The Big Nowhere – James Ellroy

The Big Nowhere is the second book in James Ellroy’s LA Quartet, and the fourth that I’ve read.  Judging by the makeshift bookmark that was 4 pages in, I first tried reading this back in April of 2007, but it was nearly 7 years later before I returned to it and was able to get through it.  It’s been a little more than 2 years since my last foray into the post-war shenanigans of the LAPD as they investigate a murder while trying to keep their own illegal deeds off the record.

In The Big Nowhere, the local prosecutor has two officers investigating a union causing trouble for the movie studios for the influence of communism.  Meanwhile, a Sheriffs Deputy investigates multiple murders that tie to the seedy homosexual underground.  Eventually, the two cases cross over, even if all of the participants don’t live long enough to see them to fruition.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed The Big Nowhere, but for some reason I found it hard to get through.  While normally I can get though 100 pages or so in a single sitting, I usually ended up putting this one down after 25-30 pages.  Which is why this is the first book of 2014 and not the last of 2013.  With the LA Quartet behind me, there are other Ellroy works to look into.  I did manage to pick up an earlier novel on the Kindle for cheap, so I may not be done with Ellroy yet.