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Lloyd Hopkins #1
Blood on the Moon
Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins can’t stand music, or any loud sounds. He’s got a beautiful wife, but he can’t get enough of other women. And instead of bedtime stories, he regales his daughters with bloody crime stories. He’s a thinking man’s cop with a dark past and an obsessive drive to hunt down monsters who prey on the innocent.
Now, there’s something haunting him. He sees a connection in a series of increasingly gruesome murders of women committed over a period of twenty years. To solve the case, Hopkins will dump all the rules and risk his career to make the final link and get the killer.
Now, there’s something haunting him. He sees a connection in a series of increasingly gruesome murders of women committed over a period of twenty years. To solve the case, Hopkins will dump all the rules and risk his career to make the final link and get the killer.
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
176 people are currently reading
1512 people want to read
About the author
James Ellroy
138 books4,184 followersLee Earle "James" Ellroy 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, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black Dahlia (1987) and L.A. Confidential (1990).
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December 25, 2025
L’INNOCENZA UCCIDE
Il primo libro di Ellroy che ho letto è questo capitolo che inaugura la trilogia che prende il nome dal suo protagonista, Lloyd Hopkins, ma da noi anche battezzata la “trilogia della Los Angeles nera” (come se Ellroy potesse anche raccontare storie che non sono più nere della pece in una notte senza luna).
In Italia fu tradotto e pubblicato sei anni dopo, nel 1990, dopo che Dalia nera, la prima storia del “L.A. Quartet”, aveva aperto la strada al suo successo anche qui da noi.
Lloyd Hopkins interpretato da James Woods.
La vicenda ruota appunto intorno a Lloyd Hopkins, poliziotto, che vediamo nel flashback ancora soldato della Guardia Nazionale nel pieno della rivolta di Watts, quartiere periferico di Los Angeles ad alta concentrazione di afroamericani: una rivolta violenta, durata sei giorni, che si concluse con almeno trentaquattro morti.
Anticipazione delle rivolte a venire in questa infuocata città dal nome innocente, probabilmente culminate in quella del 1992, quando furono assolti i quattro poliziotti che avevano fermato e pestato a morte l’afroamericano Rodney King.
E tutto questo continua sinistramente a suonare attuale.
Blood on the Moon in Italia uscì come Le strade dell’innocenza, e, come dicevo, il suo protagonista è Lloyd Hopkins, che nel 1983 (e quindi Ellroy scriveva ambientando al presente, considerato che il romanzo è uscito l’anno dopo), è diventato sergente di polizia, impegnato a risolvere un intricato caso di serial killer che dall’oggi risale fino a quello ieri.
Lloyd Hopkins ha un trauma alle spalle che coinvolge la sua famiglia, il che suona terribilmente autobiografico. È un poliziotto famoso e stimato, con il record di arresti, un autentico mastino. Ma noi sappiamo che nella vita, e nel passato, di Lloyd ci son ombre, più di una.
È la lotta del Bene contro il Male, ma il Male, anche se non trionfa, si annida perfino dentro il Bene. Il protagonista è sposato con tre figlie e diverse amanti, per fare addormentare le figlie racconta storie macabre che suonano molto vere: il fatto è che lui la sa più lunga, le ha già viste tutte, e vuole che le bimbe siano pronte e crescano preparate rinunciando a ogni forma d’innocenza.
Perché l’innocenza uccide.
James Ellroy ha detto che a Los Angeles arrivi spregiudicato, e riparti (se riparti) pregiudicato.
A me pare che prima di tutto lui sia il cantore di questa città che ha meno di due secoli di storia, ma è riuscita molto presto a diventare tra le più celebri al mondo.
Il cinema, che qui ha posato la sua capitale mondiale, ha sicuramente influito in modo determinante. Ma la città è diventata sinonimo di estremi: successo o fallimento, ricchezza o povertà. Tutto sembra poter accadere in fretta in questa megalopoli dall’anima nera che - forse - nessuno ha saputo raccontare come Ellroy.
Cop – Indagine ad alto rischio è il film basato su questo romanzo, il primo di una lunga serie tratta dalla letteratura di Ellroy, binomio che raggiunge il suo culmine con Los Angeles Confidential e i suoi due Oscar (miglior attrice non protagonista, Kim Basinger, e miglior sceneggiatura non originale, Brian Helgeland e il regista Curtis Hanson).
Il “cop” Lloyd Hopkins è interpretato da un nervosissimo James Woods, che sembra fatto di cocaina e caffè, mentre invece non lo si vede mai bere altro che cocacola (e caffè). Dal film sparisce ogni riferimento al passato di Lloyd, della rivolta di Watts non c’è traccia: il film è tutto incentrato sulla caccia al serial killer e al principio sembra un normale occasionale assassino psicopatico. Le vittime sono principalmente donne, il che non stupisce neanche un po’. James Woods mi pare perfettamente a suo agio nel ruolo. Memorabile l’incontro con una testimone che sembra uscita dal paginone centrale di una rivista mensile per soli uomini, con la quale il secondo incontro è un rovente ravvicinato sul ripiano della cucina,
Lloyd Hopkins/James Woods con la protagonista femminile, Lesley Ann Warren.
Charles Durning, sempre magnifica spalla, indimenticabile in “Tootsie”.
Il primo libro di Ellroy che ho letto è questo capitolo che inaugura la trilogia che prende il nome dal suo protagonista, Lloyd Hopkins, ma da noi anche battezzata la “trilogia della Los Angeles nera” (come se Ellroy potesse anche raccontare storie che non sono più nere della pece in una notte senza luna).
In Italia fu tradotto e pubblicato sei anni dopo, nel 1990, dopo che Dalia nera, la prima storia del “L.A. Quartet”, aveva aperto la strada al suo successo anche qui da noi.
Lloyd Hopkins interpretato da James Woods.
La vicenda ruota appunto intorno a Lloyd Hopkins, poliziotto, che vediamo nel flashback ancora soldato della Guardia Nazionale nel pieno della rivolta di Watts, quartiere periferico di Los Angeles ad alta concentrazione di afroamericani: una rivolta violenta, durata sei giorni, che si concluse con almeno trentaquattro morti.
