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    The Black Dahlia
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    The Black Dahlia
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    The Black Dahlia
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Black Dahlia

    Written by James Ellroy

    Narrated by Stephen Hoye

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Bonus feature includes an original afterword by James Ellroy, titled "Hillikers," read by Stephen Hoye.

    On January 15, 1947, the torture-ravished body of a beautiful young woman is found in a vacant lot. The victim makes headlines as the Black Dahlia-and so begins the greatest manhunt in California history.

    Caught up in the investigation are Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard. Both are obsessed with the Dahlia-driven by dark needs to know everything about her past, to capture her killer, to possess the woman even in death. Their quest will take them on a hellish journey through the underbelly of postwar Hollywood, to the core of the dead girl's twisted life, past the extremes of their own psyches-into a region of total madness.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 15, 2006
    ISBN9780739323892
    Unavailable
    The Black Dahlia

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    Reviews for The Black Dahlia

    3.5/5

    1,454 ratings62 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I feel bad giving it two stars because it's not a bad book, just really not to my taste. I liked the way everything ties together, even the things that seem incidental, but I had trouble getting through all the characters rushing headlong to ruin their lives.
    • 4/5
      Two former boxers become partners on the police force and are pulled in over their heads when a young woman is found brutally murdered and dissected. The case changes them in unpredictable, life-altering ways.After having read another book by Ellroy right before this one, I was looking forward to this title. On the whole, it was indeed a compelling mystery. The plot took many twists and turns, continuing to surprise me along the way. The characters were largely interesting, although I must admit that many characters were introduced very early on when it was difficult to keep track of them all. There were also some subplots that happened early in the book that I assumed were unimportant other than for character development; however, they did turn out to be revisited later on so that was on me.As with his other novels, Ellroy imbues 1940s/50s Los Angeles with the racism and sexism that was undoubtedly there. However, there were times where it felt like maybe just a little too much here. There were a few scenes in this book where the level of detail on the gore was just a bit more than I felt could be reasonably handled in something designed for entertainment. It's for that reason that I couldn't rate this higher, even though the plot and characters were carefully designed.The audiobook version I had was read by Stephen Hoye, who did a good job with his narration. This version also ended with an afterword from the author, in which he described how his parents lived just a few blocks down the street from where the real Black Dahlia's body just a year before his death. If that connection weren't enough, he goes on to explain how his own mother was later savagely murdered when he was just a child. It is that trauma he is attempting to explore in part through this book; that information gives yet another wrinkle to reading Ellroy's books.
    • 3/5
      What James Ellroy does well in "The Black Dahlia" is his creation of a gritty world full of dirty cops, hookers and other folks in compromising positions. The novel really sets the reader into a seedy world very effectively -- it was a world that I personally found difficult to take at times. The novel is based on true events -- the murder of Elizbeth Short, whose body was found, severed in half on a California lawn in the 1940's. The murder, which became a big news story that shocked the nation, remains unsolved to this day. Ellroy's narrator, Bucky Bleichert, is a cop who becomes obsessed with solving the crime. While Short's murder is central to the story, it takes Ellroy a long time to actually get there and even longer to fit together a solution. Ultimately, the book is well done, but not really suited to my taste.
    • 4/5
      A fictional story of a true crime, Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is dark noir. I can't say that I enjoyed the book, I didn't. It's pretty gruesome and I really did not care for the investigating officers. Read in 2009. I see I rated it 4 stars so there must have been something I liked about it.
    • 3/5
