Fiction

Pánico

Pánico

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  • Create Date：2022-04-28 02:42:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Ellroy
  • ISBN：8439738668
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Summary

Regresa el maestro moderno del noir， en su más descarnada esencia， con una novela basada en el personaje real Freddy Otash， malévolo monarca de la clandestinidad en el Los Ángeles de los años cincuenta。

Freddy Otash es un expolicía en horas bajas。 Liquidó a un asesino de polis a sangre fría， así que el jefe William H。 Parker lo despachó。 Ahora es un detective privado con mala reputación， un artista de la extorsión y sobre todo el matón jefe de Confidential， la revista sensacionalista que esparce cotilleos sobre las flaquezas de misántropas estrellas de cine y difunde trapos sucios de políticos papanatas y gente de la alta sociedad con inclinación por el sexo sucio。 Jack Kennedy， James Dean， Montgomery Clift， Burt Lancaster， Liz Taylor， Rock Hudson。。。 Freddy el Frenético los ha puesto en evidencia a todos。 Era el Cacique del Cotilleo que tomó a Hollywood como rehén， y ahora， desde el purgatorio， ha venido a confesarlo todo。

Narrado con la voz brutalmente divertida de Freddy， Pánico es una virulenta revelación， sin ambages， de la corrupción y la paranoia， del pecado y la redención。

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Reviews

Sonic ，

The book itself: Dark。 Brutal。 Chilling。 Similar to his near poetic "Bloods A Rover" it terms of writing style， and themes。 There are racist and sexist aspects that are gross， but are part and parcel of this ugly noir。The Audio-Book: Absolutely brilliant。 Chilling。 Difficult to put down， this is one of the best Audio-Books I have heard in terms of direction and performance。 This is one of the very few audio books I have heard that did not feel rushed or sound speeded up。 The pacing was perfect， The book itself: Dark。 Brutal。 Chilling。 Similar to his near poetic "Bloods A Rover" it terms of writing style， and themes。 There are racist and sexist aspects that are gross， but are part and parcel of this ugly noir。The Audio-Book: Absolutely brilliant。 Chilling。 Difficult to put down， this is one of the best Audio-Books I have heard in terms of direction and performance。 This is one of the very few audio books I have heard that did not feel rushed or sound speeded up。 The pacing was perfect， and was executed to superb dramatic effect。 。。。more

Amy ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The Craftsman of Trash！I imagine Ellroy， now in his later years， as a sort of aging master guildsman， tinkering away in his workshop fastidiously to create honest heirloom pieces of trash。 By the sweat of his brow， he's cobbled together "Widespread Panic" from the scraps of a few stories featuring real-life fixer and snitch Freddy Otash。 Otash is damn near likeable in his foibles compared to the average Ellroy protagonist-- I couldn't help but wonder if he was a stand-in for Ellroy himself， as h The Craftsman of Trash！I imagine Ellroy， now in his later years， as a sort of aging master guildsman， tinkering away in his workshop fastidiously to create honest heirloom pieces of trash。 By the sweat of his brow， he's cobbled together "Widespread Panic" from the scraps of a few stories featuring real-life fixer and snitch Freddy Otash。 Otash is damn near likeable in his foibles compared to the average Ellroy protagonist-- I couldn't help but wonder if he was a stand-in for Ellroy himself， as he has previously discussed his own voyeurism。 The book is narrated by the purgatory-dwelling Otash-- an interesting device that marks this as a different kind of book than the Underground USA and LA Quartet series， despite using some of the same devices。 I was disappointed though that the happenings and minor plots did not coalesce。 Despite the big names in the major plot， my attention had been hooked by the Claire Klein character and I was waiting to see when she would pop back up for her "mission。" Something bigger is foreshadowed with her， and this prevented me from investing a lot of interest in later stuff。 All that said， Ellroy is still the king。 It's fascinating to read his mix of real and fictional gossip， get shocked by his masterful use of "offensive" language， and let him take you where he will。 This will get a lower rating than it deserves because it was marketed with general literary fiction and probably appalled a lot of readers unfamiliar with his style。 That said， I'm glad it was， because something feels contemporary about this even though it's old territory for Ellroy。 The world of Confidential Magazine is not so unlike the world of blind item sites and current tabloid trash culture。 I imagine Ellroy is more consciously commenting on these things than he lets on。 I couldn't help but think about blogs like "Crazy Days and Nights，" which I imagine the author would love if he had any time for current celebrities。 。。。more

