''This Storm: A Novel'' is a 2019

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

and

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by American author

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, sta ...

. It is the second novel in Ellroy's "Second L.A. Quartet", in reference to the first "

L.A. Quartet The L.A. Quartet is a sequence of four crime fiction novels by James Ellroy set in the late 1940s through the late 1950s in Los Angeles. They are: * (1987) '' The Black Dahlia'' * (1988) ''The Big Nowhere'' * (1990) '' L.A. Confidential'' * (1992 ...

", and following the novel ''

Perfidia "Perfidia" (Spanish for " perfidy", meaning ''faithlessness'', ''treachery'' or ''betrayal'') is a 1939 Spanish-language song written by Mexican composer and arranger Alberto Domínguez (1906–1975). The song is sung from the perspectiv ...

''. Ellroy dedicated the novel "To HELEN KNODE." The epigraph is "Blood alone moves the wheels of history. -'' Benito "Il Duce" Mussolini''". It was released May 30, 2019, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and June 4, 2019 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Plot

''This Storm'' is set in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, starting with Kay Lake's remembrance of her past, and a bootleg radio transmission in

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

by Father

Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...

on December 30, 1941. Set after the events of ''Perfidia'', the story follows the murder of two

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

officers, an investigation into a gold heist, and an act of murderous

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. It follows the real life Elmer Jackson, as well as Dudley Smith, Joan Conville, and Hideo Ashida. Later, Kay Lake's diary entries are followed. Like ''Perfidia'', Ellroy provided a ''

dramatis personæ Dramatis personae (Latin language, Latin: 'persons of the drama') are the main character (arts), characters in a dramatic work written in a list. Such lists are commonly employed in various forms of theatre, and also on screen. Typically, off-s ...

''.

Reception

It was on the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Best Seller List on June 23, 2019 for Hardcover Fiction at number 4 for two weeks. It has been reviewed by

Marilyn Stasio Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', who said that Ellroy is "back, and his Los Angeles is darker than ever". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s review read: "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."

Notes and references

External links

* * *

access date July 3, 2019

access date July 3, 2019 * * * * * * * {{James Ellroy 2019 American novels Novels by James Ellroy Historical crime novels Books with cover art by Chip Kidd Fiction set in 1942 Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Novels set in Los Angeles Alfred A. Knopf books Fiction set in the 1940s

Plot

Reception

See also

Notes and references

External links