Episode 1: My Mother's Murder

By: James Ellroy

Narrated by: James Ellroy

James Ellroy enlists the help of the LA County Sheriff’s Cold Case squad to reinvestigate the 1958 murder of his mother, Geneva Hilliker Ellroy.©2022 Audio Up LLC (P)2022 Audio Up LLC

Classic Ellroy offers a Crushing Etude for a Mother's Minor Murder

I've heard wax hypnotic on his mother's tragic killing and its effect on his psyche and work in the prologue and closing of his truly masterful 'Black Dahlia', so it's actually very satisfying to experience a deeper and meta-factual exploration in this premiere episode of his new podcast.

I'll be the first to admit Ellroy is an acquired taste- his assiduous alliterative act; the dogged pitbull-grip on rose-tinted rhino regalia rhetoric, ripped right from the pages of a pulp-fiction satire set to overdrive can.. be a little overwhelming, if I'm being honest. Spread across his bulky long-form masterpieces (Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential in particular), his usual machinations pull down a red/blue filter over the lights, fill your head with sirens and big band crooning, and make the whole narrative feel like the rhyme of an ancient bloodhound.

In short-form (this podcast and his collected anthologies come to mind) it sometimes sidles up to "forced" and farcical- which is an odd feeling for a forensics-filled true-crime caper, layered in grizzly gasps and cutting cries of "help!"... and yet.. it works here. I like it. Case closed.

Misogynistic

Boring, sensationalistic, poorly-narrated, with annoying/distracting, screaming/music/sound effects. Neither documentary nor performance; no character development, no story arc, and no real case exposés. Female victimization is served up as entertainment, with crass, untalented narration. Very much missing the level of classic 1940s noir had.

Author is still angry with his murdered mother.

Author doesn't really care if the murder of his mother is solved. He just wants the world to know she was a drunk and he hates her. He blames her for getting killed and gloates over the crime scene photos. Sadly, he will probably die an angry bitter abandoned boy because he can't see his mother as a woman with her own demons, just a crappy mother who failed. I tried to listen to the next episode and he does the same thing to the female victim in that story. He tries to disgiise his vitriol in a cheesy Hollywood noir-esque diatribe. it's just monotonous. We get it you have mommy issues and she's dead, so you can't take it out on her. Ugh!