The Black Dahlia

By: James Ellroy

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Bonus feature includes an original afterword by James Ellroy, titled "Hillikers," read by Stephen Hoye.

On January 15, 1947, the torture-ravished body of a beautiful young woman is found in a vacant lot. The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia–and so begins the greatest manhunt in California history.

Caught up in the investigation are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard. Both are obsessed with the Dahlia–driven by dark needs to know everything about her past, to capture her killer, to possess the woman even in death. Their quest will take them on a hellish journey through the underbelly of postwar Hollywood, to the core of the dead girl's twisted life, past the extremes of their own psyches–into a region of total madness.

Critic reviews

"A masterpiece." —People

"Brutal and at the same time believable." —New York Times

“Turgid with passion, violence, and frustration . . . imaginative and bizarre.” —Los Angeles Times

“A riveting 1940s noir Hollywood setting, full of period flavor and investigative detail.” —Boston Herald

“Ellroy distills the introspective style, slang, and racism of the ’40s roman noir. . . . His characters, individuals all, are beautifully shaded, and he captures the mind-numbing detail of police work.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“High-intensity prose. Reading it aloud could shatter your wineglasses.” —Elmore Leonard

“An absolute masterpiece and Ellroy’s finest work to date . . . played out against a beautifully dark, moody ’40s L.A. jazz score. The ultimate novel noir.” —Jonathan Kellerman

“James Ellroy has taken this unsolved murder, put his own savage spin on the story, and turned it into compelling fiction . . . fascinating reading, since Ellroy seemingly cannot write a dull line.” —Hartford Courant

“Ellroy has brilliantly poised the story between beauty and gross ugliness, honor and corruption, sense and loyalty, knowledge and ignorance. This is a big novel, ambitious in theme and content, and it’s the finest of its kind.” —Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

“The Black Dahlia meets the primary criterion of a good mystery read—you can’t put it down. . . . Ellroy is the master of a very difficult craft.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Fine attention to detail and dead-on sense of the period. . . . Ellroy has established himself as one of the finest practitioners of noir fiction.” —The Plain Dealer

“Ellroy kept me glued to the chair. . . . His ear for 1940s speech is flawless.”
—Newsweek

An oddly compelling story

Filled with spooky noir nuances, outrageous storylines and complex characters, this is a don't miss book. That's not to say that it doesn't have it's flaws. There are some plot points that make very little sense, and some of the story is downright gory. However, as a whole, it makes for great listening, full of old Hollywood lore and 40's detective lingo.
I purchased and downloaded this well before the film release, fully intending to have it listened to before I saw the movie. I'm actually glad that I didn't read the book before the movie, because while the movie stands on it's own as entertainment, it is nothing next to the book. It's lengthy and requires your full attention, but I think you will find it's worth it.

Not a good listen

The book was ruined by the audio. Not sure if it was the performance or it just being read aloud. Some things just made me hate the recording

Slow to get into, but still fantastic.

Brilliant performance. Thoroughly enjoyed the afterword. Loved the historic setting of Los Angeles in the forties. Some very good twist and turns. Highly recommend.

Good enough story and presentation.

The racial slurs were rampant, and I am no prude about language that pertains to the story. But this was way over the top. I understand it was about a different time, but some trimming is in order.

the characters

outstanding story. well written and researched. Alice and realistic. plot and summary are fetching and valuable. end notes were very helpful!!