Fiction

Widespread Panic: A novel

Widespread Panic: A novel

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  • Create Date：2021-08-01 08:51:19
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Ellroy
  • ISBN：059332031X
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Summary

From the modern master of noir comes a novel about the king of the 1950s Hollywood underground--a tale of pervasive paranoia filled with communist conspiracies， FBI finks， celebrity smut films， and strange bedfellows。

Fred Otash is the man in the know and the man to know in Tinseltown。 He operates with two simple rules--he'll do anything but murder， and he'll never work with commies。

Fred is a corrupt L。A。 cop on the skids。 He executed a cop killer named Horvath and it gores him。 So Captain Whiskey Bill Parker cans him。 Now， Freddie dons an array of new hats--sleazoid private eye， shakedown artist， matchmaker for Rock Hudson， pimp for President John F。 Kennedy--and， most notably--the lead tipster and head strongarm goon for Confidential magazine。 Confidential presaged the idiot internet--and delivered the dirt， the dish， the insidious ink and the scurrilous skank on the feckless foibles of misanthropic movie stars， sex-soiled socialites， and putzo politicians。 Freaky Freddy outs them all！

In Widespread Panic we traverse the depths of '50s L。A。 and internalize the inner workings of Confidential。 Dig: You'll go to Burt Lancaster's lushly appointed torture den。 。 。 You'll gas on overhyped legend James Dean as Freddy's chief stooge。 。 。 You'll be there for Freddy's ring-a-ding rendezvous with Liz Taylor。 。 。 You'll be front and center as Freddy runs roughshod over the stars of the silver screen and the demimonde of the Hollywood hills。

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Reviews

Lee Cochenour ，

The dialogue in this book is racist， homophobic， sexist and just about every other disturbing term you can think of。 It's the story of an ex-LA cop turned PI who worked for Confidential magazine catching celebs and politicians in every act you can imagine。 The bizarre thing about the book is that 90% of the characters are real life people described as doing horrible things。 But I found the whole thing fascinating except for the 1950's hipster/PI lingo that grated on me after a while。 The dialogue in this book is racist， homophobic， sexist and just about every other disturbing term you can think of。 It's the story of an ex-LA cop turned PI who worked for Confidential magazine catching celebs and politicians in every act you can imagine。 The bizarre thing about the book is that 90% of the characters are real life people described as doing horrible things。 But I found the whole thing fascinating except for the 1950's hipster/PI lingo that grated on me after a while。 。。。more

Kittaroo ，

Ora: io， Ellroy， lo amo proprio。 Credo di aver letto tutto， comprese le liste della spesa， sia in traduzione che in originale。 Ma adesso basta。 Panico è la versione corta di “this storm” ed ed， del pari， inconcludente。 Non ha mordente， non aggiunge nulla， non ci sono personaggi memorabili。 È un minestrone che abbiamo già letto。 Dopo “blood is a rover” non è più riuscito a decidere cosa voleva raccontare， da lì il minestrone。 Dimenticabile， purtroppo。

Harold ，

Ellroy！ Noir on steroids。 Everybody， real or fictional is rotten and he says it all with constant alliteration。 Keep 'em coming James！ Ellroy！ Noir on steroids。 Everybody， real or fictional is rotten and he says it all with constant alliteration。 Keep 'em coming James！ 。。。more

Kevin Shepherd ，

James Ellroy has made a pretty good living mining the depths of human depravity。 He is hard-nosed， hard-boiled， and uncompromising。 By comparison， he makes Dashiel Hammett and Mickey Spillane look positively effeminate。 Mike Hammer’s got nothing on Freaky Freddy Otash， except maybe some professional integrity and a few yards of unshredded human decency。

Robert P。 Hoffman ，

Wow， what an experience reading this book。 The writing is so sharp and no one can capture a unique voice the way Ellroy does。 The story is so good and the book is a wild ride that never has a false note。 It is an amazing accomplishment and one that very few authors could match。

Brian Keane ，

Gave up on it。 Not sure what the point of it was other than make up crazy stuff about well known people。

