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My first real foray into neo-noir or hardboiled standalone novels. The prose is sharp, tense, tight, and very good at conveying the dark chaos and underbelly of the LAPD during that turbulent time. I enjoyed the reveals and how I had to prepare myself for the unexpected as death took its toll, and the criminal entanglements got more complex. It led to my reading "L.A. Confidential" afterwards.
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Finally re-read this again after many years. White Jazz re-reads brilliantly. As good as The Big Nowhere and LA Confidential are, this novel is the true masterpiece of the LA Quartet. In fact, it remains one of the greatest crime novels ever written.
There's an intensity in the story, and the prose, that remains unattainable to other writers of crime fiction – even Ellroy has struggled to replicate it in his other novels (only American Tabloid and The Cold Six come close). The brilliance of this ...more
There's an intensity in the story, and the prose, that remains unattainable to other writers of crime fiction – even Ellroy has struggled to replicate it in his other novels (only American Tabloid and The Cold Six come close). The brilliance of this ...more
Jul 26, 2007
Rachael
marked it as to-read
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Ken Mercer
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crimepaul
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Amy Bruestle
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Jul 30, 2024
Jesse Rutter
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