The Black Dahlia

Former dick Bucky Bleichert tells how he solved the title murder case, and why the solution of the crime was kept secret though it cost him his badge, girl, and best friend. While the Marlowe-esque Bucky is fictional, his account agrees with the known facts of this real 1947 torture-killing of an L.A. party girl. Corruption and depravity are dressed in gaudy dialogue and period grit. This edition includes a concluding essay drawing parallels between the Dahlia case and Ellroy's personal and life-changing encounter with murder. All this is served up by Stephen Hoye, who convincingly plays the detective with a world-weariness that fails to blunt his capacity for lust, shock, and revulsion. He modulates his pace shrewdly for suspense and drama, and manages to make the neo-noir clichés seem fresh and genuine. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 2, 2006
Narrator Hoye firmly nails young world-weary cop Bucky Bleichert in this audio version of Ellroy's 1987 crime novel. The flawed boxer-turned-lawman becomes obsessed with L.A.'s notorious unsolved 1947 torture-murder case, as well as the secret life of his missing partner, Lee Blanchard. Hoye proves a fine match for Ellroy's hardboiled prose, shuttling easily between hard and soft tones, crystallizing Bleichert's mix of cynicism, confusion, hurt and rage. Set in booming postwar Los Angeles, this tale of ambition, deceit and obsession builds to symphonic proportions. Throughout, Hoye skillfully modulates his narration to distinctly render each character—corrupt cops, city officials, pimps, GIs, Mexican bar owners, prostitutes, society matrons and even the sound of a bullet piercing canvas. Hoye especially shines during heated police interrogations, able to shift his voice on a dime. The audio includes a new afterword from Ellroy, which might have delivered more punch had Ellroy read it himself. But in terms of this gritty, sprawling novel, Hoye was unquestionably the right man for the job. Simultaneous release with the Mysterious Press paperback movie tie-in (Reviews, Sept. 4, 1987).