Denise Mullins ，

Disgraced cop， disbarred PI， and informant for sleazy tabloids of the 50s， Fred Otash was a true bottom feeder among the scum of the pond。 In this weirdly fascinating but often repetitive and crass first-person narrative， Otash describes an imagined flashback account of his life while he currently resides in Purgatory， a sentence he more than merits。 Along with anecdotes annoyingly abounding in alliteration， dialogue is generously peppered with potty-mouthed phrased episodes involving heavy booz Disgraced cop， disbarred PI， and informant for sleazy tabloids of the 50s， Fred Otash was a true bottom feeder among the scum of the pond。 In this weirdly fascinating but often repetitive and crass first-person narrative， Otash describes an imagined flashback account of his life while he currently resides in Purgatory， a sentence he more than merits。 Along with anecdotes annoyingly abounding in alliteration， dialogue is generously peppered with potty-mouthed phrased episodes involving heavy boozing， pill-popping， and sexual interludes。 It does get a bit tiresome despite name dropping of every mid-century celebrity and politician。 While it's definitely not a book for all readers， it did make me curious enough to check out certain characters' purported past peccadilloes， so I guess Ellroy accomplished his goal。 。。。more

Becky ，

The story was good enough without the author's show-off stylistic trick。 The story was good enough without the author's show-off stylistic trick。 。。。more

Ward Howarth ，

Dig it， hepcats -- Ellroy is at it again， plumbing the depths of depravity even deeper while simultaneously slumming in his own sin-tastic stories for more of the same old shit！ Seriously， at this point， I don't know whether to appreciate that he mines his own characters over and over again for roughly the same effect or to wish that he wouldn't try something new。 In Widespread Panic， we get Freddy Otash， the notorious cop/PI/fixer with a yen for romance and uncovering truths about dead women， b Dig it， hepcats -- Ellroy is at it again， plumbing the depths of depravity even deeper while simultaneously slumming in his own sin-tastic stories for more of the same old shit！ Seriously， at this point， I don't know whether to appreciate that he mines his own characters over and over again for roughly the same effect or to wish that he wouldn't try something new。 In Widespread Panic， we get Freddy Otash， the notorious cop/PI/fixer with a yen for romance and uncovering truths about dead women， but really， for Ellroy die-hards， Otash comes off like a mish-mash of Bud White， Buzz Meeks， and Pete Bondurant。 There's even a nod to his own short story， 'Since I Don't Have You，' a great tale from Hollywood Nocturnes that features Meeks。 If I didn't know any better， I'd say the guy doesn't have a lot of new ideas。 And yet， I haven't had this much fun reading Ellroy in years。 Perfidia and This Storm are so dense and so intricately plotted that， while compelling， they just aren't that much fun to read。 But here， you get Ellroy's signature short-dose sentences so packed with creative wording that you can just tell he's having a fucking blast with it all， even if he is treading in the same murky waters he's swam in before。 That all being said， Ellroy does two things better than any crime writer I've ever read。 One， he writes about obsession better than anyone （because really， isn't that what we're here for？ To follow a dark man's quest into a dark world？） and two， he writes about duplicitous men and women with more command， insight， and aplomb that any other writer I know。 Those two things keep me coming back every time， even if he is just rehashing some of his old stuff in new ways。 。。。more

Pat ，

Too raunchy for me。 Story is interesting but。。。。

Sandford Parker ，

James Ellroy doesn’t give a f***。 That used to be a good thing。 Although there are a number of moments of primo Ellroy in the odyssey that is Widespread Panic， once it settles in on Rebel Without a Cause， it goes right off the rails。 But， like any good train wreck， you can’t take your eyes off this thing and are compelled to see how it all plays out for Freddy， one of Ellroy’s more interesting creations。 There’s audaciously-over-the-top and then there’s Widespread Panic， a bizarre novel that doe James Ellroy doesn’t give a f***。 That used to be a good thing。 Although there are a number of moments of primo Ellroy in the odyssey that is Widespread Panic， once it settles in on Rebel Without a Cause， it goes right off the rails。 But， like any good train wreck， you can’t take your eyes off this thing and are compelled to see how it all plays out for Freddy， one of Ellroy’s more interesting creations。 There’s audaciously-over-the-top and then there’s Widespread Panic， a bizarre novel that doesn’t add up to anything at all。 。。。more

Pierluigi Omodeo ，

Ho un debole per Ellroy … si capisce

Gary Branson ，

Annoying alliteration made this a ridiculous read。 Style took away from what could have a great story， but was just more a distraction and the story seemed almost an afterthought。

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。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Widespread Panic: A novel

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

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