L.A. Noir: The Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy – “Blood on the Moon”, “Because the Night”, “Suicide Hill”
THREE OF ELLROY’S MOST COMPELLING NOVELS FEATURING DETECTIVE SERGEANT LLOYD HOPKINS IN ONE VOLUME. BLOOD ON THE MOON: 20 random killings of women are unconnected in police files. But Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins sees a pattern. As he is drawn to the murderer, the two men face a confrontation pitting icy intelligence and white-heated madness. . . BECAUSE THE NIGHT: Jacob Herzog, hero cop, has disappeared. A multiple murder committed with a pre-Civil War revolver remains unsolved. Are the two cases interlinked? As Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins pieces the puzzle together he discovers the darker threat of John Haviland, a psychiatrist whose pleasure comes from the manipulation of the weak and lonely. SUICIDE HILL: Duane Rice leaves jail with good news and bad news: Two adulterous bank managers are ripe for squeezing, but Vandy, who he is obsessed with making a rock star, has disappeared. An orgy of violence erupts as Duane’s partner goes beserk and Duane settles scores with knife and bullet. Leading the manhunt Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins stumbles on a horrifying conspiracy of corruption and betrayal- among his own colleagues.THREE OF ELLROY’S MOST COMPELLING NOVELS FEATURING DETECTIVE SERGEANT LLOYD HOPKINS IN ONE VOLUME. BLOOD ON THE MOON: 20 random killings of women are unconnected in police files. But Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins sees a pattern. As he is drawn to the murderer, the two men face a confrontation pitting icy intelligence and white-heated madness. . . BECAUSE THE NIGHT: Jacob Herzog, hero cop, has disappeared. A multiple murder committed with a pre-Civil War revolver remains unsolved. Are the two cases interlinked? As Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins pieces the puzzle together he discovers the darker threat of John Haviland, a psychiatrist whose pleasure comes from the manipulation of the weak and lonely. SUICIDE HILL: Duane Rice leaves jail with good news and bad news: Two adulterous bank managers are ripe for squeezing, but Vandy, who he is obsessed with making a rock star, has disappeared. An orgy of violence erupts as Duane’s partner goes beserk and Duane settles scores with knife and bullet. Leading the manhunt Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins stumbles on a horrifying conspiracy of corruption and betrayal- among his own colleagues.
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Very good (although not his best),
I am a huge James Ellroy fan – having read almost all of his work – and while this trilogy is good, it is far from his best work. For example American Tabloid, LA Confidential and Black Dahlia are all much better.
If you are not familiar with James Ellroy it is worth noting that his prose style does not find universal favour. He writes in very short, punchy sentences – personally I find it an effective and entertaining style but it does irritate others.
It is interesting to note that in his introduction Ellroy claims that he wrote the second and third parts of the trilogy because after completing the first part he read Red Dragon by Thomas Harris which he acknowledges as a far superior book and felt he need to do better. On one level he is correct, Red Dragon is a superior book and Will Graham is a superior and more interesting ‘hero’. However, he is harsh on himself – these are still very good books.
As is usual in Ellroy novels he concentrates on the psychological motivation of the main characters (sometimes, slightly simplistically, tying the whole personality back to a defining moment from childhood). Ellroy has the skill to carry this off and it works well (although he does flirt with caricature).
Overall, very good and certainly well worth reading although, in my opinion, not the place to start if you are new to Ellroy
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|Watch Ellroy go from dime-a-dozen hack to near-genius,
Expecting the brillinace of ‘The Black Dahlia’, ‘L.A. Confidential’ or ‘American Tabloid’? Well tough, buddy, you’re not gonna get it! But you should read it anyways. Why? Cause the promising newcomer that wrote ‘Brown’s Requiem’ had to evolve into the Big Boogaloo that wrote ‘Dahlia’ somehow, and these three novels show you pretty much the path he took. The first one is pure macho hero-worship with Ellroy writing about a brilliant, ‘sex-obsessed’ cop tracking a monster. Second, same, but the monster there rocks. Then the third, and Ellroy’s hero is less brilliant, and he shows his new discovery: ‘Macho’ = ‘Fear’ = ‘B.S.’. Book one is by the guy that wrote ‘Requiem’, book three is by the guy that wrote ‘Dahlia’. If you’re a fan, its like the proud moment when a baby learns its first swear word.
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|Promised much, but didn’t fulfil,
I was looking forward to reading this trilogy with great anticipation. Having only recently found Ellroy, I am rapidly devouring everything he’s written. The first book in the trilogy,’Blood on the Moon’ seemed to encompass everything I have come to know and love about Ellroy’s work. The flawed hero, made human through he’s weaknesses, a series of horrific crimes, a bleak dark view of LA wonderfully evoked. ‘Blood on the Moon’ is a great book.
It’s just a shame that the concluding two thirds of the trilogy left me empty. For the character of Lloyd Hopkins, when it’s bad it just keeps getting worse. The stories seems more fanciful and contrived, plot comes second to Hopkins. Hopkins problems drive the character, becoming more important than showing any real growth or development.
In the end I was disappointed, everything that marks Ellroy as one of the truely great crime writers is here, but the elemts just didn’t end up working together. The experience hasn’t stopped me reading Ellroy, or loving his work. This trilogy just ends up being below his usually high excellent standard.
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