Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jan 15, 2012

Nikita T. rated it:

I'm not big on this whole "going green" trend, but today I thought about one thing all book lovers can do to contribute to society: use your library card more often.

You probably thought I had something clever to say. Sorry to disappoint but let me explain.

My Analysis of The Black Dahlia:
-324 pages in the book
-67 pages until the plot begins to unfold
-300 pages before the book becomes unputdownable, as I like to call it

What does tha More...

1 comment like (16 people liked it)

Mar 14, 2009

Eric_W rated it:

"I want to be known as the greatest crime novelist who ever lived." Strong words from James Ellroy, whose novels combine the harsh dialogue and dark characters of Raymond Chandler and the evisceration of dirty family secrets that Ross MacDonald was so good at. The Black Dahlia takes place in Los Angeles just after the end WW II. Two officers, Mr. Ice and Mr. Fire, as they are nicknamed for their boxing styles -- they are both ex-boxers -- return to the ring for the glory of the LAP More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 27, 2009

Ben rated it:

Ellroy, heard enough about him recently? Another GR craze. I’ve been putting off this review for two weeks now, and honestly, I still don’t want to write it. The thing is, while I only enjoyed this to an “OK” level, I really can understand the commotion surrounding the guy. He wrote this with great insight and intensity; it has a brilliantly complex storyline, and it is very well executed. The web of connections are aplenty, it has a ferocious acuteness to it, and there was a period of time More...

45 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2010

Taka rated it:

Haunting--

If you weather through the slightly dull first 68 pages, you're in for a treat. Lies, betrayals, deceptions, frauds, frames, corruption, and all imaginable sorts of grime are loaded to be splashed on you. It's a damn good ride all the way to the climax where plot twist upon twist pummels you to half stupor. Although I thought the last twist was a bit too much, I gleefully turned the pages, immersed in the dark, dirty, intense world of the book and enjoying every moment in i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2009

Sarah rated it:

(First off, I should say that besides having seen a few previews of the movie version that came out a while back, I know nothing about the Black Dahlia or the wealth of other books about this case except for the 200 or so pages I've read so far. The movie previews had piqued my salacious curiosity and I randomly picked up the book from the library the other week without doing much research about what else is out there.)

At first I was struck by the literary heft of a book that reads li More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 20, 2008

Tabby rated it:

Based on a notorious, unsolved Los Angeles murder case, the central drama of this hard-boiled mystery--set in the late 1940s--begins when the body of Elizabeth Short, an engagingly beautiful and promiscuous woman in her 20s, is discovered in a vacant lot, cut in half, disemboweled and bearing evidence that she had been tortured for several days before dying. Dubbed "The Black Dahlia" by the press, the victim becomes an obsession for two L.A.P.D. cops, narrator Bucky Bleichert and his p More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2007

Sara rated it:

This is probably the hardest to read of James Ellroy's novels, but it's also one of my favorites. Apparently, Ellroy modeled the tragic death of the young starlet in the novel after his mother's mysterious death. In typical Ellroy fashion, there's plenty of intrigue, corrupt government officials, intrigue and heart-stopping action. This is also one of the only books that has any emotional resonance for me, probably because the subject was so close to reality for him. What I love most about Ellro More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2008

El rated it:

I have been out of town for the past week and do not have much desire to go in-depth in my discussion of books I have read in that time. The Black Dahlia in particular is one that I was so highly disappointed in that I don't have the heart to give it much more than an "it was okay" rating. As much as I adore perfectly twisted murder mystery movies and books I found Ellroy's book sadly incompetent. Maybe I expected something a little more Sunset Boulevard-in-print than this. All in More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 05, 2008

lisa_emily rated it:

I was initially surprised by the tough-guy narrative style, but it fit the style and created the characters. Most interesting about this book is how the characters are manifested; each character was built of many shades between decency and fallibility; each character overcomes or is debilitated by past trauma; the reaction sets forth a trajectory which affects each life.

Not only is The Black Dahlia a curious character-study, but a snapshot of a Los Angeles trapped in time; a Los Ange More...

0 comments like

Aug 10, 2011

Erika added it

I'm not much for detective stories but this book has definitely sold me. It's written in a very unique voice, that of, Bucky Bleichert, an ex-boxer turned LA cop. The story starts off slow, at least in my opinion, about his relationship with his father, his fallen career and his time on the force. How he meets Lee Blanchard, another ex-boxer turned cop, and the steps that lead up to them becoming partners. I loved watching Bucky trying to remain the good cop and stay focused on his Warrants' c More...

