Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is the first of Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet (including The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidentialand White Jazz). While L.A. Confidential is, by far, Ellroy’s best book, Black Dahlia is the one that first felt like a James Ellroy book. This is the first Ellroy book that you can pick up and as soon as you read the first page, you know you’re in a James Ellroy book. And as it’s based on a true story, we get to see Ellroy finally master the mixture of reality and make-believe that are notable in his future books.

In 1947, a dead woman is found. What makes her different from any of the other dead women found in L.A. at that time, is that she is beautiful and was tortured. The L.A. Police detectives assigned to her case are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard. Bucky and Lee are both ex-boxers and are thrown together in an inter-departmental boxing match. They hope that the match will increase the positive press the Police Department is getting and help them with some political battles as well. Lee and Bucky end up working together after the match and nicknamed Fire and Ice due to their contrasting styles (both in and out of the ring).

Bucky and Lee start working and living together with Lee’s girlfriend Kay. But the stress from the Black Dahlia case start hurting Lee’s sanity and his relationships with both Kay and Bucky. After Lee disappears, Kay and Bucky try starting a relationship, but they’re both haunted by the memory of Lee, as well as the mystery of The Black Dahlia torture/murder.

Ellroy made his career with this novel. As I mentioned above, this is the first novel that feels like an Ellroy novel. It moved Ellroy from another mystery writer to a best-selling and critically acclaimed author. Not only is it notable for Ellroy’s career, but it’s a damn good book as well. Highly recommended.

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