And Brown's Requiem is an excellent novel...even if it is
written in
imitation of the masters of the P.I. genre (I would say it's
1/4 Ross
Macdonald, 1/4 Crumley, and 1/2 Ellroy. I re-read this novel
not long
ago and I enjoyed it even more than the first time (it helped
that I
didn't remember the plot very clearly). From the beginning,
Ellroy had a
special kind of acid magic, although he obviously has evolved
a lot as a
novelist. I wonder what his next book will be like - some
time back he
announced a "Wisconsin novel" taking place during the
Depression. Is
this coming out soon?
Regarding "historical" novels about the Thirties: check out
Howard
Browne's "Pork City", a first class gangster story based on
real
characters. Published in 1988. I found it by chance (the
British
edition) in a cutout bin. Has anyone read Browne's "Scotch on
the
rocks"? (I believe it was published in 1992, but I have not
been able to
find it a copy.)
Regards,
Mario Taboada
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