Chris ，

James Elroy dared himself to write a book in the style of a 50s gossip rag and he did it。 Thought I’d get sick of the style but the story is so compelling and the characters so terrible I was sucked in。

John Helmon ，

Former L。A。 policeman goes to work for a gossip rag - digs up content and shuts down lawsuits。 It rambles and has a distinct narrative style that got old quick for me to read even if I admired the execution and consistency。 2/5

Lord Booktopus von Cephaloid ，

Took a two-month break from this and barely noticed。 Liked the story well enough， but Ellroy's incessant use of alliterative， tabloid-headline narration got old quick and kept me from getting invested。 （I never， ever want to encounter the phrase "Ring-a-ding-ding！！" in a book for the rest of my existence。） Maybe one day I'll give it another try， but for now I'm pulling the plug。 Took a two-month break from this and barely noticed。 Liked the story well enough， but Ellroy's incessant use of alliterative， tabloid-headline narration got old quick and kept me from getting invested。 （I never， ever want to encounter the phrase "Ring-a-ding-ding！！" in a book for the rest of my existence。） Maybe one day I'll give it another try， but for now I'm pulling the plug。 。。。more

Andrew ，

There is only so much alliteration one can bear before one has the urge to throw this tedious turgid tome against the nearest wall。

Jason ，

3。5 stars。Ellroy's rapid fire， alliterative prose becomes tiresome after a while。 3。5 stars。Ellroy's rapid fire， alliterative prose becomes tiresome after a while。 。。。more

Jason Fawcett ，

Finding these latest Ellroy books a little bit hard to get through。 I was such a previous fan of the LA confidential / Big Nowhere / American Tabloid novels， but now these hepcat books are so difficult to follow the streams the of dialogue and are a little bit too exhausting - it’s like he’s repeating himself sadly。

Nick Brough ，

I wasn't aware of this having been published。 The book appears to be an extended and much expanded version of "Shakedown" which was published a few years ago。 [Having read a large part of this book， it seems to be quite different story in terms of content， even if the starting point is identical]。I've been a Ellroy fan since reading a give away copy of The Black Dahlia ， which was a very rare impulse buy。 Ellroy's writing style and subject matter aren't for everyone。 He pulls no punches dealing I wasn't aware of this having been published。 The book appears to be an extended and much expanded version of "Shakedown" which was published a few years ago。 [Having read a large part of this book， it seems to be quite different story in terms of content， even if the starting point is identical]。I've been a Ellroy fan since reading a give away copy of The Black Dahlia ， which was a very rare impulse buy。 Ellroy's writing style and subject matter aren't for everyone。 He pulls no punches dealing with post war Los Angeles Corruption （LAQuartet）， although I think his 60s set novels （Kennedy/Nixon era） become increasingly hard to get into。 His current early war Los Angleles set series are interesting and revealing portraits of its time， although for my taste I'd prefer if he'd not centred this series around Dudley Smith and Kay Lake。Freddy Otash was a real life US private detective and former LAPD cop （booted out for corruption I believe） and certainly involved in the 1950/60s Hollywood mileu。 How close Ellroy is to what actually happened who knows， but Ellroy uses it to reveal some of the hidden stories behind that era of Hollywood and LA based on rumours and gossip from that time。 We know at least some of these "wild" stories of this true（ish） given comments by others later。 Take everything with a pinch of salt， but also with an eye that it might just be true（ish） ！ Confidential magazine scoops all had a basis in fact and supported by evidence to avoid law suits surrounded by exaggeration and lies of course。 The book， is based around and builds upon the original premise of the earlier novella （Shakedown）。 This book reuses that bias - the "true confessions" of Fred Otash from purgatory， but adds much new material。 Before reading， its useful if not essential to have a through understanding of US slang。 Urban Dictionary helps。 Snout Trout appears on page 1。 That was a new one for me。。。The book comprises three novellas。 The first is similar to Ellroy's previous Otash novella （Shakedown） and is called the same。 I think this is mostly a reedit of that story， perhaps with some new material， but also with elements removed。 In any case， it covers the same ground as the original novella with some of the same scenes， people and events。 There is certainly a high degree of overlap。 The first novella centres around pre-Confidential magazine 1950s。The second novella （Pervdog） covers Otash and Confidential magazine， but at a higher level covering 50s California/National US politics against Hollywoods association with Communism and its propaganda support of Marxism and the Soviet Union。 This is old ground in some ways， but it is also much more grounded in factual events than previously。 The third Novella （Gonesville） is set around the filming of Rebel without a Cause， Caryl Chessman's crimes and the demise of Confidential Magazine at the best of the Californian Government （ie the Hollywood studios）。Each has a different writing style， which is hardest to read when Ellroy uses the Confidential Magazine house style and easiest in the final novella。 Each novella is subdivided into a series of events or meetings that cover a single day to perhaps a weeks duration， that together build up the each individual story。 The final novella has the most coherent story to read。 The other two are slightly different as they cover Otash's life and work as much as follow a single narrative。 As a result the underlying narrative of the first two novellas are less obvious and require more attention to detail。I enjoyed reading all three novella （and the earlier Shakedown） and so long as you understand that there are three connected stories the overall Book tells a tale of Corruption in Los Angeles and forms an adjunct to the later books in the LA Quartet and American tabloid and The Cold 6000。 For any Ellroy reader， I think the corruption in Los Angeles the nature of the corruption is already obvious， but for the uninitiated， it is racial， political （local and national）， sexual of the key individuals combined with that of the Police and Prosecution， The State and local Government， Hollywood itself and the way that all combined to corrupt and stain the American dream and the moral fall of America that it initiated from the 1940s through to the 1970s。 Ellroy's overall story （his combined works） ends with the fall of Nixon's America after Viet-Nam and the Kennedy assassination， but I think its also obvious that Biden's USA is the end result。 That said its not Ellroy's best work， but it's still highly readable and enjoyable （if you enjoy Ellroy's work that is）。 Its grimmer book than some of his earlier ones。， or perhaps I'm older and I've read too much about Kennedy's assassination to believe the official fairytale has any veracity at all any more and watched from afar how the Democrat elite dealt with Trump。 。。。more