Anticipazione delle rivolte a venire in questa infuocata città dal nome innocente, probabilmente culminate in quella del 1992, quando furono assolti i quattro poliziotti che avevano fermato e pestato a morte l’afroamericano Rodney King.
E tutto questo continua sinistramente a suonare attuale.
Blood on the Moon in Italia uscì come Le strade dell’innocenza, e, come dicevo, il suo protagonista è Lloyd Hopkins, che nel 1983 (e quindi Ellroy scriveva ambientando al presente, considerato che il romanzo è uscito l’anno dopo), è diventato sergente di polizia, impegnato a risolvere un intricato caso di serial killer che dall’oggi risale fino a quello ieri.
Lloyd Hopkins ha un trauma alle spalle che coinvolge la sua famiglia, il che suona terribilmente autobiografico. È un poliziotto famoso e stimato, con il record di arresti, un autentico mastino. Ma noi sappiamo che nella vita, e nel passato, di Lloyd ci son ombre, più di una.
È la lotta del Bene contro il Male, ma il Male, anche se non trionfa, si annida perfino dentro il Bene. Il protagonista è sposato con tre figlie e diverse amanti, per fare addormentare le figlie racconta storie macabre che suonano molto vere: il fatto è che lui la sa più lunga, le ha già viste tutte, e vuole che le bimbe siano pronte e crescano preparate rinunciando a ogni forma d’innocenza.
Perché l’innocenza uccide.
James Ellroy ha detto che a Los Angeles arrivi spregiudicato, e riparti (se riparti) pregiudicato.
A me pare che prima di tutto lui sia il cantore di questa città che ha meno di due secoli di storia, ma è riuscita molto presto a diventare tra le più celebri al mondo.
Il cinema, che qui ha posato la sua capitale mondiale, ha sicuramente influito in modo determinante. Ma la città è diventata sinonimo di estremi: successo o fallimento, ricchezza o povertà. Tutto sembra poter accadere in fretta in questa megalopoli dall’anima nera che - forse - nessuno ha saputo raccontare come Ellroy.
Cop – Indagine ad alto rischio è il film basato su questo romanzo, il primo di una lunga serie tratta dalla letteratura di Ellroy, binomio che raggiunge il suo culmine con Los Angeles Confidential e i suoi due Oscar (miglior attrice non protagonista, Kim Basinger, e miglior sceneggiatura non originale, Brian Helgeland e il regista Curtis Hanson).
Il “cop” Lloyd Hopkins è interpretato da un nervosissimo James Woods, che sembra fatto di cocaina e caffè, mentre invece non lo si vede mai bere altro che cocacola (e caffè). Dal film sparisce ogni riferimento al passato di Lloyd, della rivolta di Watts non c’è traccia: il film è tutto incentrato sulla caccia al serial killer e al principio sembra un normale occasionale assassino psicopatico. Le vittime sono principalmente donne, il che non stupisce neanche un po’. James Woods mi pare perfettamente a suo agio nel ruolo. Memorabile l’incontro con una testimone che sembra uscita dal paginone centrale di una rivista mensile per soli uomini, con la quale il secondo incontro è un rovente ravvicinato sul ripiano della cucina,
Lloyd Hopkins/James Woods con la protagonista femminile, Lesley Ann Warren.
Charles Durning, sempre magnifica spalla, indimenticabile in “Tootsie”.
September 5, 2018
Το νουάρ είναι τελικά είδος Χθόνιο, με τις λογοτεχνικές ρίζες του βαθιά χωμένες στη λάσπη, στην οποία εκβάλει η ανθρώπινη ψυχή. Είναι ταυτόχρονα και είδος Ρομαντικό, καθώς κάτω από τον κυνισμό και το έρεβος που το περιβάλλει υποκρύπτεται η θλίψη, η απώλεια και ταυτόχρονα η αγάπη για το όμορφο και το αθώο - έστω θνησιγενές, έστω πρόσκαιρο.
Το "Αίμα στο φεγγάρι" είναι ένα απόσταγμα noir αισθητικής (όχι αστυνομικό, όχι θρίλερ - noir!), μια σπουδή στο μαύρο, ένα πεισιθανάτιο μέλημα, αυτοαναφορικό, λυσιτελές και αύταρκες ως αισθητική και ύφος. Σίγουρα η πλοκή του δεν είναι "στεγανή" και ο ήρωάς του μοιάζει να κατέχει δυνάμεις Υπερανθρώπου. Ουδεμία σημασία έχει, καθότι στο genre αυτό είναι οι αδυναμίες του που "παράγουν" στυλ, άρα λογοτεχνία, και αυτές τον καθιστούν επώδυνα ευάλωτο, μια φιγούρα πλάνητα, περιφερόμενου ως "άχθος αρούρης".
Τι και αν η σωματική του ρώμη είναι μεγάλη, το δέμας του εκείνο ενός Τιτάνα; Η ψυχή του αναζητά αέναα τη γαλήνη, την παραμυθία, την καρτερία που προσφέρει η Γυναίκα ως έννοια, ως φάσμα και μετείκασμα. Και ακόμα συχνότερα, η Ιδεατή γυναίκα τον προδίδει, αφού δεν πρόκειται για πλάσμα του κόσμου ετούτου, με σάρκα και οστά. Μια Δουλτσινέα δεν (ανα)γνωρίζει τον Ιππότη που θα πεθάνει για χάρη της, παρά μόνο περαστικά στα όνειρά της.
Και η αθωότητα; Λέξη-κλειδί στο υπέροχο αυτό βιβλίο που στάζει αίμα και βία από κάθε του σελίδα. Ο ήρωας του noir, όπως και ο Δον Κιχώτης, δεν ματώνει για τα αργύρια ούτε για το κλέος ή την αρχή. Δεν προσμένει υστεροφημία, ούτε προσδοκά μεταθανάτια δικαίωση. Θα ματώσει όμως κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά για να θάλψει την αθωότητα σε ένα κόσμο στερημένο νοήματος, πλην μόνο εκείνου που ενοικεί στην καθημαγμένη ψυχή του.
