Author(s): James Ellroy

Crime

We are behind, and below, the scenes of JFK's presidential election, the Bay of Pigs, the assassination--in the underworld that connects Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C. . . . Where the CIA, the Mob, J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, Cuban political exiles, and various loose cannons conspire in a covert anarchy . . . Where the right drugs, the right amount of cash, the right murder, buys a moment of a man's loyalty . . . Where three renegade law-enforcement officers--a former L.A. cop and two FBI agents--are shaping events with the virulence of their greed and hatred, riding full-blast shotgun into history. . . . James Ellroy's trademark nothing-spared rendering of reality, blistering language, and relentless narrative pace are here in electrifying abundance, put to work in a novel as shocking and daring as anything he's written: a secret history that zeroes in on a time still shrouded in secrets and blows it wide open. Review Quotes: "A supremely controlled work of art." --"The New York Times Book Review" "Hard-bitten. . . . Ingenious. . . . Ellroy segues into political intrigue without missing a beat." --"The New York Times" "Vastly entertaining." --"Los Angeles Times" "Compulsively readable. . . . Hard to forget." --"Chicago Tribune" Physical Info: 2.72 cms H x 20.35 cms L x 13.18 cms W (0.46 kgs) 592 pages First published 1995.