A review by darwin8u
Because the Night by James Ellroy
3.0
"Guys with our kind of juice should f-up once in a while out of noblesse oblige."
- James Ellroy, Because the Night
Book 2 in Ellroy's L.A. Noir trilogy (or Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy). In this book Sgt Hopkins is trying to figure out a bizarre killing AND the disappearance of an exceptional undercover cop. It all leads to a Timothy Leary/Charles Manson mashup whose band of rich misfits isn't Ellroy's best. The psychiatrist trope appears better developed in later Ellroy novels. Like the previous book in the series, this book seems like a rough draft for better Noir that will come in his next series. Ellroy is growing, but it is difficult to call this book a finished product at this point. Ellroy, at this stage, hasn't learned that the crazier the characters, the more believable the premise has to be.
- James Ellroy, Because the Night
Book 2 in Ellroy's L.A. Noir trilogy (or Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy). In this book Sgt Hopkins is trying to figure out a bizarre killing AND the disappearance of an exceptional undercover cop. It all leads to a Timothy Leary/Charles Manson mashup whose band of rich misfits isn't Ellroy's best. The psychiatrist trope appears better developed in later Ellroy novels. Like the previous book in the series, this book seems like a rough draft for better Noir that will come in his next series. Ellroy is growing, but it is difficult to call this book a finished product at this point. Ellroy, at this stage, hasn't learned that the crazier the characters, the more believable the premise has to be.