Ted ，

It almost hurts me to rate anything by James Ellroy a "2"。 He's one of my faves。 And for the first 100 pages or so I was right there with him again， eating up the dirty double dealings of blackballing ex-LA detective Freddy Otash， who is recounting these confessional stories from the purgatory of an old age home。 Freddy was a bad boy in his youth and lived a crazy double dealing， blackmailing， sordid life。 But it was dark that even I （a fan of salacious noir） had to turn out the lights。 I couldn It almost hurts me to rate anything by James Ellroy a "2"。 He's one of my faves。 And for the first 100 pages or so I was right there with him again， eating up the dirty double dealings of blackballing ex-LA detective Freddy Otash， who is recounting these confessional stories from the purgatory of an old age home。 Freddy was a bad boy in his youth and lived a crazy double dealing， blackmailing， sordid life。 But it was dark that even I （a fan of salacious noir） had to turn out the lights。 I couldn't finish it， finally weary of the pornographic exploits which rapidly reach a point of ridiculousness。 。。。more

Rodolfo Fioribello ，

Questa volta， per il mio gusto， ha un po’ esagerato。 È quasi una citazione di se stesso， della sua letteratura。 Non mi ha catturato come al solito。 Comunque da leggere

Craig ，

Why do I read this guy？ It's such whacky， sleazy， violent， obscene stuff。 Yeah， I read him because he's possibly the most entertaining author out there。 Why do I read this guy？ It's such whacky， sleazy， violent， obscene stuff。 Yeah， I read him because he's possibly the most entertaining author out there。 。。。more

Chris ，

While Ellroy's shtick remains fairly entertaining this really is pretty thin gruel， half-heartedly revisiting his greatest hits with none of the depth or bite of his best work。 While Ellroy's shtick remains fairly entertaining this really is pretty thin gruel， half-heartedly revisiting his greatest hits with none of the depth or bite of his best work。 。。。more

