However, it is easily (and understandably) off-putting for some readers to hear the various epithets and so forth. For that reason in particular, this book won't be for everyone.
Picking up where The Big Nowhere left off, L.A. Confidential looks at corruption within the LAPD during the 1950s. Once again, there are
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three separate protagonists (this time Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes) and a multitude of subplots. It takes a bit, but Ellroy does tie everything in together nicely. The first 50 pages or so were a little slow going, but after that I was completely hooked and read the majority of the 500-page novel in a single day after work.Before reading this series, I had seen the film based on this title; I thought that might prevent me from enjoying this book as much because I would already know where it was going. However, the book is much more complicated in both plot and character development, so there was plenty here, even for those who have already seen the movie.
Although not quite as bad as the previous two titles, the description of the murders can be a bit gruesome at times. Further, Ellroy highlights a bygone era not with nostalgia for "the good old days," but by showing the racism and other problems. However, it is easily (and understandably) off-putting for some readers to hear the various epithets and so forth. For that reason in particular, this book won't be for everyone.
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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
A set of twists and turns through the landscape of the underworld of L.A. This is another fine novel in James Ellroy's L.A Quartet and is different enough from the movie (which I viewed previously) to entice and bring the reader along for the wild ride. The plot is unpredictable and the characters
4 stars.
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are somewhat stoic in their bearing, possessing the attributes that are generally known in crime fiction. Nevertheless, there is much to like here and I felt fully engaged for the duration of the novel.4 stars.
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LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy
Yes, I'm giving this book a full 5 star review. This is nothing literary or though provoking, but it's pure entertainment and I was entertained. It has all the whores, drugs, murder, and shitbags you can get in a 1950's set crime noir book. Los Angeles, Walt Disney, and Veronica Lake look-a-like
I've only seen the movie to this, so I can't judge the other books pat of the L.A. Quartet. I can say if you watched the movie, you should be able to read this book without any issues. I'd like to read the other books now to see if there are any connections and why this is a series.
SPOILER TIME!: (For people who watched the movie and read the book.)
One of the dramatic changes from the book and movie is the ending. The movie with a shocker that the head cop was the murderer. I still get surprised watching the movie, but maybe after reading the book I'll pick up stuff. In the books there is a ton of Disney references that were obviously cut from the film. While I can see why they were cut, I'd like to see an adaptation where they aren't cut because it's a big plot from the book.
The only complaint I have are the newspaper clippings sections. They are very much needed in the book, but a the same time they make things confusing for the readers. It goes back and forth with a narrative style to a newspaper style. I do like Ellroys writing style for the crime genre. If this wasn't crime, I think I'd get annoyed with the writing.
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prostitutes.I've only seen the movie to this, so I can't judge the other books pat of the L.A. Quartet. I can say if you watched the movie, you should be able to read this book without any issues. I'd like to read the other books now to see if there are any connections and why this is a series.
SPOILER TIME!: (For people who watched the movie and read the book.)
The only complaint I have are the newspaper clippings sections. They are very much needed in the book, but a the same time they make things confusing for the readers. It goes back and forth with a narrative style to a newspaper style. I do like Ellroys writing style for the crime genre. If this wasn't crime, I think I'd get annoyed with the writing.
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Awards
Deutscher Krimi Preis (1992)
Writers Guild of America Award (Winner — Best Adapted Screenplay — 1997)