Widespread Panic
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- Create Date：2021-07-19 07:51:21
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：James Ellroy
- ISBN：0593319346
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Summary
From the modern master of noir comes a novel about the malevolent monarch of the 1950s Hollywood underground--a tale of pervasive paranoia teeming with communist conspiracies， FBI finks， celebrity smut films， and strange bedfellows。
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。
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。
Reviews
Jeremy
，
Freddy Otash is a morally corrupt， obsessive， violent sleaze merchant。 We've met him before， and Widespread Panic focuses on his story from the mid-50s up until early-60s。 Ellroy makes mucho malign metaphors and delicious dirty dish in his signature staccato style。 The denizens defamed delightfully here include the entire cast and crew of Rebel Without A Cause， Rock Hudson， Jack Kennedy and many more。For some reason this one didn't light me up the way Ellroy usually does。 I guess it seems slight Freddy Otash is a morally corrupt， obsessive， violent sleaze merchant。 We've met him before， and Widespread Panic focuses on his story from the mid-50s up until early-60s。 Ellroy makes mucho malign metaphors and delicious dirty dish in his signature staccato style。 The denizens defamed delightfully here include the entire cast and crew of Rebel Without A Cause， Rock Hudson， Jack Kennedy and many more。For some reason this one didn't light me up the way Ellroy usually does。 I guess it seems slightly retreaded or stale， though it certainly has its lurid charm。 。。。more
David
，
If you ever wish to replicate the experience of being at an inescapable family dinner with a pompous bore who never gets tired of telling tales of how much smarter， stronger， more devious， more capable， and more sexually attractive than everybody else， read this book。Me， not so much – for that， I have actual family。 I gave up on this book about half-way into it。This new book got a lot of praise。 The author has been writing well-received novels for decades now。 I haven't read any of them。 This bo If you ever wish to replicate the experience of being at an inescapable family dinner with a pompous bore who never gets tired of telling tales of how much smarter， stronger， more devious， more capable， and more sexually attractive than everybody else， read this book。Me， not so much – for that， I have actual family。 I gave up on this book about half-way into it。This new book got a lot of praise。 The author has been writing well-received novels for decades now。 I haven't read any of them。 This book may be the work of someone past their prime – it doesn't seem to be covering any original territory。I think that praising this book may be a way for prestige book reviewers and mere mortals to show that they are courageously independent spirits and not prisoners of today's tedious liberal PC-correctness。 The reviewer can show that his/her sophisticated taste by singing the book's praises as the tiresome narrator/private detective protagonist insults every group now considered sacrosanct， eventually sounding like he's mentally checking a list in his head （“Oh， wait， I haven't insulted Armenians yet”）。 I'm not mad at the character or the author for putting these insults between book covers – I just thought it was boring。I considered that the narrator's awfulness was actually intentional， since he DOES end up getting punished in the afterlife， which occurs at the beginning of the book， so is not a spoiler。 Maybe so。 A great writer might have made his awfulness entertaining， but it's a very difficult literary trick to pull off – I certainly couldn't do it。Read more fiction， they said。 It'll be fun， they said。 Phooey。 Give me non-fiction any day。 。。。more
Richard
，