0 comments like

Jan 29, 2012

Krista rated it:

So I'd seen a review that the last half of the book beat you over the head with plot twists. I'd like to challenge that review and say it was more like being blugeoned with a sharp object several times. I kept going, "Whoa, hold the phone! Srsly?!!" Don't get me wrong, I like a plot twist, but good lord, it was insane!

I knew the story of the Black Dahlia from watching a History channel or E True Hollywood story. I knew James Ellroy from LA Confidential. So I expected the gr More...

0 comments like

Jan 23, 2012

Shovelmonkey1 rated it:

* The door to the bar swings open and in strides a down at heel gumshoe with a cigarette drooping from his bottom lip. He strides through the bar, his stained raincoat flapping behind him as he pushes aside vacant bar stools and squints through the thinning veil of cigarette smoke. He spots his target and heads to a booth lined with vinyl seats at the back of the room. Pausing he grinds his cigarette butt beneath his heel, hands over the manuscript, tips his hat and leaves.*

And that is More...

2 comments like (11 people liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Al rated it:

A hard core police procedural set in 1947 Los Angeles. Taking off on the famous Black Dahlia (true) case, this (fiction) book is seen through the eyes of a rookie policeman who becomes involved in the case and winds up getting sucked in beyond his depth. Lots of authentic tough guy talk, contemporary slang and police shorthand, some of which is a little hard to follow but manageable. Less manageable is the jumping around and resurrection of old clues and characters after many interveni More...

0 comments like

Jul 27, 2011

Laurent added it

Un roman parmi les plus noirs que j'ai eu à lire... Ellroy s'appuie sur l'un des meurtres non élucidés les plus célèbres des USA (le meurtre de Betty Short, alias le "Dahlia Noir") pour exorciser ses démons intérieurs, à savoir l'assassinat impuni de sa propre mère. Ce fait hante Ellroy comme le meurtre du Dahlia obsède Bucky, policier-boxeur du LAPD au passé douteux et dont la vie sera bouleversée à jamais par cette enquête. Au fil de l'histoire, on plonge dans le LA post deuxième gue More...

0 comments like

Apr 21, 2011

Tanya/dog eared copy rated it:

You don't so much read James Ellroy as you experience James Ellroy. JE's ability to place the reader in the time and place of his novels are superlative; But fair warning, this is a time and place for only the most hardcore noir fans. This is track after track of dark, sordid pathos and it's all pretty grueling. There are graphic depictions of sex, corpses, brutality and, insanity and; none of it is pretty. The characters, whether protagonists, antagonists or, bystanders, are all damaged and the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Dianne rated it:

A fictional police procedural novel based on a particularly gruesome murder of a beautiful young girl in Los Angeles in 1947. I believe the real crime is still unsolved.

The protagonist cop Dwight 'Buck' Bleichert is teamed up with Lee Blanchard after the two 'entertain' the city and police to a boxing match, the outcome of which gains the LAPD an 8% pay rise. After the discovery of the mutilated body of Elizabeth Short, named The Black Dahlia by the press because of her habit of w More...

0 comments like

Dec 22, 2010

Kelly rated it:

A few months ago, Tom and I decided to start our own book club with just the two of us. We would each take turns choosing the book and then we would discuss them.

Around the time it was Tom’s turn to choose the book he noticed I had put the movie The Black Dahlia on our Netflix list. I had never seen it and the true crime story interested me. Tom thought it would be fun to read the book and see the movie and discuss the difference, etc.

Using the basic facts concerning the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 13, 2010

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Questo libro è un "noir", così almeno è scritto nella quarta di copertina ed è generalmente accettato da tutti, ma etichettare con un solo genere un libro così bello mi risulta difficile perché questo trascende qualsiasi tipo di definizione. Per prima cosa bisogna dire che questo non è un libro che si digerisce in fretta, ma ha bisogno di molte ore di sedimentazione per sentirne tutti i vari gusti e profumi: beninteso parliamo di gusti forti, agghiaccianti, raccapriccianti, non adatti More...

0 comments like

Sep 23, 2010

Tim rated it:

There is a great book and a not-so-great book here. In fact, it seems like two successive books - the first is an atmospheric but realistic police procedural bringing to life the Los Angeles of the late 1940s (the book was written in 1987) and the second is a piece of 'grand guignol' in which sexual obsession and the noir morals of James M. Cain's characters surge their way through a plot out of Raymond Chandler with a dash of Hammett's political cynicism.

It cannot be said that the t More...

