The Dudley Smith Trio

by James Ellroy

This Dudley Smith omnibus edition consists of: "The Big Nowhere", "L.A. Confidential" and "White Jazz".

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Noir, Ebooks

1334 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 1999

About the author

Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black Dahlia (1987) and L.A. Confidential (1990).

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A single volume of the last three books of the "L.A. Quartet" (The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz) 1300 odd pages of Ellroy is a fair old wedge to read through at one go. Despite the length, though, it never feels like hard work, the energy, linguistic brio and inventiveness Ellroy brings to the party is always a delight. Yet reading the books all at once rather highlights their biggest flaw, notably a slight sameness in plot, character and tone that is less apparent when reading them separately. Still a cracking read if you like your meat strong and bloody, this is one of the the great works of crime fiction.

[Hung Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theo thứ tự từ hay nhất: L.A.Confidential > The Big Nowhere > White Jazz. Đặc điểm chung là truyện dark như đêm 30, đầy bạo lực, tội phạm và sex. Plot dày đặc âm mưu, số lượng nhân vật đồ sộ, cộng thêm lối viết đặc trưng những năm 40-50s, không phải ai cũng đủ kiên nhẫn để đọc hết. 4⭐

[Simon Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime fiction at its very best. There was never a better anti-hero than Ellroy's Dudley Smith. Labyrinthine in plot and as fat as a breeze block, but absolutely impossible to put down. One to read over a weekend! Enjoy.

[Alex Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, intense and compelling trio of LA crime conspiracies that imagines a world that is at once totally monochrome and simultaneously full of different tones - morals, motives and emotions are both primal and deeply nuanced. Reading all three in a row you also see a real virtuoso technician at work with the prose too. A star. A dark star. ⭐️

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Big Nowhere *****
LA Confidential *****
White Jazz ***

So, overall, four stars. Maybe this is unfair on White Jazz. I struggled with it, but that may be because on reflection it was foolhardy to immerse myself in James Ellroy's world of corruption, vice and sleaze for three novels back-t0-back. His evocation of 1950s LA is masterful, his characters obstinate and unrepentant, his plots as thick as whale omelettes. In future I'll stick to one book at a time. I might go back to White Jazz one day, once I feel clean again.

[Mounia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this author

James Ellroy transports you to a different era the language the setting it's like watching a movie...every single of his books can be made into a movie. His writing is so visual. Very good value as you get your money's worth with more than one novel in one purchase !

[Les(lie) Cornwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book (a trilogy of 'The Big Nowhere', 'L.A. Confidential' and 'White Jazz') years ago. Its price was still given in Belgian Francs (BEF), whilst we switched to Euros (€) in 2001! I had been given a book token by some relatives on the occasion of a Xmas dinner a birthday or something like that.
At that time, I read the first book ('The Big Nowhere'), and then forgot about it. But recently searching through my books upstairs in the attic, I came across this monster of a paperback (±1300 pages) as I was looking for something to start reading while spending the night elsewhere after a party. So I read the first 30-40 pages, and then -back home- first finished my previous read (a reread of 'Cloud Atlas'), before continuing this one. It's going to take me some time to get through, but I'm looking forward to it.

[Michael Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this after reading detective fiction of the Robert Crais & Harlan Coben ilk. Compared with those, the characters in Elroy's work are distinctly more 1- or at best 2-dimensional. This may well be a clever reflection of the 50s era in which they are set (and in which Elroy professes to continue living), but it just wasn't my cup of tea, in spite of the clearly meticulously-crafted storylines.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one collection: The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential and White Jazz. Dudley Smith is in each, hence the title of the whole. He's one of detective fiction's most interesting creations, being a corrupt, but highly effective, policeman in the Los Angeles of the 1950s.

Prepare for a roller coaster ride when you start reading Ellroy and expect to read other of his works. Excellent stuff.

[Janusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you can sink your teeth into phrases like "dark poon" and "duck's-ass haircut", this is the stuff for you. from tortured closeted talent, to vicious jealous ambition, to a police lieutenant bent so many ways i completely lost count (and he's one of the few with no substance habit)... good times.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant neo-noir trilogy is a descent into the circles of Dante's Inferno (1950's LA as The city of Dis )by the protagonists as well as the reader: and no benevolent Vergilius in sight to guide them...

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful books. Even better than I remembered them being.