Joe Kraus ，

Freddie Otash is finis。 He’s fading in and out of focus。 He’s finking， feeding the straight alte kockers the stuff of their fetishes。 That’s the start of this， at least。 Otash declares there are only two things he wouldn’t do as part of his sordid work extorting， strong-arming， and setting up celebrities and truly sick pervo rapist-killers: kill someone himself and work for the commies。He’ll admit to having done both， multiple times， before the novel is a third of the way over。It’s been an ugly Freddie Otash is finis。 He’s fading in and out of focus。 He’s finking， feeding the straight alte kockers the stuff of their fetishes。 That’s the start of this， at least。 Otash declares there are only two things he wouldn’t do as part of his sordid work extorting， strong-arming， and setting up celebrities and truly sick pervo rapist-killers: kill someone himself and work for the commies。He’ll admit to having done both， multiple times， before the novel is a third of the way over。It’s been an ugly life， Freddie admits in those opening pages， and he’s sharing some of high-low-lights to the other aged Hollywood types at his favorite diner。 Then， a bite of deli goes down the wrong pipe， his heart clenches up， and it’s a heart attack， stroke， or something。 He’s in and out over the next week or two， coming to consciousness in the late 1990s to set up his narrative， but mostly he’s lost in the past， lost in an L。A。 that glitters on the screen and begrimes anyone who comes near it in real life。What begins as confession， then， morphs into the stream-of-corruption patois that Ellroy has mastered。 It’s colored by the breathless prose style of Confidential magazine， an organ that pops up throughout Ellroy’s work。 （Organs pop up often in his work， but that’s another matter。）I’ll admit， I think it’s a kind of prose magic。 I listen to Ellroy’s writing like I’m listening to jazz – and that’s true whether I’m doing an audiobook， as here， or a paper copy。 He does things with word choice and rhythm that seems Coltrane-esque。 You get flurries of nouns; you get nouns compelled into verbs。 You get metaphors pushed to absurd limits。 Sure， he can write an ordinary sentence， and he often does， but that just feels like setting the background tempo。 After that he flies off on solos that no one else can match。So， I’m a sucker for all things Ellroy。 That’s even as I acknowledge the often-horrifying politics of his pieces。 This is right-wing snuff fantasy stuff。 That current canard that Democrats are behind child sex-trafficking rings？ Ellroy gives the same sort of dirt。 Here， we have JFK covering up a one-night stand who’s been dumped dead beside the road。 We have Marlon Brando giving blow jobs while he’s pushing simpering liberal politics。 We have John Wayne with a thing for dressing in women’s clothes， and Elizabeth Taylor picking up second-rate detectives。 And， more centrally， there’s a young James Dean who， notwithstanding his bisexual honeypot extortion routines， is perpetrating breaking-and-entry jobs as “research” for Rebel Without a Cause。I can’t say whether Ellroy believes all that he insinuates – or even says outright – but it’s clear he’s plumbing an ugliness that goes deeper than even he can see。 This is a man who， in his real teenage life， had to deal with the unsolved murder of his mother。 This is a man who believes all humans are depraved。 A man who， as he’s shown in his larger and more ambitious L。A。 Quartet（s） and American trilogies believes that our contemporary culture was authored not by enlightened men and women of “the greatest generation，” but by liars， killers， and con-artists。 His history hasn’t just been written by the victors but rather by the ghost writers they’ve hired to whitewash the affair。His heroes are the hesitantly murderous front-line killers and strongarm goons who’ve done the dirty work and then been written out of those stories。 They’ve seen and performed the hurting， and then they find their handlers want nothing more to do with them。It’s a powerful place to stand。 This is ultimately an interrogation of “America” as a shining city on the hill， with the perpetual conclusion that， wild as the ride might be， we’ve made a mess of this fresh green （occasionally bitten off） breast of the new world。There is a plot here， which is more than I can sometimes admit getting out of an Ellroy novel。 After a lot of backstory – perhaps more than half the novel – Freddie falls hard for Lori， a woman who’s determined to see real-life rapist-murderer Caryl Chessman put to death。 Lori had a friend torture-raped by the man， a friend she knew from the actor’s studio which makes her friends with the Brandos and James Deans who float in and out。As the protagonists of L。A。 Confidential do， Freddie eventually figures out the web of conspiracy behind Churchill’s crimes。 He takes out at least one associate and gathers some of the dirt that seals Churchill’s failure to appeal his death sentence。 The girl digs him， then she doesn’t， then she’s gone for reasons that aren’t quite clear。 It fits the tune， though， and the larger episode ramps up the energy of the novel as a whole， making the prose sing even more。It is， in other words， Ellroy in his late-career stride， and that’s a very good thing。The Ellroy universe is so intertwined， so dependent on having a sense of how his different characters interact， that this one – since it’s outside the various quartets and trilogies – is actually a good place to begin。 Beware， though， and don’t drive your Packard pimpmobile anywhere near Ellroyville unless you’re prepared to be shocked and offended。This is not great literature， but it is literature。 And it’s surely a great something。 。。。more

