So I take it all back about James Ellroy. Finished "White Jazz" last week and while it still remains true that all his books are basically identical, you can't deny the sheer, adrenal energy and excitement of them. I don't know where "White Jazz" rates in his canon and wonder whether the fact that it was published just after the LA Riots meant that commentators ascribed more significance than it was capable of supporting. But if you want to spend a few days locked into a world where every cop and crook is as fucked up, grasping, perverted and evil as the next, then you could do a lot worse. Not sure if the plot matters in Ellroy but the sudden addition of EYEBALL MAN, while definitely a rather clunky "rabbit-in-the-hat" moment, makes for a fittingly gruesome, funny ending...
Have started in on Ed McBain now, which is Wire-style good, although I'm not sure about his descriptions of people, particularly his way of comparing them (the women) to famous female movie stars. Although I guess it's the cops doing that, dunderhead...
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