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| Plot Summary of L.A. Confidential |
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"In the third part of his masterful LA quartet, Ellroy opens up the canvas even wider. The time window of the story is Christmas 1951 to April 1958 in Los Angeles, although there's a 1950 prologue and much prehistory. The book has three LAPD protagonists: quick-fisted enforcer Bud White, who especially hates wife beaters; Narcotics sergeant Jack Vincennes, recovering from substance abuse himself and given to feeding breaking stories to the local tabloid press as well as the hit TV show "Badge of Honor" to make himself look good; and up-and-comer college kid and decorated vet Ed Exley, anxious to get out from under the shadow of his father Preston, who was an LA detective and is now in construction. All three have dark secrets (as do nearly everyone else in this ultra-noir). A bloody shootout in which six people are massacred at an all-night cafe and three young blacks are arrested drives much of the immediate plot, but a series of unsolved and hardly noticed prostitute slayings haunts White, and Vincennes -- busted to Administrative Vice -- dispiritedly investigates a porn ring. Everything and everyone ties to everything and everyone else, and though White and Exley detest each other, the cases will inevitably bring them together. Ellroy includes fewer appearances by real people (such as crime boss Mickey Cohen and small timer Johnny Stompanato -- now known for being Lana Turner's lover and being murdered by her daughter), although a Walt Disney stand-in (and his mid 1950s amusement park) figure into the plot. Ellroy's style becomes more rapid fire and fragmentary, but still outstanding and impossible to put down. Dialogue crackles: My favorite scenes are when Exley questions the black suspects, and the first encounter of White and Lynn Margaret Bracken, the high-priced call girl who looks like Veronica Lake."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of L.A. Confidential |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
- law enforcement gone bad
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- drug dealers
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- bulging muscles
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
Eccentric:
Yes
- wild
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
- Dirty, dangerous (like New York)
- dangerous
- wealthy
Misc setting
- prison
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- actual description of sex
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
- perforation--swords/knives
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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