Search - The Black Dahlia

Another Black Dahlia book I recommend this one over a lot of the other ones because of the author. Well written keeps you interested.

Very graphic sexually and murder/gore wise. Recommended for adult readers only!
Great story line though (based on a true story) and very compelling.

Knowing the true story, I wasn't really impressed with the fictionalized account. Good read, however, if you don't care too much about the facts of the case.

VISERAL

If I had to come up with one word to describe this fictional re-telling of the famous 1947 Black Dahlia murder, viseral would be it. This is far from an intellectual mystery/thriller. Rather, it hits you in the guts emotionally - time and time again.

I expected a story that just basically fleshed out the real murder and its investigation. I was sooooo wrong. I mostly listened to this book on audio, and almost gave up after the first two CD's because it was full - and I mean FULL - of boxing slang, 40's cop slang, and ethnic and sexual slurs - and we hadn't even gotten the to murder yet!

If I had paid attention to the tag line under the title of the book (by the author of LA Confidential), that would have been my clue to the dark and corrupt nature of this novel. I haven't read LA Confidential, but I've seen the movie. 'Nuff said. (And yes, I had totally forgotten that The Black Dahlia was also made into a movie a few years ago and have never seen it.)

But just as the fictional detectives were drawn into the investigation, I was drawn into it also. Almost compelled to keep reading and listening. And the plot was so intricate that I HAD to pay attention. The final solution to the mystery came as a complete shock - although it made total sense in retrospect.

So in sum, even though this book was totally out of the box for me, I recommend it. It's an excellent mystery/thriller.

I found this book to be intriguing, heart-wrenching and incredibly shocking. I would've never guessed the ending...

Try as I might, I just couldn't get into this one. From the beginning, it uses a lot of what I can only assume is police terminology from that time period. So right away, I don't connect with the characters. The story just seemed to drag on and on. I made it about 2/3 of the way through but finally decided to just give up on this one.