Ellroy's second book. Although Ellroy's next several novels would feature a contemporary setting, in many ways, this novel more closely resembles his later, 1950s-era pseudo-historical works. "Clandestine" involves a rookie L.A. cop investigating the murder of a woman he spent a single night with. The book contains Ellroy's fictional treatment of his mother's murder, and introduces Dudley Liam Smith, the Irish detective who looms over the L.A. Quartet.
PUBLISHER'S TEASER:
MURDER BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
"From Wilshire to Watts, ambitious rookie Freddy Underhill patrols L.A. looking for glamor and glory. His dreams of being a hotshot California cop are bigger than the bets he makes on his golf game or the busts of the women he picks up.
"So when a flashy lass he knows from a one-night stand is strangled, Underhill sees his chance to grab headlines with a quick collar. Until the clandestine set-up to catch the killer breaks open a locked door to kinky sex and sleazy secrets — and murder in smog city closes in on both Underhill's career and his life."
The novel was first published in paperback by Avon (ISBN: 0-380-81141-3) in December 1982. (The only hardback edition published appeared in the U.K. from Allison & Busby and is Ellroy's most collectible book — some dealers are asking in excess of $600 for a mint first edition).