2 comments like

Jul 17, 2010

Tim rated it:

Making a novelization of one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American history takes some courage, but James Ellroy's fictional portrayal of the death and subsequent police investigation of the 1947 murder of drifter Elizabeth Short is a stunning mash-up of nior fiction and true crime. Centering the novel around Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert, a boxer turned police officer, and his one time foe, now friend Lee Blanchard, Ellroy shows how both men become obsessed with the case for differ More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 08, 2010

Malbadeen rated it:

I feel left ouf of certain genres which means I am left out of certain conversations which I hate because butting into conversations is pretty much my main hobby.
Ocassionaly I try to overcome this handi-cap by at least gaining the tiniest bit of knowledge regarding a genre.
And yet, try as I might I just can't seem to get into this crime stuff.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ellroy when Sarah and I did Wordstock and it really was a pleasure, if nothing else becuase he is such a c More...

9 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 07, 2009

christa rated it:

Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchert are boxers turned coppers who have recently forged a friendship and partnership after kicking the shit out of each other in a highly-publicized, post-retirement boxing match that resulted in huge headlines, cash for the LAPD, and a promotion for Bucky.

They are on the job when the Black Dahlia's body is found in a vacant lot around the corner on 39th and Norton. The torso is severed, and her face has been sliced ear to ear -- mafia style. The body ha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Niki rated it:

This book surprisingly caught my eye before the film came out. I am that girl that insists on reading books before I see the movie and I honestly don't understand how they made this book into a movie worth watching. I can give a large amount of credit to the author because the plot was so well developed and defined that it was hard to follow if you read it while distracted or tired.

The characters were interesting enough, however the tone helped to develop the mystique of the charac More...

0 comments like

Feb 08, 2011

Steven rated it:

Based on the infamous case of Elizabeth Short, who Ellroy later claimed to be his mother. Almost as brilliant as Ellroy's L.A. Confidential, and in some ways it's superior. The time, the pitch, the pace, the plot, the dialogue and characterization--all among The Mad Dog's best. As with L.A. Confidential--perhaps even more so--by the time you're done reading it, you'd swear that every member of the L.A. force was hopped up on something, boozing, brawling, sleeping around, or just plain going c More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

Mallory Anne-Marie rated it:

“The Black Dahlia” is easy to read-I couldn’t put it aside, the pace was so incredible-but it is not an easy book to digest, for the queasy of stomach or the faint of heart. I find it difficult to imagine the impact it had on its initial audience, back in 1987, who perhaps were not accustomed to graphic detail and gory descriptions of crimes as are current readers, who’ve been bombarded with such through television, films, newspapers, magazines, video games, and books. Current readers tend to be More...

0 comments like

Jul 13, 2011

Tracy rated it:

I received this book as part of a swap at swaptree.com. When I first started reading this book....I had a really hard time understanding the old time cop lingo......I could not understand what in the heck they were saying......and there was no mention of the Black Dahlia, whatsoever, so I thought I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy reading this book. However....the murder does come into play and the main characters are an intriguing bunch. I didn't always understand just what they were trying to More...

0 comments like

Jan 27, 2011

Lena rated it:

First time I read James Ellroy.I have seen the movie which I don't particularly like.But the book was something else...Great noir atmosphere, great plot and great characters with true depth.I don't think that was long or had unimportant details.Every word was needed in order to have this astonishing result.Without dramatic hyperboles he manages to portrait a murder, the corruption that spreads from the police force to justice system and the life of a triangle.The life of Black Dahlia is unravele More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

Colin rated it:

James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia falters in the final 50 pages, but it’s a solid crime read nonetheless.

In 1947, Elizabeth Short was found mutilated, cut in half and drained of blood in a vacant L.A. lot. Though the murder is real, Ellroy built a fictional set of characters and circumstances around the event (which the author’s afterword notes was done in an effort to make sense of his mother’s unsolved 1958 murder). Thing is, this horrific event doesn’t show up until 65 pages in. If More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 03, 2012

Willem rated it:

Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert, a part-timer boxer and full-time up-and-coming cop, is a tough but honest patrolman, put in the limelight by his superiors to give the LAPD an honorable, righteous face to the public. In the winter of 1947, he is teamed up with fellow boxer and police sergeant Lee Blanchard when the heavily mutilated body of Elizabeth Short is found on an empty lot in west L.A. The murder gets great publicity in the newspapers, where Short is renamed “The Black Dahlia”, after the Veroni More...

0 comments like

Feb 20, 2011

Becky rated it:

I started off really disliking the Black Dahlia. The story centres on "Bucky", an ex pro boxer who turns cop. He takes part in a fight to raise the profile of the local cops, winning a promotion and a new partner in return. But his partner Lee Blanchard is harbouring issues from his childhood, and when they stumble into a horrendous case involving the murder of a young woman, their upward trajectories start to fall apart.

For the first hundred pages or so the novel is a More...

1 comment like