By JAMES ELLROY
SUMMARY:The third volume of "The L.A. Quartet," — Ellroy's fictional alternative history of the City of Angels circa the 1940s and '50s. Volume 3 is considered by many to be Ellroy's finest novel to date. The book moves along three narrative paths tracking the rises and falls of the careers of Wendell "Bud" White, Ed Exley and "Trash Can" Jack Vincennes. Along the way are spoofs of Walt Disney and Disney World, a treatment of the historical "Bloody Christmas" scandal and real life personalities/felons Mickey Cohen and Spade Cooley. The book was also adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1997.
PUBLISHER'S TEASER:"Christmas 1951 in L.A....Six no-hope criminals are beaten senseless in their cells by cops crazed on alcohol. 'The City of Angels' is a place where the police are as corrupt as the criminals they despise. But for Ed Exley, Bud White and Jack Vincennes — three detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department — the events of tht Christmas Eve will threaten to expose the guilty secrets on which they have built their careers.
"And as the powers of the past prove unstoppable, the mire of corruption and violence they unleash will lead right back to the explosive truth behind the Atherton Murders — killings so vile that they sent shock waves across the nation..."
—© Century
POINTS:The novel was first published by Mysterious Press in the U.S. (ISBN: 0-89296-293-3) on June 4, 1990 and totals 496 pages. Ellroy dedicated the book to Mary Doherty Ellroy. The U.K. Century edition boasts variant cover art and runs 480 pages. It is extremely collectible.
A limited edition of 100 signed and numbered copies, as well as 26-lettered copies was also released by Mysterious Press. Both versions were issued in black cloth with matching black slipcase. The U.K. hardcover edition of this book is also extremely rare.
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