Τελικά, ο άντρας που αγαπούσε τις γυναίκες, θα συνεχίσει να προσπίπτει στην ιδεατή θηλυκή θεότητα, μιας και οι… χθόνιες γυναίκες θα συνεχίσουν να τον εγκαταλείπουν. Ανέστιος και εσαεί αποσυνάγωγος, θα αναζητήσει τη γαλήνη στο ματωμένο φεγγάρι που μεσουρανεί στα μύχια τής ύπαρξής του. Και εκεί, επιτέλους, θα αναπαυθεί.
Το "Αίμα στο φεγγάρι" είναι ένα απόσταγμα noir αισθητικής (όχι αστυνομικό, όχι θρίλερ - noir!), μια σπουδή στο μαύρο, ένα πεισιθανάτιο μέλημα, αυτοαναφορικό, λυσιτελές και αύταρκες ως αισθητική και ύφος. Σίγουρα η πλοκή του δεν είναι "στεγανή" και ο ήρωάς του μοιάζει να κατέχει δυνάμεις Υπερανθρώπου. Ουδεμία σημασία έχει, καθότι στο genre αυτό είναι οι αδυναμίες του που "παράγουν" στυλ, άρα λογοτεχνία, και αυτές τον καθιστούν επώδυνα ευάλωτο, μια φιγούρα πλάνητα, περιφερόμενου ως "άχθος αρούρης".
Τι και αν η σωματική του ρώμη είναι μεγάλη, το δέμας του εκείνο ενός Τιτάνα; Η ψυχή του αναζητά αέναα τη γαλήνη, την παραμυθία, την καρτερία που προσφέρει η Γυναίκα ως έννοια, ως φάσμα και μετείκασμα. Και ακόμα συχνότερα, η Ιδεατή γυναίκα τον προδίδει, αφού δεν πρόκειται για πλάσμα του κόσμου ετούτου, με σάρκα και οστά. Μια Δουλτσινέα δεν (ανα)γνωρίζει τον Ιππότη που θα πεθάνει για χάρη της, παρά μόνο περαστικά στα όνειρά της.
Και η αθωότητα; Λέξη-κλειδί στο υπέροχο αυτό βιβλίο που στάζει αίμα και βία από κάθε του σελίδα. Ο ήρωας του noir, όπως και ο Δον Κιχώτης, δεν ματώνει για τα αργύρια ούτε για το κλέος ή την αρχή. Δεν προσμένει υστεροφημία, ούτε προσδοκά μεταθανάτια δικαίωση. Θα ματώσει όμως κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά για να θάλψει την αθωότητα σε ένα κόσμο στερημένο νοήματος, πλην μόνο εκείνου που ενοικεί στην καθημαγμένη ψυχή του.
Τελικά, ο άντρας που αγαπούσε τις γυναίκες, θα συνεχίσει να προσπίπτει στην ιδεατή θηλυκή θεότητα, μιας και οι… χθόνιες γυναίκες θα συνεχίσουν να τον εγκαταλείπουν. Ανέστιος και εσαεί αποσυνάγωγος, θα αναζητήσει τη γαλήνη στο ματωμένο φεγγάρι που μεσουρανεί στα μύχια τής ύπαρξής του. Και εκεί, επιτέλους, θα αναπαυθεί.
May 6, 2023
another ferocious tour de force by ellroy.
quick warning: the opening chapter’s admittedly a bit goofy and over the top, but once the brutal and necessary set up is out of the way —- it’s off to the goddamed races, my friend.
in the id-infused hero of lloyd hopkins, ellroy’s created a brilliant but disturbed knight of a cop, whose descent into hell and back in order to save something good and destroy a great evil, is the spine of this muscular and unsettling thriller. much like every ellroy book i’ve read (and i’m reading them all in order so far), this one’s another soulful tale of revenge and redemption, told with a cinematic flair by the demon dog of literature himself.
for my money, ellroy is one of the top crime writers of all time. his graphic-novel-esque prose buries deep holes in your mind and plants there the most provocative images and unforgettably gothic scenes, all set against an 80s backdrop of an urban and volatile L.A. — one that you can’t easily forget.
i find ellroy is best enjoyed if you mute any of your nitpicks and completely surrender to the staccato morality-seeking madness of the manic narrator and the audacity of the author’s ambition and vision, which he nails here more times than not.
‘blood in the moon’ is a tetris-packed, violent, emotional, problematic, twisty-turny and hella cathartic ride of a novel.
ellroy gets at something subconscious and primal here — but only IF you trust yourself to go there and come back fully intact.
otherwise, i’d avoid this book like the plague.
quick warning: the opening chapter’s admittedly a bit goofy and over the top, but once the brutal and necessary set up is out of the way —- it’s off to the goddamed races, my friend.
in the id-infused hero of lloyd hopkins, ellroy’s created a brilliant but disturbed knight of a cop, whose descent into hell and back in order to save something good and destroy a great evil, is the spine of this muscular and unsettling thriller. much like every ellroy book i’ve read (and i’m reading them all in order so far), this one’s another soulful tale of revenge and redemption, told with a cinematic flair by the demon dog of literature himself.
for my money, ellroy is one of the top crime writers of all time. his graphic-novel-esque prose buries deep holes in your mind and plants there the most provocative images and unforgettably gothic scenes, all set against an 80s backdrop of an urban and volatile L.A. — one that you can’t easily forget.
i find ellroy is best enjoyed if you mute any of your nitpicks and completely surrender to the staccato morality-seeking madness of the manic narrator and the audacity of the author’s ambition and vision, which he nails here more times than not.
‘blood in the moon’ is a tetris-packed, violent, emotional, problematic, twisty-turny and hella cathartic ride of a novel.
ellroy gets at something subconscious and primal here — but only IF you trust yourself to go there and come back fully intact.
otherwise, i’d avoid this book like the plague.