      2.5 stars“The Black Dahlia” was the name given to a murder (true crime) that happened in LA in 1947. Elizabeth Short had been tortured and was found naked, cut in half. It was never solved. This is a fictionalized account, focusing on a detective who worked the case. It took a long time for the story to really get going, I thought. I really wasn’t interested in the detective’s personal life – at all. Once Elizabeth’s body was found, it got more interesting, but even still, only to a point. I listened to the audio, so it may have had some effect on my rating, but I’m not sure it would have brought it up all that much if I’d read it, either. I have to admit, the narrator did accents very well.
    • 4/5
      A brutal masterpiece
    • 4/5
      This is a recently released graphic novel, and a really well-done one. I read it in one day, not wanting to put it down.If you have read James Ellroy's novel, you will be familiar with the storyline, as this graphic novel is adapted from that novel. The Black Dahlia is narrated by a cop, who has his life turned upside down when he and his partner are brought in to help investigate the Black Dahlia murder. Ellroy takes the true crime of the Black Dahlia, and puts his own spin on it. Where he takes it can sometimes go a bit off the rails, but he makes it work, and the graphic novel keeps that spirit. The artistry of the illustrations is really excellent, and makes you feel like you are right in the noir.I would definitely recommend this graphic novel.
    • 5/5
      First book in the L A Quartet, apparently considered to be MacDonald's best, it had everything imaginable going on. Not always easy to read, here Ellroy wrote a complex but readable, classic crime novel.
    • 2/5
      I know it's a classic. I like suspense. I wanted to like it. But I didn't. Even for an average-lengthed book, it felt long and overraught. For whatever reason that was my reaction, but Ellroy is a good writer so worth a shot to try him out.
    • 4/5
      The beginning of the L.A Quartet was full of twists and turns, especially in the middle of the book. The first part was great too, for revealing characters and the overall setting of L.A and what it brought forth in its time. However, for the last 1/3 of the book, it dragged a little and fell off course. Nevertheless, it was a wild journey and I look forward to continuing the series.3.5 stars- earned.
    • 3/5
      Super intense. Hard to read, but also hard to put down. The style is not to my taste, and it is a bit too much. > It was his flat-voiced "Cherchez la femme" that still haunts me. Because our partnership was nothing but a bungling road to the Dahlia. And in the end, she was to own the two of us completely.
    • 4/5
      Based on a true story, this novel follows the turbulent career of Bucky Bleichert, an ex-boxer turned police officer who becomes obsessed with the brutal murder of a young girl. Elizabeth Short's body was found cut in two and horribly disfigured in a deserted area of Los Angeles in early 1947. The real case was never solved. This is one man's attempt to exorcise his own demons. The case has shocked and haunted many. This is how it might have happened.Grisly, gripping and gritty, this crime thriller does not disappoint! Lots of twists to keep you guessing.
    • 2/5
      Well, this went down a bundle with my reading group - NOT. We all finished it but general feeling was that it was 3 hours of our lives we'd like back. It is clever but it's often also boring as well as disgusting. I actually didn't care whoddunit by the end. Give me Michael Connelly any day of the week.
    • 5/5
      Gripping. Chilling.
    • 3/5
      it feels almost unfair to rate this as a three as it was an excellently twisting mystery written with great characters and a real sense of both time and place. However for me the lack of insight into why the main characters did what they did, and the reversal of character development as the story progressed undermined what was good about this one for mePlot in a NutshellA fictionalisation of the Black Dahlia case from 1947. In this telling the protagonists, 2 police officers Blanchard and Bleichert are partnered up in unusual circumstances and quickly find themselves seconded into the case. What follows is as much a psychological story about the two men as it is a mystery to solve the caseThoughtsWhilst the novel started a little slowly – lots of the early part of the book were the set up to the beginning of the partnership between the two men, much of which was based on boxing (a sport I no little, and care even less, about). Boxing aside I appreciated the set up which gave the reader so many details about our main characters and the culture of LAPD at the time. I enjoyed the fact that both were portrayed ‘warts and all’ and that Bleichert as the narrator seemed so honest about himself and his failings. However this character development seemed to halt almost as soon as the Dahlia case is introduced. Both immediately begin to obsess over not just resolution of the case but over