Review by Booklist Review
Indisputable fact: Marilyn Monroe died August 4, 1962. Questionable theories: was it suicide or murder? A case can be made for either, which Ellroy does with his signature jazzy aplomb in his ongoing quest to expose L.A.'s spongy underbelly via its most notorious scandals. Under the cynical eye of Ellroy's recurring protagonist, detective Freddy Otash, the rationale for Monroe's suicide lies in evidence of drug abuse and psychological distress. The case for murder, however, involves a "pick one from column A, one from column B" approach. Was it Jack and/or Bobby Kennedy, both linked sexually to Monroe and therefore politically vulnerable? A perverse stalker terrorizing Hollywood lovelies? A corrupt cop? All of the above? The roster of suspects is a who's-who of LAPD hierarchy, B-movie stalwarts, legitimate Hollywood royalty, and, of course, the Kennedy clan. Ellroy's familiar tropes are on klieg-lit display: sleazy sex, illicit drugs, Hollywood grift and grit. All are conveyed through Otash's rogue hipster-cop patois; he "groks" things, he's "into the gestalt." He's also a stone-cold killer with a dubious relationship with ethics, morality, and the truth. Turbulent and breakneck though they may be, Ellroy's lingo-laden, juiced and jived historical police procedurals are always a trip worth taking.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Real-life LAPD officer turned private detective Fred Otash narrates Ellroy's sprawling follow-up to 2022's Widespread Panic. It's another opportunity for the author to showcase his encyclopedic knowledge of mid-century Hollywood: the plot kicks off in the summer of 1962 when Otash is hired to dig up dirt on the recently deceased Marilyn Monroe by the unholy trinity of Jimmy Hoffa, JFK, and the LAPD. Meanwhile, a laundry list of other crimes stack up on Otash's to-do list, including the kidnapping of a budding starlet, money laundering schemes, an exploding street drug market, and a ruthless peeping tom. As Otash burrows deeper into Monroe's death, his grip on sanity loosens, and he becomes increasingly worried the crimes are all connected in one vast conspiracy. Ellroy masterfully orchestrates his vast array of subplots to create a tour de force of vibe and atmosphere. That ambience, plus his signature jazzy turns of phrase, will thrill longtime fans, but newcomers may get lost in the sprawl. This fascinating, overstuffed outing won't win Ellroy many new converts, but it's still a hell of a ride. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (Sept.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A descent into the conspiracy hellhole of Hollywood in the early 1960s. Within the dirty fun of Ellroy's fiction, all sorts of lines continue to blur. There is little distinction between characters taken from so-called real life and inventions from the novelist's fevered imagination. Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Jimmy Hoffa, and J. Edgar Hoover were all real people, of course, before they became Ellroy characters. So was protagonist Freddy Otash, the rogue cop who subsequently dug up dirt on celebrities for the scandal-sheet Confidential, though he has become better known as a figure in Ellroy's fiction. As for the lines between good and bad and innocent and guilty, they simply don't exist here. The cops are as crooked as the crooks, maybe more so, and guilt is a matter of degree. Freddy has been hired by Jimmy Hoffa to expose scandal among the Kennedys in retaliation for Robert Kennedy's targeting of the Teamsters. Attorney General RFK hires Otash away to besmirch the reputation of Marilyn Monroe and distance her from the Kennedys. Monroe's death proves pivotal--but was it an accident, suicide, or murder? And then there's the Sex Creep, whose rampages among a half-dozen or so lonely divorcées bearing some resemblance to Monroe have gone tabloid viral, largely due to Freddy (who is also sleeping with a Kennedy, sister Pat, married to the despicable Peter Lawford). A tireless investigator who operates without scruples, Freddy discovers how deeply implicated he might be within a web of crime and murder. The plot embeds Monroe in porn, prostitution, pedophilia, and political protest as well as a scheme to blackmail the president into divorcing Jackie and making Marilyn first lady. There are so many layers of sleaze that it can be tough to keep things straight as the breakneck momentum accelerates. The climax might well leave the reader as breathless as Ellroy's prose, and in need of a good shower. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