Michele Magnabosco ，

A big disappointment for all those who， like me， are big fans of James Ellroy。 The book takes up the narration of the exploits of Freddy Otash， expanding what has already been told in "Shakedown"。 The style， however， is now light years from that of the beginnings， almost a tired repetition of narrative clichés without， however， the sparkling storytelling ability and linguistic virtuosity of the first novels （which I personally consider to be true noir masterpieces）。 Such a pity。 A big disappointment for all those who， like me， are big fans of James Ellroy。 The book takes up the narration of the exploits of Freddy Otash， expanding what has already been told in "Shakedown"。 The style， however， is now light years from that of the beginnings， almost a tired repetition of narrative clichés without， however， the sparkling storytelling ability and linguistic virtuosity of the first novels （which I personally consider to be true noir masterpieces）。 Such a pity。 。。。more

Ubik 2。0 ，

（L’America） “…quanto più ama qualcuno， tanto più vuole conoscerne i vizi。”Nella bibliografia di James Ellroy i due romanzi più recenti， “Perfidia” （2014） e “Questa tempesta” （2018）， costituiscono l’inizio della quadrilogia “Second L。A。 Quartet”， prequel della famosa Underworld USA da molti ritenuta il capolavoro dello scrittore （“American Tabloid”， “Sei pezzi facili”， “Il sangue è randagio”）。 Sorprendendo noi fans ellroyani in trepida attesa del successivo episodio， l’autore sembra essersi preso （L’America） “…quanto più ama qualcuno， tanto più vuole conoscerne i vizi。”Nella bibliografia di James Ellroy i due romanzi più recenti， “Perfidia” （2014） e “Questa tempesta” （2018）， costituiscono l’inizio della quadrilogia “Second L。A。 Quartet”， prequel della famosa Underworld USA da molti ritenuta il capolavoro dello scrittore （“American Tabloid”， “Sei pezzi facili”， “Il sangue è randagio”）。 Sorprendendo noi fans ellroyani in trepida attesa del successivo episodio， l’autore sembra essersi preso una pausa dall’ambizioso programma originario， dando alle stampe “Widespread Panic“ （Panico）， opera autonoma e in apparenza slegata dal filo conduttore che collega i romanzi sopra citati in una sorta di trentennale oscura controstoria americana， da Pearl Harbor ai primi anni ’70。 Poco importa: comunque lo si voglia classificare， lo stile resta comunque un inconfondibile “Ellroy” d。o。c。 articolato a partire da due personaggi fulcro del romanzo: uno è la voce narrante Freddie Otash che， con tipico espediente hollywoodiano， racconta i suoi anni più “gloriosi” dall’oltretomba。 Ex poliziotto poi estorsore， doppiogiochista， tossicomane， free lance in grado di trascinare la tiratura della rivista scandalistica “Confidential” （“Il vizio a los angeles。 Quel mondo perverso。 Tutti conoscono tutti。 Tutti parlano。 E “Confidential” intercettava tutto quel mondo perverso…”） oltre il milione di copie; così si presenta senza remore: “Freddy O è il Re del Ricatto， lo Sciamano della Vergogna。 E’ il Cane Perverso della Notte”。 Conoscendo il modus operandi di Ellroy non stupisce apprendere che Freddie Otash è un personaggio realmente esistito （1922-1992）， dispone oggi della sua brava pagina di wikipedia e sono altresì reperibili in rete interviste dove non si esime dallo sciorinare le sue discutibili abilità e， diciamo così， le proprie referenze lavorative。L’altra figura chiave che emerge nella seconda parte fra le pieghe del racconto， benché detenuto nel braccio della morte di San Quintino per tutti gli anni ’50 in cui si svolgono le vicende del romanzo， è il famoso Caryl Chessman， rapinatore e stupratore seriale che， precursore di tutti i casi trasfigurati dai mass-media， divise l’opinione pubblica americana e mondiale sull’applicazione della pena di morte， autore di diversi libri scritti in carcere， otto rinvii sulla soglia della camera a gas fino all’esecuzione avvenuta il 2 maggio 1960 （anche qui per i dettagli si può ricorrere a wikipedia…）。Di fatto il romanzo di Ellroy appare scarsamente improntato al thriller （c’è giusto un paio di omicidi tanto per non deludere le aspettative…） e ben più interessato agli aspetti scandalistici che dipingono Los Angeles e la Hollywood degli anni 50 come un crogiuolo di corruzione， vizi sessuali di ogni genere， droga a fiumi， da cui non si salva nessuno dei personaggi （attori， registi， musicisti， politici） entrati nel mito anche di qua dall’Atlantico， terreno fertile per i ricattatori estorsori （quelli che irrompono col flash nelle stanze degli alberghi di lusso） di cui Freddie Otash appare il Number One。 E tutto ciò perché “…Los Angeles è satura di paranoia。 L’America è preda della paura。 Siamo negli anni cinquanta， e il popolo americano è avido di notizie， di gossip， di scheletri negli armadi”。Ellroy ci va pesantissimo su questo tasto， non senza qualche rischio di ripetitività， riproponendo come un mantra le ossessioni che improntano tutta la sua bibliografia， la scrittura densa di allitterazioni e punti esclamativi che ne sconsigliano la lettura ai puristi， agli schizzinosi， ai non amanti del genere e a coloro che serbano un ricordo romantico del mondo di James Dean， Liz Taylor， John F。 Kennedy， Burt Lancaster， Nicholas Ray， Ingrid Bergman， Marlon Brando， ecc。 ecc。 。。。more