the victim herself. Policemen looking to solve a crime I can buy, an unsolved crime eating away at the police officers trying to solve it I can buy but the jump from which both went from basic investigation to flat out fixated was something I struggled with. I had never heard of the Black Dahlia case before reading the book and I had not known that there was an element of historical fiction when buying but once I realised it increased my discomfort factor significantly particularly in the way in which the victim was both portrayed and described in death. Language was another slight issue for me – the historical detail and Emerson in the LAPD of the 40s was exceptional. It did however mean lots of slang and decidedly negative language about women. It styled well but was not always comfortable reading. The murder and efforts to unpick and solve was very strong and kept twisting until the very end – at times sub plots and stories were distracting but certainly kept me on my toes I’ll definitely read another Ellroy but not quite sure this was the one for me.
    • 2/5
      Not enough about the Black Dahlia.
    • 4/5
      The Black Dahila by James Ellroy is based on the famous unsolved 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles. The author blends fact and fiction seamlessly mixing real people and invented characters to paint a very vivid picture of LA and it’s police force. The two detectives that he uses as his main characters are ex-boxers who each joined the force for their own reasons. The story is narrated by one, Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert, but the cocky, confident Lee Blanchard seems to be the one directing most of the action. One point that the reader should be clear on is that in real life The Black Dahlia case was never solved but in this book a murderer is identified. As the author’s own mother was brutally murdered in Los Angeles and the perpetrator was never discovered, I am sure this was a very personal story for him. His writing is so meticulous and intricate that I felt he must have mapped the storyline out in great detail well in advance to putting anything down on paper. I listened to an audio version and found myself deeply drawn into the story so that an hour or more would go by without me realizing it. The grisly murder was almost backdrop to the story as what was stressed by the author was the effect the case had on the characters. The Black Dahlia is considered the first book in his LA Quartet, a series of crime stories set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 50s. One thing that remains true to each book is the sense of political corruption and vice that ran rampant through the city at that time. The author builds his story carefully on greed, addiction, lust and violence to create a complicated but highly readable story of postwar LA.
    • 3/5
      “The Black Dahlia” is not a story for the faint-hearted. It features some graphic descriptions of dead and mutilated bodies, so beware if such things give you nightmares! Made me recoil a few times, I must admit, though didn’t hide behind the sofa.As I’m writing this nearly six years after reading the book, a lot of details have left my memory, though I recall it being a narrative that no reader can pursue with a passive interest.Hardboiled crime stories aren’t really to my tastes, but had to read this at university. That said, I appreciate the author’s plotting skills. Crime stories are, as a rule, plot-dominated, though this one features many vivid characters, too.
    • 3/5
      Ellroy is one of the best noir writers of all time. This is not a good example of his great work. The "love triangle" theme gets tedious. Great fictional theory of a notorious unsolved murder, I only wish Ellroy had focused more on that.
    • 5/5
      The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is an intense, action-packed page turner. Even though the unsolved murder case from the 1940's has received a lot of coverage, Ellroy's book brings it to life with beautifully drawn characters. I gave it five stars.I purchased this on sale & read it in one sitting. Bucky Bleichert & Lee Blanchard, ex-prize fighting boxers turned cops are now partners. They explore this grisly torture killing. It has far reaching consequences. It is a haunting story."I never knew her in life. She exists for me through others, in evidence of the ways her death drove them. Working backwards, seeking only facts, I reconstructed her as a sad little girl & a whore, at best a could-have-been--a tag that could also be applied to me."The language was rough but true to the times.
    • 5/5
      Gritty, cynical, and brilliant. A true noir classic about dark obsessions and corruption.
    • 4/5
      I found the plot heavy going and too convoluted, but I'm glad I persevered. This left me wondering how much the murder of Ellroy's mother has influenced this book.
    • 3/5