July 20, 2018
“It’s because outside of the major dreams everything is always changing, and even though you keep doing the same things, you’re looking for new answers.”
- James Ellroy, Blood on the Moon
The first book in a trilogy of books (the L.A. Noir or Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy) that predate the Ellroy genius that is the The L.A. Quartet (The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz) and the Underworld USA Trilogy (American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand, Blood's a Rover).
'Blood on the Moon' has many of the elements that will be repeated in most of his later cop novels (especially those in LA Quartet): idealized women, mothers, sexual obsession, dark history, inner demons, etc. This isn't nearly as good as the best of the LA Quartet, but not bad. It is like discovering a wet moth just after it has climbed out of its cocoon. It is early, imperfect, but contains a lot of creepy potential.
If you are new to Ellroy, don't start here. If you are already an Ellroy fan, this is still worth the time.
- James Ellroy, Blood on the Moon
The first book in a trilogy of books (the L.A. Noir or Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy) that predate the Ellroy genius that is the The L.A. Quartet (The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz) and the Underworld USA Trilogy (American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand, Blood's a Rover).
'Blood on the Moon' has many of the elements that will be repeated in most of his later cop novels (especially those in LA Quartet): idealized women, mothers, sexual obsession, dark history, inner demons, etc. This isn't nearly as good as the best of the LA Quartet, but not bad. It is like discovering a wet moth just after it has climbed out of its cocoon. It is early, imperfect, but contains a lot of creepy potential.
If you are new to Ellroy, don't start here. If you are already an Ellroy fan, this is still worth the time.
March 28, 2019
Ένα έργο το οποίο θα μπορούσε να χαρακτηριστεί και ως αστική ποίηση! Ο Τζέιμς Ελρόι στην πιο ευαίσθητη στιγμή του, γράφει ένα από τα καλύτερα αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα όλων των εποχών...
March 20, 2021
James Ellroy is one of my favorite authors. Don't know why I neglected the Lloyd Hopkins series for so long. Love the Los Angeles setting and era. Can't wait to read 'Because the Night'.
August 13, 2012
Ellroy writes with intensity. As I’m sure everyone knows who is remotely interested in his writing, Ellroy has been obsessed with the death of his mother (nee Hilliker) whose murder was never solved. The Black Dahlia, written after this book, was an unsatisfactory attempt at atonement, and the books I’ve read of his continue to obsess with familial relationships.
That’s especially true of Blood on the Moon, first in the Lloyd Hopkins police series. Lloyd is that special cop who sees beyond the obvious and has a brilliant track record catching the bad guys. But his relationship with Janice, his wife, whom he loves, and his children, whom he wishes above all to protect by telling them stories of his life on the streets lest they experience them themselves, and his senile parents whom he promised to keep in their home, and his brother who he coerces to maintain them --“are you going to kill me Lloyd when our parents are dead?” Why? because of some incident at Christmas when Lloyd was 8, even if it was rather horrific, and the women he saves and sleeps with. All of these relationships form a convoluted psyche that Ellroy explores brilliantly, I think. Lloyd’s affair with Kathleen, a former schoolmate and now feminist bookstore owner reveals his “rapacious ego” and driven obsession as a foil to the obsession of the serial killer, whom Lloyd believes to be a gay man driven to kill women because of his own tormented self-identity.
Hints to Ellroy’s obsession with the death of his mother abound on the pages. At one particularly gruesome homicide, Lloyd cuts down the 29-year-old female victim, before the ME has had a chance to check out the scene, cradles her body in his arms, and murmurs how he won’t let her murderer go free and he’ll render justice. It reeks of romance, vengeance, and an idealized perception of women. We learn the origin of Lloyd’s obsessive behavior toward the end of the book, although I found the scene less than convincing. His relationship with Kathleen also had a surreal quality to it that I thought jarred with the rest of the book.
There’s a thread in modern detective literature that the bad guys can’t get caught unless the rules are broken. Lloyd certainly breaks many of them in his own personal vigilante quest for his personal justice. It’s a theme I find insidiously subversive, and really if Lloyd had followed the rules in this book the carnage would have been much less.
That’s especially true of Blood on the Moon, first in the Lloyd Hopkins police series. Lloyd is that special cop who sees beyond the obvious and has a brilliant track record catching the bad guys. But his relationship with Janice, his wife, whom he loves, and his children, whom he wishes above all to protect by telling them stories of his life on the streets lest they experience them themselves, and his senile parents whom he promised to keep in their home, and his brother who he coerces to maintain them --“are you going to kill me Lloyd when our parents are dead?” Why? because of some incident at Christmas when Lloyd was 8, even if it was rather horrific, and the women he saves and sleeps with. All of these relationships form a convoluted psyche that Ellroy explores brilliantly, I think. Lloyd’s affair with Kathleen, a former schoolmate and now feminist bookstore owner reveals his “rapacious ego” and driven obsession as a foil to the obsession of the serial killer, whom Lloyd believes to be a gay man driven to kill women because of his own tormented self-identity.
Hints to Ellroy’s obsession with the death of his mother abound on the pages. At one particularly gruesome homicide, Lloyd cuts down the 29-year-old female victim, before the ME has had a chance to check out the scene, cradles her body in his arms, and murmurs how he won’t let her murderer go free and he’ll render justice. It reeks of romance, vengeance, and an idealized perception of women. We learn the origin of Lloyd’s obsessive behavior toward the end of the book, although I found the scene less than convincing. His relationship with Kathleen also had a surreal quality to it that I thought jarred with the rest of the book.
There’s a thread in modern detective literature that the bad guys can’t get caught unless the rules are broken. Lloyd certainly breaks many of them in his own personal vigilante quest for his personal justice. It’s a theme I find insidiously subversive, and really if Lloyd had followed the rules in this book the carnage would have been much less.
August 20, 2018
Αρκετά μέτριο...