A return to the top for Ellroy after the so-so last two books。 The usual cast of scummy actors and enabling Californians focuses on the narrator， Freddy Otash， and the people making movies in the mid-1950's who had things to hide。 From homosexuality， to comsymps， to petty burglars， to rape， this one encompasses the full range of what still makes Hollywood （and politicians） despicable。 The only decent human being among the main characters is the actress Lois Nettleton， whom most readers have like A return to the top for Ellroy after the so-so last two books。 The usual cast of scummy actors and enabling Californians focuses on the narrator， Freddy Otash， and the people making movies in the mid-1950's who had things to hide。 From homosexuality， to comsymps， to petty burglars， to rape， this one encompasses the full range of what still makes Hollywood （and politicians） despicable。 The only decent human being among the main characters is the actress Lois Nettleton， whom most readers have likely never heard of， largely because she spent her career mostly on Broadway。 I had to wait to the second-to-last page of the novel before seeing the one obscure fact I know about her， that the man she married， "a playwright who has his own radio show" was Jean Shepherd， known to all as the narrator and author of A CHRISTMAS STORY which plays all day long on December 25。 。。。more
Davi Kladakis
，
A new installment in the Hollyweird drama in the late 50's and early 60's A new installment in the Hollyweird drama in the late 50's and early 60's 。。。more
H Anthony
，
Ridiculously sleazy and enjoyable tabloid-style smear rompfest。
George Shiffler
，
Hmmm 。。I think Mr。 Elroy may have jumped the shark with this one。 The staccato style is still there but the book seems disjointed and， to my reading， lacks focus。 I just wasn't engaged in the way I was with previous books。 Oh well 。。。 Hmmm 。。I think Mr。 Elroy may have jumped the shark with this one。 The staccato style is still there but the book seems disjointed and， to my reading， lacks focus。 I just wasn't engaged in the way I was with previous books。 Oh well 。。。 。。。more
Alex B
，
Vintage Ellroy。 Kind of feels like a half-assed cash-grab compared to his more ambitious recent work like Underworld USA and the Second L。A。 Quartet。 I wouldn't be surprised if had been sitting on this for a couple years and published it because SLAQ part 3 is taking longer than he expected。 This one is also kind of strange in that it's the fictionalized life of Freddy Otash， the real life PI that inspired Pete Bondurant （not to mention Jake Gittes） and who also appeared in Underworld USA。 All i Vintage Ellroy。 Kind of feels like a half-assed cash-grab compared to his more ambitious recent work like Underworld USA and the Second L。A。 Quartet。 I wouldn't be surprised if had been sitting on this for a couple years and published it because SLAQ part 3 is taking longer than he expected。 This one is also kind of strange in that it's the fictionalized life of Freddy Otash， the real life PI that inspired Pete Bondurant （not to mention Jake Gittes） and who also appeared in Underworld USA。 All in all， new Ellroy is better than no Ellroy。 It's got all the requisite Ellroy beats: sex， violence， sexual violence， Hollywood Babylon-esque celebrity debauchery， scumbag cops， fast dames， and of course the author's admitted oedipal fixation on the murder of his own mother。 。。。more
Paul Gaglio
，
Excellent novel。 Exciting and hard to put down。 This is where Ellroy is at his best。 A tight story of corruption and scandal involving police， politicians and movie stars。 His last two novels were not good。 They was too many moving parts。 This novel is much more condensed and works much better。
Natalie
，
It’s James Ellroy， and he fucking delivers。
Lance Polin
，
I began this book worried。 For a long time James Ellroy has been at the top of my favorite authors consideration。 （A long time， back to the 1990s）。 This book began， for me， like a few excised scenes removed from The Big Nowhere and LA Confidential。 I don't know。 Maybe they were。Now of course this doesn't have to be a bad thing， a few slimy edits out from great books。 It flows and is very entertaining。 Then something 。 。 。。 。 。 changes。 Somehow a compassionate heart breaks amidst all the horrible I began this book worried。 For a long time James Ellroy has been at the top of my favorite authors consideration。 （A long time， back to the 1990s）。 This book began， for me， like a few excised scenes removed from The Big Nowhere and LA Confidential。 I don't know。 Maybe they were。Now of course this doesn't have to be a bad thing， a few slimy edits out from great books。 It flows and is very entertaining。 Then something 。 。 。。 。 。 changes。 Somehow a compassionate heart breaks amidst all the horrible， vicious， gossipy sleaze， all the thumping violence， all the parallel pathways through the unknowable cover-ups of official history。 In the brazenly， arrogantly poetical tome， something different emerges from James Ellroy's grayed over heart。Surely not his best work， but a great， fast read nonetheless。 Simmering somewhere in a near corner of Ellroy's 。 。 。 multiverse， is it？--this novel fills in a few unconsidered gaps of the larger lived world within his opus。 A marvelous addition once you grow accustomed， then addicted to the pap-pap-paphony prose of the particularly profound confession。 。。。more
