Widespread Panic
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4.0 • 12 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Freddy is an ex-L.A. cop on the skids. He snuffed a cop killer in cold blood - and it got to him bad. Now he's a sleazoid private eye, a shakedown artist, a pimp - and, most notably, the head strongarm goon for Confidential magazine.
Welcome to the world of the malevolent monarch of the Hollywood underground - a tale of pervasive paranoia teeming with communist conspiracies, FBI finks, celebrity smut films and strange bedfellows.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This devious and delicious side trip into the life and exploits of real-life Hollywood fixer Fred Otash from MWA Grand Master Ellroy (The Storm) has a cool conceit: Otash dies of a massive coronary in 1992, but has spent the last three decades stuck in purgatory, and his only way out is a full confession of his lifetime of misdeeds; and confess Otash does. In the 1950s, Otash transforms himself from bent cop to even more crooked private eye, delivering the dirt on Hollywood celebs, outing communist party members, and exposing then-verboten interracial relationships. When puritanical Chief William Parker of the LAPD builds a righteous legal case against Otash, he strikes a deal to let the ex-cop slide in exchange for help in taking down the salacious tabloid Confidential. And so Otash embarks on a dangerous path of playing both sides against the middle. Numerous celebrities appear in suitably compromising positions, including Rock Hudson, Jack Kennedy, and a sizzling cast of Hollywood femmes fatale. The infamous rape spree of Caryl Chessman (aka the Red Light Bandit) adds another layer of sordidness. Ellroy's total command of the jazzy, alliterative argot of the era never fails to astonish. This is a must for L.A. noir fans.
Customer Reviews
Glitch
I didn’t like how I bought the book but can’t get past page 52
Why all the alliteration?
Author
American best known for the L.A. Quartet novels—The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz—all of which were international best sellers. His novel American Tabloid was Time magazine’s Best Book (fiction) of 1995. He employs a "telegraphic" writing style (I prefer jack hammer), which omits words usually considered necessary, and heavily reliant of sentence fragments. His books are noted for their dark humour, dense plotting, dropping the names of celebrities (generally dead ones so they can’t sue), and pessimistic view of life.
In summary
Freddie Otash, a crooked ex-cop turned sleazy PI and accumulator of dirt as well as enforcer for Confidential magazine, was the inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie Chinatown. He appeared in a couple of Ellroy’s previous novels (I forget which). Now he’s in purgatory, confessing his many sins, if telling crudely amusing stories to ones partners in crime counts as confessing. Jack Kennedy, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson and numerous other cop a pasting.
Writing
Expands on a short story Mr Ellroy wrote some years ago. I’m not sure why he felt the need to do so and wish he hadn’t. His usual style heavily peppered with alliteration I could have done without.
Bottom line
The work of a singular talent whose best days appear to be behind him.