Στα συν η ωραία γραφή. Ειδικά σε ότι έχει να κάνει με τον δολοφόνο, ο συγγραφέας σε βάζει μέσα στο μυαλό του.
Στα πλυν ο αστυνομικός Λοιντ με τις υπερβολικές ικανότητες. Παίζει να μπορεί να μυρίσει ένα φλιτζάνι καφέ και να σου πει από πιο χωράφι της Κολομβίας βγήκε ο καφές.
Στα συν η ωραία γραφή. Ειδικά σε ότι έχει να κάνει με τον δολοφόνο, ο συγγραφέας σε βάζει μέσα στο μυαλό του.
Στα πλυν ο αστυνομικός Λοιντ με τις υπερβολικές ικανότητες. Παίζει να μπορεί να μυρίσει ένα φλιτζάνι καφέ και να σου πει από πιο χωράφι της Κολομβίας βγήκε ο καφές.
October 8, 2016
I started reading James Ellroy with his Los Angeles Quartet, beginning with The Black Dahlia and going forward. Although there are still more of his later books I haven't yet cracked, I always had this sneaking suspicion that his earlier works would be interesting.
And so, Blood on the Moon (1984) is the first volume of his Lloyd Hopkins trilogy. Lloyd is an intense homicide detective with an incredible number of arrests. Although happily married, he tends to develop relationships with women he meets in his line of work.
This particular novel is a dark one indeed -- from a writer known for his dark places. It deals with a serial murderer of women whose crimes are a distant commemoration of a sexual assault on him while in high school. The crime is re-played in the book's first chapter. Keep the details in mind, because, although you will not know it for over a hundred pages, but they are the key to the story.
There is a rawness to Blood on the Moon that makes reading it an intense experience. But then all of Ellroy is pretty intense, and not to be embarked on if you are prone to depression. (Which, fortunately, I am not.)
And so, Blood on the Moon (1984) is the first volume of his Lloyd Hopkins trilogy. Lloyd is an intense homicide detective with an incredible number of arrests. Although happily married, he tends to develop relationships with women he meets in his line of work.
This particular novel is a dark one indeed -- from a writer known for his dark places. It deals with a serial murderer of women whose crimes are a distant commemoration of a sexual assault on him while in high school. The crime is re-played in the book's first chapter. Keep the details in mind, because, although you will not know it for over a hundred pages, but they are the key to the story.
There is a rawness to Blood on the Moon that makes reading it an intense experience. But then all of Ellroy is pretty intense, and not to be embarked on if you are prone to depression. (Which, fortunately, I am not.)
February 26, 2016
Ακόμη ένα δυνατό hard-boiled αστυνομικό του James Ellroy. Μου αρέσει πολύ και ανυπομονώ να διαβάσω κι άλλα.
December 18, 2012
What amazed me most about this book is not how terrible it is- there are plenty of terrible books out there- but how high the reviews for it are. I have never read a book I thought was so completely awful on every front that clearly so many other people have really enjoyed. Go figure.
I couldn't even enjoy this book on a guilty-pleasure level. The prose was just so terrible, the characters were not only flat but ridiculous, and the plot laughable. This man killed a woman- obviously the criminal is a homosexual who was abused once as a teenager! It's all so clear to Lloyd Hopkin's genius mind!
I prefer my genius characters to base their intuition on actual facts, actually. That's what makes these types of books clever (cleverness is something this novel does not even aspire to).
Probably what bugged me the most were the female "characters". They are only there to be reviled or to have their innocence protected- and obviously they all can't wait to have sex with any penis that walks through the door. I certainly don't need my books to be gender-PC. I love me some James Bond on occasion, for instance. But at least some of the Bond females have two brain cells, or some bravery, or enough character to be the villain. Not in Lloyd Hopkin's world, though.
Perhaps the funniest part is the faith that the characters seem to have in the power of poetry and the written word. "I'll erase him with my words!" she cries. Well let me tell you, sweetheart. If turgid prose could actually vanquish an enemy, James Ellroy would be the king of the hill.
I couldn't even enjoy this book on a guilty-pleasure level. The prose was just so terrible, the characters were not only flat but ridiculous, and the plot laughable. This man killed a woman- obviously the criminal is a homosexual who was abused once as a teenager! It's all so clear to Lloyd Hopkin's genius mind!
I prefer my genius characters to base their intuition on actual facts, actually. That's what makes these types of books clever (cleverness is something this novel does not even aspire to).
Probably what bugged me the most were the female "characters". They are only there to be reviled or to have their innocence protected- and obviously they all can't wait to have sex with any penis that walks through the door. I certainly don't need my books to be gender-PC. I love me some James Bond on occasion, for instance. But at least some of the Bond females have two brain cells, or some bravery, or enough character to be the villain. Not in Lloyd Hopkin's world, though.
Perhaps the funniest part is the faith that the characters seem to have in the power of poetry and the written word. "I'll erase him with my words!" she cries. Well let me tell you, sweetheart. If turgid prose could actually vanquish an enemy, James Ellroy would be the king of the hill.
October 24, 2010
this is early ellroy, before he became stylistically himself, and as such is strangely awkward at times, even laughable in moments in dialogue and characterization. but still, none of that really matters; the man is just so forceful, so totally convincing, so full of energy and anger and forward momentum, the book is not only alive in your hand, but cutting you open and digging around inside your body and making you feel and see and remember and dream and think things, all kinds of things, all the time. the guy's just a genius; he makes everybody else just look so staid and temperate and humdrum and WEAK. and i don't mean because of the violence (although of course the violence is a symptom). i mean that ellroy is never writing; he's never just making stuff up to move things along, to pass time, to tell stories, to "be a writer"; he's casting himself onto the page, every ounce of his being, all the time, without ever holding anything back (because really, what could he possibly have held back here??), rebuilding the whole world over and over and over and over, always trying to make sense of things, explain everything to himself and his characters, and always (of course) failing (because who could succeed?) and (of course) trying to make sense of failure (and maybe succeeding?). there are plenty of books that deal in madness, but the madness in ellroy's books is the world; the madmen are often the sanest characters; and the sanest characters most symptomatic of the larger madness. some guy below calls this book "pulp," and i suppose it is. it doesn't give a shit about anything but everything, and i wouldn't be surprised to learn he wrote it all start to finish in one week-long grief-stricken speed-induced session, edited it hastily one monday morning, and then went out and ate a steak. i love this man, someone should give him a medal. if he wasn't so obviously insane i'd want to meet him.
