Recommended for completists and sycophants only. Although it's the slowest narrative of the LA Quartet, Black Dahlia was a watershed novel for Ellroy. In Black Dahlia , his prose is more economic and his portrayal of police officers less apologetic. If you have never read James Ellroy, Black Dahlia is a great place to start. The Big Nowhere 1988 Ellroy takes on homophobia in the 50's.
Every novel leading up to the Big Nowhere , seems experimental in contrast.
With this book, Ellroy seemed to have found his stride writing layered plots and employing multiple perspectives. It worked so well for him that he continued to write three more great novels in this style. In my opinion, this is Ellroy's first classic. LA Confidential 1990 Inspiration for the eponymous film. This is the most comic novel in the LA Quartet, parodying everyone from the LA mob to Walt Disney.