Michael Lafavore
，
Not Ellroy’s best workWidespread Panic is much shorter than his recent books and not as absorbing。 The story is preposterous—devilish doings among the cast and crew of Rebel Without a Cause —and Elroy lays the jive lingo on a bit too thick this time。 Certainly not a bad book but a disappointing one。
Patrick SG
，
Best introduction to Ellroy’s unique styleMany of James Ellroy’s books are parts of trilogies or quartets that are difficult to enter if you haven’t started at the first。 Not this one， which， while it features a character that appears in some of his other books， stands alone in this tale。 So if you think you’re up to taking a walk on the wild side that is the world of the Demon Dog of American Literature， this is as good a book as any to do so。
Tom
，
Always entertaining， James Ellroy can be tough to keep up with。 Using his clipped， staccato， alliterative prose， Ellroy demonstrates the fictional life Freddy Otash， PrivateEye and Fixer to the Stars and the powers that be。 This is a one-off book， not connected to Ellroy's great series: The L。A。 Quartet; Underworld U。S。A; and the underway Second L。A。 Quartet。 Always entertaining， James Ellroy can be tough to keep up with。 Using his clipped， staccato， alliterative prose， Ellroy demonstrates the fictional life Freddy Otash， PrivateEye and Fixer to the Stars and the powers that be。 This is a one-off book， not connected to Ellroy's great series: The L。A。 Quartet; Underworld U。S。A; and the underway Second L。A。 Quartet。 。。。more
Oli Turner
，
The new james ellroy novel widespread panic featuring shakedown artist freddy o’tash includes an incredible use of alliterative language and style。 Not an easy read。 Complex and staccato as usual， but a slightly shorter novel that definitely leaves you reamed steamed and dry-cleaned as the demon dog demands。 The fun of the language/style is partly determined by the first person perspective。 I would have liked more from the other characters， particularly Claire， Janey， Joan， Stretch and Chessman。 The new james ellroy novel widespread panic featuring shakedown artist freddy o’tash includes an incredible use of alliterative language and style。 Not an easy read。 Complex and staccato as usual， but a slightly shorter novel that definitely leaves you reamed steamed and dry-cleaned as the demon dog demands。 The fun of the language/style is partly determined by the first person perspective。 I would have liked more from the other characters， particularly Claire， Janey， Joan， Stretch and Chessman。 Perhaps the novel could have benefitted from some expansion and ellroy’s usual structure of seeing events from the perspective of different characters。 。。。more
Ronald Koltnow
，
For over four decades James Ellroy has been our premier crime writer。 WIDESPREAD PANIC， a revision of his earlier e-book original novella SHAKEDOWN， has a postmortem Fred Otash， sleazoid P。 I。， explaining his life story from purgatory。 The device worked better in the novella。 Here， as in PERFIDIA and THIS STORM， he cannot decide if he is telling a crime story or some sort of wild Thomas Pynchon absurd comedy。 His trashing of reputations （Nicholas Ray， Nick Adams， Natalie Wood， et alia） is downri For over four decades James Ellroy has been our premier crime writer。 WIDESPREAD PANIC， a revision of his earlier e-book original novella SHAKEDOWN， has a postmortem Fred Otash， sleazoid P。 I。， explaining his life story from purgatory。 The device worked better in the novella。 Here， as in PERFIDIA and THIS STORM， he cannot decide if he is telling a crime story or some sort of wild Thomas Pynchon absurd comedy。 His trashing of reputations （Nicholas Ray， Nick Adams， Natalie Wood， et alia） is downright offensive， as is his use of racist epithets where not needed。 He spends too much time in Nazi metaphors。 A failure。 。。。more
