This Storm

Ellroy has never been a five-pages-before-bed kind of writer; his vision is more the fever dream after lights out. * Observer * James Ellroy writes coarse, prurient, paranoid novels that often turn out to be masterpieces ... Truffling for atrocities in the dirty reality of crime seems to inspire him with a demonic energy that his distinctive telegraphic style is the perfect instrument to convey ... There are some terrific stretches - including an account of the Battle of Los Angeles , the night in 1942 when a mass delusion arose that the city was under aerial attack - that ranks among his best setpieces. * Daily Telegraph * Ellroy remains one of the most exciting literary stylists in the English language ... It's been five years since the last novel from the self-described Demon Dog of American letters, but it's worth the wait. Like all good jazzmen, Ellroy works very hard indeed to make his music flow so easily. * Guardian * James Ellroy is one of America's greatest living crime novelists ... This Storm [is] a tangled fever-dream set in 1942 Los Angeles ... Good, unclean fun ... Ellroy offers a grandiose, Wagnerian vision of wartime LA ... Packed with almost every Ellroy obsession under the sun: murder, robbery, rape and torture; small-time corruption and big-time history; sexual intrigue and moral ambivalence; lust, yearning, racism, alcoholism, degeneracy and drug abuse; plastic surgery, prostitution, policemen and paedophilia; scandal, sodomy and sin ... I will live and die an Ellroy fanboy. * Sunday Times * Ellroy writes with raw power ... James Ellroy writes big ... Ellroy is undeniably one of the most influential crime writers of our time. But can the raw energy of his fiction outweigh the disgustingness and balderdash? Yes; if you see his novels as antidotes to the fake sunshine that Los Angeles, via the big screen, has blown in the world's face for a century. * The Times *