January 14, 2016
A dark and multi-faceted crime noir that oozes Ellroy; elaborate crimes and a deadly depiction of humanity lay the foundation for novel driven by sex and death. Ellroy's characters really come to life in BLOOD ON THE MOON but none more than the protagonist. Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins is not a nice man; his moral compass is skewed, his sense of right and wrong often blur into one another yet he's got a bullish determination to protect the innocent (particularly woman) - it's this tainted view point to the LA Noir trilogy's first book that paints the protagonist in such an interesting way that you cant help but want to read to see how Hopkins' train-wreck personality pans out. BLOOD ON THE MOON is captivating and a true page turner.
June 16, 2011
I normally love James Ellroy’s style and the hard-boiled/noir novels he writes. But Blood on the Moon just seems to be lacking the spark and excitement that I normally find in an Ellroy novel. Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopkin is a character written to be hated and he doesn’t seem to be written well; sure I get the concept of a protagonist been hated but Hopkin feels sloppy, like if found all the most annoying habits and jammed it into this character. It is interesting to see how much Ellroy has improved over the years and after reading My Dark Places, how much his life was in the book. I would recommend reading the LA Quartet over the LA Noir series. I think I will read the rest of the books just to see the improvement in James Ellroy’s writing.
February 27, 2014
I've read James Ellroy before and this book didn't reach the excellence of the others. And what I call the yuck factor kicked in. I can do without all the blood and guts description. YUCK!
And to top it off, it was audio (CD) from the library which skipped. That didn't help my enjoyment.
I've got one more Ellroy on my shelf and supposedly it's the best of his top novels. I hope so.
And to top it off, it was audio (CD) from the library which skipped. That didn't help my enjoyment.
I've got one more Ellroy on my shelf and supposedly it's the best of his top novels. I hope so.
December 14, 2021
σκληρό, κυνικό πιο noir και από noir
March 14, 2015
Το βιβλίο φυσικά το άρχισα την τελευταία μέρα του 2013 και μόλις πριν από λίγο το τελείωσα. Πολύ δυνατή αρχή, με ένα αρκετά βίαιο αστυνομικό έργο από τον μαιτρ του είδους Τζέιμς Ελρόι. Οφείλω να παραδεχτώ ότι έχει κάποιες αδυναμίες σαν ιστορία, μιας και είναι από τις πρώτες του συγγραφικές προσπάθειες, αλλά σαν τελικό αποτέλεσμα με ικανοποίησε.
Πρόκειται για το πρώτο βιβλίο της τριλογίας με ήρωα τον αστυνομικό του Λος Άντζελες Λόιντ Χόπκινς, που θα έλεγα ότι είναι ο ορισμός του αντιήρωα σε αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Έχει ένα σκοτεινό παρελθόν από τα παιδικά του χρόνια, που τον έκανε ευαίσθητο στην μουσική και τους δυνατούς ήχους ραδιοφώνων και τηλεοράσεων, είναι παντρεμένος για είκοσι χρόνια με την γυναίκα που γνώρισε όταν πήγαιναν και οι δυο γυμνάσιο αλλά την απατά με άλλες γυναίκες για περίεργους λόγους, έχει τρεις κόρες στις οποίες τα βράδια, αντί για παραμύθια και ανέκδοτα, διηγείται άγριες αστυνομικές ιστορίες και ξεκίνησε την αστυνομική του καριέρα με έναν φόνο. Τώρα, θα μπλεχτεί σε μια ιστορία δολοφονιών γυναικών, με θύτη έναν σεξομανή κατά συρροή δολοφόνο, με τον Χόπκινς να πρέπει να βρει τους λόγους για τους οποίους κάνει ό,τι κάνει ο τύπος, έτσι ώστε να τον συλλάβει ή να τον σκοτώσει για να τελειώσει το αιματοκύλισμα αθώων γυναικών. Ο παρανοϊκός δολοφόνος παραμένει ασύλληπτος για δυο δεκαετίες και οι ιδέες του για την θανάτωση των θυμάτων του δείχνουν να είναι ατελείωτες.
Αδυναμίες εντόπισα σε κάποιους λίγους διαλόγους, που μου φάνηκαν κάπως τραβηγμένοι και μάλλον αμήχανοι και στον τρόπο που έφτασε ο Χόπκινς στο συμπέρασμα για τον σεξομανή δολοφόνο, δίχως να έχει απτά στοιχεία στην κατοχή του ακόμα. Όμως η γραφή του δείχνει από τόσο νωρίς την δυναμική που έχει η γραφή του Ελρόι τώρα, αυτή που γνώρισα στο Λος Άντζελες εμπιστευτικό και τους Δρόμους του δολοφόνου. Η ιστορία δεν είναι και τόσο περίπλοκη και οι εκπλήξεις όχι πολλές, όμως διαβάζεται με ενδιαφέρον από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος. Η δράση είναι κάμποση, όπως και η αγωνία για την κατάληξη, οι σκηνές βίας μπόλικες και αρκετά αιματηρές και η ατμόσφαιρα σούπερ.
Γενικά έμεινα ευχαριστημένος με το βιβλίο, άλλωστε δεν πιστεύω ότι θα υπάρξει βιβλίο του Ελρόι που να μην με διασκεδάσει με τις άγριες ιστορίες που αρέσκεται να διηγείται.
