Blood on the Moon

Easier to follow than some of his later stuff, but a plot that won't quit.

Third book of James Ellroy and first novel of the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy, BLOOD ON THE MOON has been published in 1984.Adopting for the first time in his career an omniscient point of view, James Ellroy describes two destinies meant to meet for a deadly encounter. Both men have suffered a traumatic sexual experience in their teen days. Lloyd Hopkins has become the best criminal investigator of the Los Angeles Police Department... Read Full Review

One of the best crime novels I've ever read. Ellroy is in superb control of his word choices, imagery, metaphors and symbolism. At one level the novel is a horribly realistic hunt for a serial killer. Simultaneously, it's the tale of a white knight out to slay the vampire who devours innocent blood. Watch whenever the words "blood" or "moon" are used. Robert B. Parker tries to do this with Spenser (at least he used to, before... Read Full Review

I'm an avid James Ellroy fan, and was disappointed to see that this paperback had gone out of print--thankfully you can get this classic Ellroy as an e-book. The book is a dark and somewhat macabre story about the cross-over between good and evil (a cop who understands a killer perhaps better than he should). If you liked LA Confidential you should check this one out.

Ellroy has called this book a weak comparison to Harris' "Red Dragon", but I disagree. Then again, I wasn't impressed with "Red Dragon" because the main character, Will Graham, was too wrapped up in his own problems to throw himself into the mind of a serial killer. I was impressed with Ellroy's main character, Lloyd Hopkins, being a truly awful person but a great cop who disregards his personal life, feels a kinship for... Read Full Review