Le Dahlia Noir [Books]

James Ellroy's novel about the famous Black Dahlia starts out slow, telling the story of two boxers-turned-cops for the first hundred pages before the Dahlia's body is found. One of the cops soon disappears in Mexico, and the other one (the narrator) becomes obsessed with solving the Dahlia case. He spirals into a dark place, beating up suspects, sleeping with prostitutes, and dreaming of the Dahlia. The book is only average as a mystery, but it does present an interesting portrayal of 1940s L.A. policing. The book was the inspiration for the 2005 movie, but I haven't seen it yet.