Πρόκειται για το πρώτο βιβλίο της τριλογίας με ήρωα τον αστυνομικό του Λος Άντζελες Λόιντ Χόπκινς, που θα έλεγα ότι είναι ο ορισμός του αντιήρωα σε αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Έχει ένα σκοτεινό παρελθόν από τα παιδικά του χρόνια, που τον έκανε ευαίσθητο στην μουσική και τους δυνατούς ήχους ραδιοφώνων και τηλεοράσεων, είναι παντρεμένος για είκοσι χρόνια με την γυναίκα που γνώρισε όταν πήγαιναν και οι δυο γυμνάσιο αλλά την απατά με άλλες γυναίκες για περίεργους λόγους, έχει τρεις κόρες στις οποίες τα βράδια, αντί για παραμύθια και ανέκδοτα, διηγείται άγριες αστυνομικές ιστορίες και ξεκίνησε την αστυνομική του καριέρα με έναν φόνο. Τώρα, θα μπλεχτεί σε μια ιστορία δολοφονιών γυναικών, με θύτη έναν σεξομανή κατά συρροή δολοφόνο, με τον Χόπκινς να πρέπει να βρει τους λόγους για τους οποίους κάνει ό,τι κάνει ο τύπος, έτσι ώστε να τον συλλάβει ή να τον σκοτώσει για να τελειώσει το αιματοκύλισμα αθώων γυναικών. Ο παρανοϊκός δολοφόνος παραμένει ασύλληπτος για δυο δεκαετίες και οι ιδέες του για την θανάτωση των θυμάτων του δείχνουν να είναι ατελείωτες.
Αδυναμίες εντόπισα σε κάποιους λίγους διαλόγους, που μου φάνηκαν κάπως τραβηγμένοι και μάλλον αμήχανοι και στον τρόπο που έφτασε ο Χόπκινς στο συμπέρασμα για τον σεξομανή δολοφόνο, δίχως να έχει απτά στοιχεία στην κατοχή του ακόμα. Όμως η γραφή του δείχνει από τόσο νωρίς την δυναμική που έχει η γραφή του Ελρόι τώρα, αυτή που γνώρισα στο Λος Άντζελες εμπιστευτικό και τους Δρόμους του δολοφόνου. Η ιστορία δεν είναι και τόσο περίπλοκη και οι εκπλήξεις όχι πολλές, όμως διαβάζεται με ενδιαφέρον από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος. Η δράση είναι κάμποση, όπως και η αγωνία για την κατάληξη, οι σκηνές βίας μπόλικες και αρκετά αιματηρές και η ατμόσφαιρα σούπερ.
Γενικά έμεινα ευχαριστημένος με το βιβλίο, άλλωστε δεν πιστεύω ότι θα υπάρξει βιβλίο του Ελρόι που να μην με διασκεδάσει με τις άγριες ιστορίες που αρέσκεται να διηγείται.
July 13, 2016
It’s impossible to objectively rate this one because I read Ellroy’s later books where he had really mastered his prose and format and that kinda fucked this one up for me so I’m just gonna write a giant ugly paragraph and not worry about it. There’s plenty of spots where the future Ellroy peeks out, and you would never call this rote or routine crime fiction stuff, but it really sticks close to the detective genre and its attendant tropes...granted Ellroy does this shit really well but I still that his later stuff is pretty much a genre all its own. The protagonist, Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins, is definitely fascinating if a little hard to like at times. The serial killer was definitely creepy as shit and well-drawn. Ellroy’s usual obsession with women in all its complexity certainly rears its head in the very different ways the killer and his hunter view and interact with women, which I always find interesting. Worthwhile reading but definitely a stepping stone for the author (and probably reader) to bigger and better things.
April 23, 2021
2.5 stars.
I was warned to not make Blood on the Moon my first Ellroy novel, but I saw the word "noir" and got all excited. Needless to say, I didn't love this. Specifically:
Hopkins has "feelings" (which almost always turn out to be true) as much as he does actual investigation work. I was starting to think that I was reading a book about a cop with psychic powers.
Chalk outlines on dead bodies are things for comedies and cartoons, not actual police work. Whenever I see a serious crime novel with a chalk outline, I know the author either didn't do much research or watches way too much TV.
Ellroy can't be accused of using subtle foreshadowing. For no reason whatsoever, a character shows another character the hidden knife blade that pops out of his boot. Ellroy might as well grab you by the shoulders and scream into your face: "THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER!!!"
A woman who is fighting for her life from a serial killer suddenly stops everything and sings a pop song as she is stabbed in the heart. The scene was so bad I actually cringed.
It gets a half of a star extra because I liked the line "I think I just came blood".
I was warned to not make Blood on the Moon my first Ellroy novel, but I saw the word "noir" and got all excited. Needless to say, I didn't love this. Specifically:
Hopkins has "feelings" (which almost always turn out to be true) as much as he does actual investigation work. I was starting to think that I was reading a book about a cop with psychic powers.
Chalk outlines on dead bodies are things for comedies and cartoons, not actual police work. Whenever I see a serious crime novel with a chalk outline, I know the author either didn't do much research or watches way too much TV.
Ellroy can't be accused of using subtle foreshadowing. For no reason whatsoever, a character shows another character the hidden knife blade that pops out of his boot. Ellroy might as well grab you by the shoulders and scream into your face: "THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER!!!"
A woman who is fighting for her life from a serial killer suddenly stops everything and sings a pop song as she is stabbed in the heart. The scene was so bad I actually cringed.
It gets a half of a star extra because I liked the line "I think I just came blood".
May 26, 2016
Duri, sporchi, cattivi, problematici: aggettivi che accomunano tutti i protagonisti di questo libro, quelli che stanno dalla parte del bene così come quelli che stanno dalla parte del male, al punto che il serial killer e il suo cacciatore hanno percorsi di vita e tipi fisici tale da poterli scambiare per fratelli, forza e motivazioni tali per cui nessuno dei due può sopraffare l'altro.
Dovrà intervenire una terza persona per eliminare il male e salvare il bene, anche se è solo un filo in più di innocenza che li distingue.
Dovrà intervenire una terza persona per eliminare il male e salvare il bene, anche se è solo un filo in più di innocenza che li distingue.
