SUMMARY:Ellroy's literary debut. This semi-autobiographical novel features ex-cop turned P.I. Fritz Brown, a (somewhat) reformed alcoholic hired by a deranged golf caddy to follow his knock-out, cello-playing sister.

The novel has also been adapted as a film.

PUBLISHER'S TEASER:

DEATH KNELL IN L.A.

"Underneath the golden glitter, Southern California spawns a land of sleaze, sickies, psychos, and wiseguys. Ex-cop Fritz Brown, sometimes private-eye, full-time Beethoven buff, sees it all as he walks the shady side of L.A.'s streets. Now he's got a client named Freddy "Fat Dog" Baker, a caddy who flashes too much cash...and a gut feeling his case could change his California dreaming into a technicolor nightmare. Arson, pay-offs, and porn are all part of Fat Dog's game. But so is his classy cello-playing sister. Brown's desire to make some beautiful music with her gets him knee-deep in the blood-money running on the greens...and murder threatens to turn his song into a funeral dirge."

—© Avon Books

POINTS:The novel was first published in paperback by Avon (ISBN: 0-380-78741-5) in 1981. Cover illustration by Crane. The first hardback edition published appeared in the U.K. from Allison & Busby and is extremely collectible. A limited edition of "Requiem" was published in the 1990s.

Order the trade paperback edition of Brown's Requiem

Order U.K. trade paperback edition

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