| In 1964, a high school senior is beaten and raped by two of his bully classmates, and a 23-year-old National Guard private is called out to quell the Watts riots and ends up shooting a rogue cop. Eighteen years later, in 1982, their lives intersect: one has become a serial killer of young women and the other a career detective with the LAPD. This is the first of three Lloyd Hopkins novels from early in Ellroy's career: Hopkins is a womanizing cop with a fabulous intuition and the record-breaking arrest record that goes with it, but his wife and three daughters move out as he becomes obsessed with finding the "Poet" who has killed and mutilated nearly two dozen women over two decades. The plot is a little pat, the villain's motivations strain credulity, and he AND the hero are too perfect, but most of the characterizations and interactions -- particularly between Hopkins and the various women in his life -- are strong, and as always, Ellroy concocts an irresistable plot. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - How difficult to spot villain? - Story partially from villain's perspective Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Special suspect? - chronically deranged person Misc. Murder Plotlets - - character killed during/after sexing - Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - revenge How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - California City? Yes City: - Los Angeles - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) - dangerous Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - orgies - lesbians! - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas - descript. of male nudity - homosexuals doing their thing - rape (yeech!) Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - poisoning - dropped from large heights - decapitated - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives - blunt clubbing (like seals) Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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