Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55241 in Books
• Published on: 1990-09-17
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Synopsis
In this crime novel, there is a man on the loose in America. A man who kills for the sheer pleasure of spilling blood. A man who rearranges the mutilated bodies of his victims in positions that, to him, have the purity of art. The author also wrote "The Big Nowhere" and "Suicide Hill".

Customer Reviews

Dead good.
This is a quite exceptional work of imagination (I hope!). A totally believable account of a serial killer's life and work - in his own words.

The characterisation is exceptionally good and the monster is painted just human enough that you can get a handle on him.

Fantastically paced, with not a word of flab - this is a magnificent book and one of my favourite Ellroys.

Evil Genius
One of Ellroy's early masterpieces, and probably his best stand-alone novel. Stark, dark and relentless, these are the memoirs of an utterly remorseless serial killer as he butchers his way across America. Meeting Charlie Manson in jail early on, the protagonist dismisses him as a lightweight, and from this you might be able to judge the extemity of this man's madness. Ellroy fearlessly peels away the layers of a serial killer, ultimately ending with a sardonic, nihilistic kiss off. Not for those of a nervous dispostion, this one of the best serial killer novels ever written.

The journal of a serial killer
Not as good as Ellroy's LA quartet but still a riveting read. The book is done as an autobiography of a serial killer who refuses to speak after he is caught. Ellroy wrote this in the mid 80's, apparently because he was broke so did this to get a bit of money. It isn't as complex as his later novels but still has his distinctive writing style, making it the best book to introduce you to his work.