      Weird.  That about sums this book up.  The plot revolves around Ellroy's interpretation of the infamous Black Dahlia murder, but the book is really about one man's descent into madness.  Ellroy gives an excellent description of Bucky's" mindset as Elizabeth Short slowly takes over his life.  Each time you think the murderer has been revealed, nope, that was just a victim of police corruption and move on to the next suspect.  The murder description and resolution was interesting, but Ellroy's best writing revolved around the character's descent and reascent (sort of).  The writing was good, but weird.

      "
    • 3/5
      Pretty good. I liked the reader & the basic story. I think it went on too long, though. There sure were plenty of twists & turns. I really liked the way the case was worked, none of this instant stuff I see on the TV all the time. Lots of footwork & brute concentration.

      The convoluted & hidden agendas of everyone involved was interesting & very real. There was a perfect character in the entire book, but all of them were interesting & understandable. Even when I was rooting for Bucky, I half expected him to cop out (yeah, pun) & when he did, that was OK. When he didn't, it was even better.

      I had a few problems with the story, but only one was big enough to really get to me. Georgie's torturing just didn't ring true from the man that delivered it. He's a proven coward from the war to the present day when Lee & then Bucky bullies him. He's rich & has no problem with murder by proxy, so why didn't he have Georgie killed? Why & how would he be able to hold someone like Georgie down to torture him, someone that Bucky had trouble fighting? No, that didn't fit.

      The other one was Bucky selling Lee's house, but I could slide past that since he just puts it on the market & leaves town. A long distance signature would work, if the real estate agent was paid to close his eyes.

      All in all, it was enjoyable & I'm going on to the next one.
    • 3/5
      This is very loosely based on the murder of Betty Short aka the Black Dahlia and one policemans obsession with her. Set in LA after World War II I found the style of writing hard going but I stuck with it and I am glad I did as I enjoyed this book. I warmed to the main character Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and eventually he got closure on this case. Well worth a read.
    • 3/5
      Story about the murder of Elizabeth "Betty" Short back in January 1947. She has been tortured, murdered, cut in half and left in a vacant lot just waiting for someone to find her. Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard set out to find out who murdered Betty who then becomes known as the Black Dahlia. Both Bleichert and Blanchard become obsessed with trying to solve her murder to the point that it begins to affect their mental and emotional well being. The story line takes us through the seedy day to day activities of the LAPD as these two police officers set out to piece together the Dahlia's last days and hours which lead up to her murder. Story line keeps your mind constantly wondering who and why would some set out to murder someone in this violent and brutal manner.
    • 4/5
      This is fictionalized look at the Black Dahlia murder. The author looks at the investigation and gives an answer as to who might have killed this young woman. The crime has never been solved but this is an interesting look at an investigation done in 1947.
    • 4/5
      I kinda knew the title of this book or heard the its name or part of it somewhere back along time ago so based on that and that alone I picked it up and began to read and I can tell you I was damn glad I did so. It's set in the late 40's and at the start I thought that that would be a problem all full of wise guys and all of them talking in that crazy yankee doodle dandy kinda way but no they didn't in fact the whole thing was a bit of a eye opener to read and I soon forgot about the years it was set in and was taken into a world of really dirty cops and black people being talked about as niggers like that's normal what's your problem and the same went for how they dealt with gay's & lesbians - but what I loved most about this story was firstly is ability to shock me by simple short descriptions of how brutal a murder and a murderer can be and then on top of all that there were all these twists and turns and as you get nearer and nearer to the end you think is solved and all the author has to do is tie up any loose ends just like most books but then... another twist pops up and it's one you thought you'd thought of but you never got it just quite right well not like the author did and he did it better and so you read on - and in the end you go out and buy another book from this guy. I hope this helps
    • 3/5
      Just turned the last page of the afterword. Never having seen the movie, I was fascinated by the book. it was a little slow going at first, even though it had to be in order to set up the friendship between Lee & Bucky. The story was sad, horrific, twisted, detailed, & like a train wreck you can't look away from. How much of this book is actual fact & how much Ellroy took poetic license with, I'm not sure. I could have done without some of the negative terms the policemen used for women, but I do understand that those slang terms were authentic to the time frame, so in that respect it's ok I guess. The afterword, where he speaks about his own family member, her life & brutal unsolved death that mirror the Dahlia's was really very touching to read, & gave me more of an insight to the author, who I have never read any other books by.All in all, a haunting read that will stay with you...
    • 2/5
      I don't know precisely what I didn't like about this book it just seemed... contrived? I never became overly involved with the characters and by the time I was 75% done I kept thinking... 'Who CARES?' I finished it - I was a little afraid the killer would never be found, which would have REALLY pissed me off but it manages to wrap itself up in a neat little package with a semi-happy ending.

      The blatant racism/sexism didn't bother me in and of itself - but the book was published in '87. I don't know if the author was trying to show how things were in LA in the '40's... I don't really know enough about the time/location to make an accurate guess.

      Maybe if you lovelovelove crime novels you should read it.