I’m not sure how I feel about my chosen reading sequence. I was originally going to read my non-fiction titles on Elizabeth Short, but when I came across the Book-to-Movie Challenge, I decided to bump this one up the pile. Besides, I felt like I’d kept it on my shelf long enough; I really need to get more of my BookCrossing trades moving on.

Anyway, I have no idea how much of this book is based on the facts of the case, and I’m not certain that it matters. As a stand-alone murder mystery, the plot works just fine; twists galore and loose ends wrapped up nicely. I will say that I thought that the first 60 or so pages, while well-written, didn’t seem relevant to the story. This was frustrating while I was slogging through Ellroy’s character development, but now that I’ve finished, I can see that he needed that space to also set up a few important plot points.

Ellroy’s novel read with a very Spillane-like cadence, but the fast-paced plot served to make this distraction fade away. His character were well-drawn, and easy enough to track [I personally have a problem doing this—an effect of MommyBrain, I’m certain].

before reading The Black Dahlia, i knew nothing about the case except that it’s a true story of the unsolved, brutal murder of a young woman named Elizabeth Short that took place in California a long time ago—in 1947, i found out later. thus, i didn’t know which of the characters were real or made up, though it’s clear that Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert, the protagonist and narrator, belongs to James Ellroy.

Ellroy’s fictionalization isn’t about the Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dahlia, case. it’s the story of a young man’s rapid descent into a personal hell of his own making. Bucky, as well as most of the characters, are completely disturbed and seem to have no redeemable qualities. the one exception is Kay Lake, the woman who stands between Bucky and his partner, Leland (Lee) Blanchard. if you have a weak stomach, don’t bother reading this book. the description of Elizabeth Short’s beaten and hideously mutilated body is nowhere near as sick as these characters. the writing is excellent—vivid and dramatic—and as such, Ellroy doesn’t hold back in describing the characters’, especially Bucky’s, flaws.

the book is divided into four parts. “Fire and Ice,” introduces readers to Bucky and explains how he and Lee become partners. “39th and Norton,” named for the Los Angeles intersection near which Elizabeth Short’s body was found, is the book’s longest section and unfortunately, begins dragging towards the end. Part III, “Kay and Madeleine,” is named after the two main female characters in the book and in Bucky’s life: Kay Lake and Madeleine Sprague. like Part II, this section moves slowly, but is mercifully short. “Elizabeth,” in which events pick up again at a lightning pace, concludes both Bucky’s work on the case and his story.

aside from the disturbed characters and slow middle section, i had other difficulties while making my way through the novel. one was the incredible amount of violence, most of it inflicted by the LAPD. violence normally doesn’t bother me, and i’m still not sure why it affected me the way it did here. maybe because the LAPD is portrayed as corrupt, which isn’t necessarily a fictionalization? i also disliked the portrayal and treatment of women and minorities. however, the story takes place in the ‘40s, so perhaps these representations are merely a Zeitgeist. finally, Ellroy employs a lot of 1940s slang, with which i’m unfamiliar. of course i could have looked it all up, but i was too lazy. besides, i was caught up in reading, and anyway, some of the terms can be defined based on the context.

despite my complaints, i absolutely loved The Black Dahlia, which is an excellent read that i highly recommend to anyone looking for a real page-turner.