A woman’s body is found drained of blood and cut in half. One of the investigating police officers become obsessed with finding out who she really was and uncovering the events that led up to her brutal death. The investigation leads him deep into her twisted life. The tangle of lies tied to those that surround her life and death becomes denser and following the convoluted trail of clues unravels the foundations of his life. Eventually he discovers all that he sought to know but at the cost of destroying his marriage and career, and knowing that the killer will never be brought to justice.
This is a good old-fashioned thriller with the murder itself simply the starting point for a tale of sexual obsession, ambition and deceit. Solving the case itself is less important to the story than the road the main character travels to get there. A number of seemingly disparate leads and dead ends weave together pointing to a number of false suspects before the real murderer is eventually revealed. Their identity comes as a complete surprise but is still believable.
What I did have trouble believing was the main character’s behaviour once he knows. It didn’t feel consistent with his character to me.
This book was written over twenty years ago and it shows in a slow beginning full of back story but the pace picks up after the discovery of the body and settles into a somewhat intense rhythm that together with the subject matter can become a bit heavy at times.
The focus of the story wasn’t what I had expected. And it was a much darker story than those I would usually be drawn to. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the hard boiled crime style thriller but it hasn’t left me with a desire to seek out any of Ellroy’s other works.-Lynn
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