Crime Wave [Paperback]

James Ellroy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1999

James Ellroy is a unique and powerful writer with a tough and explosive voice. His obsession with the dark side of L. A. is personal and vital, triggered by the murder of his mother when he was ten. This defining event spawned an early addiction to paperback crime novels, and Ellroy's own writing is saturated in an often violent underworld of bent cops, politicians, stars, sleeze and rumour. Ellroy exploits memory, history, fact and fiction with relentless energy and panache. What emerges is an intense, mythical version of tinseltown in the second half of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His novels, The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz, American Tabloid and My Dark Places have won numerous awards and were international bestsellers. He lives with his wife in Kansas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 303 pages
• Publisher: Random House (October 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099279991
• ISBN-13: 978-0099279990
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,486,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. He is the author of the acclaimed L.A. Qurtet - The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential and White Jazz, as well as the Underworld USA trilogy: American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's a Rover. He is the author of one work of non-fiction, The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women. Ellroy lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't stop reading it., October 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Crime Wave (Audio Cassette)

Crime wave is the book that made me the James Ellroy fan I am today. From the first sentence, I was hooked.

Crime wave is a book of short stories, actual true crime cases, and a few essays written by Ellroy for GQ Magazine.

Reading Ellroy is almost like singing along with a tune on the radio, it's all about rythm. Included are a story about Ellroy's Mother's unsolved murder and another fictitious story involving Dick Contino. The stories that I loved most of all though, were the stories told by Danny Getchell, the dirt digger for HUSH-HUSH magazine.

All in all, I loved Crime Wave because it is a look at 1950s crime in L.A. I think Ellroy fans and non-Ellroy fans alike, should do themselves a favor and pick up a copy of CRIME WAVE.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Ever Reader!, February 26, 2006

By 

Gandalf "a reader" (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crime Wave (Audio Cassette)

For a great unabridged read try this Books on Tape Audio edition read by Michael Prichard who adapts the character voices adroitly, showing an uncanny ear. He's an L.A. based actor who has read several hundred audiobooks; that's actually over 300! What a pro! There may or may not be other versions, but I for one will stick to the best!