Mary ，

While I was quite impressed with the alliterative style of the narrative， it really bogged it down。 It took me a while to get used to it （and the narrator's slang） and， even then， I felt like I slogged through this book and wasn't really rewarded for my effort。 The style may have worked better in a short story， but as a 300+ novel， it got tiresome。 While I was quite impressed with the alliterative style of the narrative， it really bogged it down。 It took me a while to get used to it （and the narrator's slang） and， even then， I felt like I slogged through this book and wasn't really rewarded for my effort。 The style may have worked better in a short story， but as a 300+ novel， it got tiresome。 。。。more

Stacy Helton ，

James Ellroy has kept his sensational scribbling in Widespread Panic， as well as all the glory-filled gossip， but left out a coherent and concise plot; instead， he brings in at least 100 real-life 1950s Hollywood-ites into multiple unsavory threads that go nowhere。 Freddy Otash， our narrator， ex-WWII Marine， and LAPD， is writing his memoirs from purgatory about 1950s Hollywood， an era when he was a fixer and information collector for Confidential magazine in order to get to heaven。 Freddy is a l James Ellroy has kept his sensational scribbling in Widespread Panic， as well as all the glory-filled gossip， but left out a coherent and concise plot; instead， he brings in at least 100 real-life 1950s Hollywood-ites into multiple unsavory threads that go nowhere。 Freddy Otash， our narrator， ex-WWII Marine， and LAPD， is writing his memoirs from purgatory about 1950s Hollywood， an era when he was a fixer and information collector for Confidential magazine in order to get to heaven。 Freddy is a ladies’ man-about-town and has plenty of sex， usually threesomes， with the women of the day， from Monroe to Taylor， as well as provide pills for Sen。 JFK and frame closeted gays in outrageous and immoral stings。 In addition， he has listening posts all over the city。 As usual， Ellroy’s jazzy prose is top-notch， as when dishing Lana Turner， Anita O’Day， and Barbara Payton （“That’s week-old bread at half-priced sweetie。 Anita’s a junkie and Babs is turning cheap tricks out of Stan’s drive-in， and Lana – she’s just jerking your chain。”） Freddy is double-dealing as a rogue private eye and a Confidential hatchet-man， and more often than not the two jobs merge in a violent and criminal shit sandwich。 There are three central stories – weeding out Hollywood Communists with McCarthy， the sordid and sexual mechanisms of Nick Ray and his Rebel Without a Cause set （Natalie， Sal， Nick Adams， and a Boffo-portrayal of Jimmy Dean）， and Dean’s desire to play a sexual sadist Caryl Chessman， a real-life California serial killer of women， who also appears in person in a tense prison scene， as Freddy seeks a confession with the help of Lois Nettleton （yes， the actress， who was a friend of one of Chessman’s victims; not sure if that part is true or not）。 It is an odd addition when Actor’s Studio graduate and character actress Nettleton takes over the third act as Freddy’s femme-fatale， who the book is half-dedicated）。 （She was perhaps best known as Dulcie Mae is the Burt-Dolly Whorehouse。） I love a good character actress， and I guess we should be thankful that the trodden Ellroy has given her a glorious role。 But Ellroy， who has shown his conservative side in many of his novels （one loses count at the slurs in the book） has also shown a perverted attitude towards sex in his two memoirs （which I highly recommend， especially My Dark Places） has once again put all of the manic energy into the cart and not the horse。 。。。more

