But both are obsessed with the Dahlia - driven by dark needs to know everything about her past, to capture her killer, to possess the woman even in death. Caught up in the investigation are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard: Warrants Squad cops, friends, and rivals in love with the same woman. The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia - and so begins the greatest manhunt in California history. On January 15, 1947, the torture-ravished body of a beautiful young woman is found in a Los Angeles vacant lot. Dive into 1940s Los Angeles as two cops spiral out of control in their hunt for The Black Dahlia's killer in this powerful thriller that is 'brutal and at the same time believable' ( New York Times). (Sept.The highly acclaimed novel based on America's most infamous unsolved murder case. Simultaneous release with the Mysterious Press paperback movie tie-in (Reviews, Sept. But in terms of this gritty, sprawling novel, Hoye was unquestionably the right man for the job. The audio includes a new afterword from Ellroy, which might have delivered more punch had Ellroy read it himself.

Hoye especially shines during heated police interrogations, able to shift his voice on a dime. 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. Set in booming postwar Los Angeles, this tale of ambition, deceit and obsession builds to symphonic proportions.

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. 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. Narrator Hoye firmly nails young world-weary cop Bucky Bleichert in this audio version of Ellroy's 1987 crime novel.

The black dahlia james ellroy review