White Jazz: A Novel - James Ellroy

If L.A. Confidential was the grand portrait of a cty under fire then White Jazz is the grand portrait of a corrupt police officer on the edge of sanity. Ellroy not only tackles the story with his usual boldness and bravado, but perfectly aligns a structure to the story to fit. The story of the corrupt detective is chaotic and meanders from one scenario to the next. The only constant is that he is at the focal point of every dirty deed and wrong turn. Ellroy builds a character portrait to the free wheeling nature of a Jazz piece. That description has nothing to do with the title, but it does have something to do with period. Jazz was the most innovative music of the time and Ellroy takes the simple characterization of a crime novel and lets it flow from all sides that the basic identity becomes lost in the shuffle. Jazz progressed this way as did Ellroy in his career. White Jazz is highly recommended entertainment.