Bruce Bowman
，
This is James Ellroy's best book since L。A。 Confidential。 Ellroy's best work combines the darkest of dark humor delivered with alliterative rapid-fire aburdity。 Reading Ellroy is like taking a roller-coaster into Hell and surviving。 It can't be described， it must be experienced。 It's also not for everybody。 This book is some of Ellroy's best work， far superior to "Perfidia" and "This Coming Storm。" It would be intriguing to read a Confessions of Fred Otash Trilogy， possibly with Fred meeting Sat This is James Ellroy's best book since L。A。 Confidential。 Ellroy's best work combines the darkest of dark humor delivered with alliterative rapid-fire aburdity。 Reading Ellroy is like taking a roller-coaster into Hell and surviving。 It can't be described， it must be experienced。 It's also not for everybody。 This book is some of Ellroy's best work， far superior to "Perfidia" and "This Coming Storm。" It would be intriguing to read a Confessions of Fred Otash Trilogy， possibly with Fred meeting Satan himself and finding out that the Big S is actually Frank Sinatra。 The Second L。A。 Quartet has been a bit of a slog so far， so it would be good to see Ellroy doing something different。 。。。more
Mike Glaser
，
Closer to 3 1/2 stars。 The premise of this book is that not only is Hollywood weirder than you imagine but it is weirder than you can possibly imagine。 An interesting read， it is worth your time if you have the stomach for it。
Alex
，
couldn't get past the first 10 pages。 the alliteration is unbearable and it's apparently consistent throughout the entire novel。 no thanks。 couldn't get past the first 10 pages。 the alliteration is unbearable and it's apparently consistent throughout the entire novel。 no thanks。 。。。more
Andrea
，
If I wasn't reviewing this for work I would have abandoned it after 30 pages。 It doesn't get better。 If I wasn't reviewing this for work I would have abandoned it after 30 pages。 It doesn't get better。 。。。more
Peter
，
James Ellroy is a great chronicler of the seedy side of mid-century L。A。， and "Widespread Panic，" his latest， is another terrific look at that world and its characters。 As he often does， Ellroy populates the novel with real-life characters doing things their publicists would have fainted over had they happened， and been true， when alive。 A very fun read。Oh， and I got to interview him too -- here's that story: https://www。dailynews。com/2021/06/16/。。。 James Ellroy is a great chronicler of the seedy side of mid-century L。A。， and "Widespread Panic，" his latest， is another terrific look at that world and its characters。 As he often does， Ellroy populates the novel with real-life characters doing things their publicists would have fainted over had they happened， and been true， when alive。 A very fun read。Oh， and I got to interview him too -- here's that story: https://www。dailynews。com/2021/06/16/。。。 。。。more
Timothy Patrick Boyer
，
[1。5 Stars， Rounded Down]James Ellroy's Widespread Panic is a sleazy， salacious noir slamming the hedonistic hell-hole that was '50s Hollyweird。 Throughout， Ellroy paints all the players as pimps， prostitutes， homosexuals， communists and/or any other obscene amount of deviant designations。 And he revels in his raconteur's repetitive retelling of his countless crass chronicles。 It's all as inane as it is indecent as it is immature。 Seriously， though， this book starts out strong。 Ellroy's narrator [1。5 Stars， Rounded Down]James Ellroy's Widespread Panic is a sleazy， salacious noir slamming the hedonistic hell-hole that was '50s Hollyweird。 Throughout， Ellroy paints all the players as pimps， prostitutes， homosexuals， communists and/or any other obscene amount of deviant designations。 And he revels in his raconteur's repetitive retelling of his countless crass chronicles。 It's all as inane as it is indecent as it is immature。 Seriously， though， this book starts out strong。 Ellroy's narrator has a singular voice， and the initial alliterative cadence of the prose is pretty pleasurable。 Sadly， it all gets exhausting before long， and the meandering， poorly developed， and plodding plotting （paired with the quickly tiring， distracting prose） make all but the first act drag dreadfully。 （Ugh， it's contagious， someone help。）It's as simple as this; the plot， here， is severely scattered and never delivers any moments that manage to bring everything/anything together in a satisfying manner， and with his nonstop， repetitive anecdotes about three-ways with movie stars and that damn photo of Brando with a d**k in his mouth， our narrator very quickly becomes as annoying as that creepy cryptkeeper dude at your gym who insists on airing his junk out in the locker room while asking everyone passing through if they caught 'the ass on that chick on the stairmaster'。 Or， more simply and colorfully， it's all completely unnecessary。2。5/10 。。。more
Gavin Simms
，
I have been a big Ellroy fan for many years， but I found this both heavy going and not all that substantial。 Having said that， there were enough of the usual alliterations and references to cultural figures to keep it interesting。
Greg Cagle
，
I've read a lot of Ellroy。 This one just feels like a lesser effort。 I actually stopped about a third of the way through and quit。 It just seemed like he was recycling himself， and not doing a very good job of it。 And， someone needs to tell him that the word "grok" was not invented by Heinlein until 1961。 I've read a lot of Ellroy。 This one just feels like a lesser effort。 I actually stopped about a third of the way through and quit。 It just seemed like he was recycling himself， and not doing a very good job of it。 And， someone needs to tell him that the word "grok" was not invented by Heinlein until 1961。 。。。more
Ben Arzate
，
Full ReviewWidespread Panic is an entertaining and gripping work of mystery and historical fiction。 Some may find the prose takes some getting used to， but those who like their noir dark and sleazy will definitely enjoy this。 Ellroy fans will love it and， like me， probably pre-ordered it as soon as it was announced。 Full ReviewWidespread Panic is an entertaining and gripping work of mystery and historical fiction。 Some may find the prose takes some getting used to， but those who like their noir dark and sleazy will definitely enjoy this。 Ellroy fans will love it and， like me， probably pre-ordered it as soon as it was announced。 。。。more
Andrew Miller
，
As a lifelong Ellroy fan （I've read everything） this one was not my favorite but it was very funny， often hilarious， and overall a fun read。 Not a bad book to recommend to someone looking to read something by the Demon Dog for the first time。 As a lifelong Ellroy fan （I've read everything） this one was not my favorite but it was very funny， often hilarious， and overall a fun read。 Not a bad book to recommend to someone looking to read something by the Demon Dog for the first time。 。。。more
Sea Plan
，
James Ellroy fans will enjoy this little treat。 Blood's a Rover and Perfidia are superior in my view， but that didn't stop me from reading the book in under a week。 Good stuff。 James Ellroy fans will enjoy this little treat。 Blood's a Rover and Perfidia are superior in my view， but that didn't stop me from reading the book in under a week。 Good stuff。 。。。more
Art
，
James is lucky dead can't sue。Far better than Storm but still miss the old more lucid Ellroy whose every word I gorged on including hard to find short stories。Almost worthy of 4th star just for auld langsyne my dear。 James is lucky dead can't sue。Far better than Storm but still miss the old more lucid Ellroy whose every word I gorged on including hard to find short stories。Almost worthy of 4th star just for auld langsyne my dear。 。。。more
Ryan
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Milton Owned
Todd Glaeser
，
I liked this book much more than his last。 Freddy O was a more interesting protagonist and there was less faux- nazi politics to slog through。
Jason Allison
，
It’s Ellroy， and he gives exactly what you came for。 This was a brisk read by his standards， and I enjoyed it， but didn’t get the odd “Purgatory Confession” conceit， which he abandons halfway through。 A good time， but I’d have rather he written the third book of his second LA Quartet。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Widespread Panic
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Widespread Panic&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Widespread Panic&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0