By JAMES ELLROY
SUMMARY:Ellroy's literary debut. This somewhat 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.
PUBLISHER'S TEASER:"Fritz Brown, ex-alcoholic, ex-vice squad cop, and classical music buff, makes a living as a private eye on the sleazy side of L.A.'s sleazier streets. His staple work is repossessing cars from people who have fallen behind in their payments and his attitude is tough and disillusioned.
"That is until Freddy "Fat Dog" Baker — a golf caddy flashing too much cash — hires his services and engages his curiosity. Hired for a seemingly innocuous surveillance job Brown plunges into a world where nothing is as it seems and the stink of corruption goes back a long, long time.
"In this fast-moving, violent book Fritz Brown seeks the answer to an evil riddle and finds that his solution of fighting violence with violence can lead to worse things than sleepless nights."
—© Allison & Busby
POINTS:The novel was first published in paperback by Avon (ISBN: 0-380-78741-5) in 1981. The first hardback edition to be published appeared in the U.K. from Allison & Busby (pictured above) and is extremely collectible. Dealers are currently asking $400 and up for this rarity. At its time of publication, some copies were distributed (mostly to libraries) in the U.S. This A&B edition features a cover illustration by Peter Rozycki and sold for 7.95 pounds in the U.K. and $13.95 in the U.S. The A&B edition was published in 1984 (ISBN: 0 85031 544 1). A limited edition of "Requiem" was published in the U.S. in the 1990s.
Order U.S. trade paperback edition of Brown's Requiem
Order U.K. trade paperback edition