Gabriel Rousseau ，

Delicious EllroyWord salad of sleazyness A guilty pleasure

Paul Grose ，

Not his best by far， but far from his worst。 Satisfactory。

Al ，

Ellroy finally completes his descent into unreadable self-parody。 Worthless。 Woeful。

Guy ，

The LA Quartet， the Underworld Trilogy and My Dark Places are essential Ellroy books。 The best of those are among the finest idiosyncratic volumes in American literature of the past few decades。 This one， not so much。 It's been a while since Ellroy wrote a superb novel （Blood's A Rover from 2009 was the last really exceptional one）， the hyper-rhythmic， alliterative slang has become a bit stale by now， and there's hardly an arc to this stand-alone novel which re-introduces a few familiar characte The LA Quartet， the Underworld Trilogy and My Dark Places are essential Ellroy books。 The best of those are among the finest idiosyncratic volumes in American literature of the past few decades。 This one， not so much。 It's been a while since Ellroy wrote a superb novel （Blood's A Rover from 2009 was the last really exceptional one）， the hyper-rhythmic， alliterative slang has become a bit stale by now， and there's hardly an arc to this stand-alone novel which re-introduces a few familiar characters， both fictional and real。 It's mostly smut， namedropping and language as artillery。 So， old news， but the cranked-up perversion， lingo and manic intensity retains allure， while the novel as a whole falters less than the drearier This Storm。 "It's the lexicon of the lowdown。 It's the dialogue of the dish。 It's the slithering slur and the thrill of the threat。" 。。。more

Sheehan ，

Ellroy doing Ellroy， "re-bop and be-bop" its an all Otash focused foray into semi-autobiographical absolution of the stigma that still haunts Ellroy from his peeping days。If you've read the rest of his fiction， and checked out his non-fiction， it's pretty clear this book is a cathartic romp intended to reincarnate a "fun" figure from the historical novels set in LA。 It does dutifully fill in the blanks of his backstory alluded to in other series novels。The book language has a palatable patter， a Ellroy doing Ellroy， "re-bop and be-bop" its an all Otash focused foray into semi-autobiographical absolution of the stigma that still haunts Ellroy from his peeping days。If you've read the rest of his fiction， and checked out his non-fiction， it's pretty clear this book is a cathartic romp intended to reincarnate a "fun" figure from the historical novels set in LA。 It does dutifully fill in the blanks of his backstory alluded to in other series novels。The book language has a palatable patter， and semi-sonic sound， it's fun to read， a debauched and guilty pleasure。。。it's like slipping back into doing licks with a bad bunch you know better than to hang out with。 If you like vicariously being a terrible human being than you will enjoy this！I did。 （smirk） 。。。more

Col ，

Synopsis/blurb 。。。From the modern master of noir comes a novel based on the real-life Hollywood fixer Freddy Otash， the malevolent monarch of the 1950s L。A。 underground， and his Tinseltown tabloid Confidential magazine。Freddy Otash was the man in the know and the man to know in ‘50s L。A。 He was a rogue cop， a sleazoid private eye， a shakedown artist， a pimp—and， most notably， the head strong-arm goon for Confidential magazine。 Confidential presaged the idiot internet—and delivered the dirt， the Synopsis/blurb 。。。From the modern master of noir comes a novel based on the real-life Hollywood fixer Freddy Otash， the malevolent monarch of the 1950s L。A。 underground， and his Tinseltown tabloid Confidential magazine。Freddy Otash was the man in the know and the man to know in ‘50s L。A。 He was a rogue cop， a sleazoid private eye， a shakedown artist， a pimp—and， most notably， the head strong-arm goon for Confidential magazine。 Confidential presaged the idiot internet—and delivered the dirt， the dish， the insidious ink， and the scurrilous skank。 It mauled misanthropic movie stars， sex-soiled socialites， and putzo politicians。 Mattress Jack Kennedy， James Dean， Montgomery Clift， Burt Lancaster， Liz Taylor， Rock Hudson—Frantic Freddy outed them all。 He was the Tattle Tyrant who held Hollywood hostage， and now he’s here to CONFESS。“I’m consumed with candor and wracked with recollection。 I’m revitalized and resurgent。 My meshugenah march down memory lane begins NOW。”In Freddy’s viciously entertaining voice， Widespread Panic torches 1950s Hollywood to the ground。 It’s a blazing revelation of coruscating corruption， pervasive paranoia， and of sin and redemption with nothing in between。Here is James Ellroy in savage quintessence。 Freddy Otash confesses—and you are here to read and succumb。---My take 。。。When I started reading crime fiction back in the late 80s-early 90s， James Ellroy （along with Andrew Vachss， Elmore Leonard， James Lee Burke and a few others） was on a list of must read authors。 Whenever they had a new book out， I had to have it immediately。 Over the years， I've fallen away from him （and the rest） and replaced them with newer voices。 I still retain an affection for these authors and the chance to read Ellroy's latest was too good to turn down。I have to say this one was a bit of a struggle though， akin to swimming through treacle in the first half of the book。 It still bears all the hallmarks of Ellroy's inimitable style with his frequent use of almost tongue twisters 。。。 Extortionist。 Entrepreneur。 Enterprising。 Enforcer。。。。。 the live feed fed furtively 。。。。ditzed dials and recalibrated the rustles and riffs。 Ellroy's writing style demands that you pay attention and unfortunately I approached it with a frenetic， furious frenzy and got nowhere fast。I do like the way he populates his books with real-life characters that I know of。 The ones I'm unfamiliar with I'm tempted to Google to discover more about them， assuming they aren't the product of Ellroy's fertile imagination。 Dual timeline prose， with modern day reminisces from a prison cell back to the 50s。。。。 with bed-hopping politicians， movie stars， shakedowns， sleazy sex escapades and blackmail。 Scandals for public consumption。 I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more， as I realised it wasn't a race。 I liked it better， but unfortunately I don't hold it in the same high esteem as the likes of The Black Dahlia The Big Nowhere or LA Confidential。I have a couple more of his on the TBR pile - Perfidia and its sequel This Storm。 I know to approach them a bit differently to this one。 3 from 5 Read - November， 2021Published - 2021Page count - 336Source - review copy Edelweiss - Above the TreelineFormat - Kindlehttp://col2910。blogspot。com/2022/01/j。。。 。。。more

Paul ，

It’s Ellroy’s usual shtick - cop/ex-cop with a guilty conscience seeks forgiveness through damaged women &/or women he’s obsessed with - but it’s entertaining。

Rm36 ，

A good book， if short。 Solid B+。

Jt ，

Umm。。。 Did not vibe with this one。

Adam Shelp ，

Every character Elroy has written for the last 3 books speaks with the same voice and vocabulary - time for some compartmentalization， Daddy-o。

Sagheer Afzal ，

Oh dear。 Ellroy and staccato sentences。 All throughout the book the story of Otash is told in sentences delivered like bullets。 It reads quickly but unfortunately too quickly。 Perhaps this is where the audio version would improve the reading experience。 But this type of machine gun style of narrative is Ellroy's signature。 But after having read of a few of his previous books I was hoping he would bring something new to the table。 Oh dear。 Ellroy and staccato sentences。 All throughout the book the story of Otash is told in sentences delivered like bullets。 It reads quickly but unfortunately too quickly。 Perhaps this is where the audio version would improve the reading experience。 But this type of machine gun style of narrative is Ellroy's signature。 But after having read of a few of his previous books I was hoping he would bring something new to the table。 。。。more

Joe ，

Another tight thriller from the man behind all those Raymond Chandler remakes， James Ellroy。 This standalone volume takes a little while to get to the action， filling up the first half with gossip and innuendo， which can take some getting used to with the writer's signature sparse style。 Another tight thriller from the man behind all those Raymond Chandler remakes， James Ellroy。 This standalone volume takes a little while to get to the action， filling up the first half with gossip and innuendo， which can take some getting used to with the writer's signature sparse style。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Pánico

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Pánico&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Pánico&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0