April 16, 2019
This book is NOT for the faint of heart. If Stephen King, Richard Stark and Jim Thompson were to give birth to a boy his name would be James Ellroy. Quentin Tarantino should option these three books for his next movies. The writing is reminiscent of early Stephen King with shades of the classic EC Horror Comics blended with 1970's true crime magazines like True Detective.
June 28, 2021
James Ellroy’s Blood on the Moon introduces LAPD Detective Sargent Lloyd Hopkins, a “genius” homicide investigator with a reputation for solving tough cases. First published in 1984, the book contains what are now a set of common tropes.
Hopkins is a rogue cop working against the strictures of the department that employs him. His self-sworn duty to protect the innocent is born of his own childhood trauma. He can be as single-minded, violent, and relentless as the killers her pursues. He understands how they think because the traumas that distorted their minds are similar to the ones that shaped his own. Finally, as the author himself notes in his preface to the L.A. Noir trilogy, the final climax wherein the cop must fight the psychotic killer one-on-one has since become a cliché.
None of this makes the book feel stale. If these tropes have become common, it’s because they’re compelling, especially in the hands of a good writer. Ellroy tells a hell of a story and has an extraordinary ability to weave a complex plot in which the many strands come together in unexpected ways.
Ellroy paints a dark portrait of early 1980s Los Angeles. Somehow, his world manages to be harder and more bleak than those portrayed by Jim Thompson, James M. Cain, David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, and Horace McCoy. In their novels, you feel like you’re following a few unfortunate characters stuck in a hellish corner of society. Blood on the Moon makes you feel like the whole world is hell.
The violence is graphic and disturbing. Many of the cops are crooked or not very bright or both. The LAPD is corrupted by ego and internal politics. The streets are crawling with prostitutes, drug dealers, scammers, and killers. Lloyd Hopkins' own home is a place of strife. His marriage is crumbling while his childhood home is a place of near despair. There’s little break from the darkness.
In his essay The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler said that the detective hero “must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.” Lloyd Hopkins, the best man in his world, is impulsive and short-tempered. He can be violent, even against his friends and supporters. He’s a compulsive womanizer. If this is the best man the dark side of Los Angeles could produce, what kind of world was that?
Ellroy does an excellent job in portraying his killer’s inner demons and how they manifest. His account of how Hopkins tracks the man down is riveting.
This is a well-written tale that brings a whole seedy world to life. The story will keep you turning the pages, but the darkness of it will weigh on you even after you’ve finished.
I may read the remaining books in the Hopkins trilogy, but I’ll need a break first, a little daylight in between these descents into Ellroy’s hell.
Hopkins is a rogue cop working against the strictures of the department that employs him. His self-sworn duty to protect the innocent is born of his own childhood trauma. He can be as single-minded, violent, and relentless as the killers her pursues. He understands how they think because the traumas that distorted their minds are similar to the ones that shaped his own. Finally, as the author himself notes in his preface to the L.A. Noir trilogy, the final climax wherein the cop must fight the psychotic killer one-on-one has since become a cliché.
None of this makes the book feel stale. If these tropes have become common, it’s because they’re compelling, especially in the hands of a good writer. Ellroy tells a hell of a story and has an extraordinary ability to weave a complex plot in which the many strands come together in unexpected ways.
Ellroy paints a dark portrait of early 1980s Los Angeles. Somehow, his world manages to be harder and more bleak than those portrayed by Jim Thompson, James M. Cain, David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, and Horace McCoy. In their novels, you feel like you’re following a few unfortunate characters stuck in a hellish corner of society. Blood on the Moon makes you feel like the whole world is hell.
The violence is graphic and disturbing. Many of the cops are crooked or not very bright or both. The LAPD is corrupted by ego and internal politics. The streets are crawling with prostitutes, drug dealers, scammers, and killers. Lloyd Hopkins' own home is a place of strife. His marriage is crumbling while his childhood home is a place of near despair. There’s little break from the darkness.
In his essay The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler said that the detective hero “must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.” Lloyd Hopkins, the best man in his world, is impulsive and short-tempered. He can be violent, even against his friends and supporters. He’s a compulsive womanizer. If this is the best man the dark side of Los Angeles could produce, what kind of world was that?
Ellroy does an excellent job in portraying his killer’s inner demons and how they manifest. His account of how Hopkins tracks the man down is riveting.
This is a well-written tale that brings a whole seedy world to life. The story will keep you turning the pages, but the darkness of it will weigh on you even after you’ve finished.
I may read the remaining books in the Hopkins trilogy, but I’ll need a break first, a little daylight in between these descents into Ellroy’s hell.
August 31, 2024
Blood on the Moon is signature 80s serial killer worship. It's considered early Ellroy, and it's amazing how much his writing matured over the next few years (Black Dahlia was only a few years away!). This first novel in the Lloyd Hopkins series demonstrates Ellroy's unique voice, but it's nothing close to what's in store.
The first scene introduces the three antagonists, and Ellroy narrows it to the primary killer's identity at about a third of the way through. The only piece left to uncover is the killer's name. Lloyd identifies the threat, but ineptly fails to recognize the immediate danger:
Ellroy is a crime writer after all, and the opening scene is a graphic, brutal rape:
The violence settles down a bit, but it's never far away:
This leaves the spotlight on the characters themselves more than the plot. Unfortunately even though the characters have personalities, but they’re still cardboard thin, and fall apart under only light scrutiny. Lloyd himself is as criminal, and nearly as damaged as the killer, but he ultimately landed in law enforcement. He's chasing a "white light", a concept that Ellroy never really develops. His 'sidekick,' Dutch, is a veteran cop who appreciates Lloyd's genius for solving crime. Dutch is the only truly likeable character mainly because he's more relatable than the rest of the frail and unbalanced cast. The women often fight back, but they're no more than fodder for the killer.
Lloyd's a womanizer, devoted to his children, but doomed to lose his wife as expected in any generic cop story. The women he sees on the side are free-wheeling, future collateral victims.
Worst of all is the psychobabble Ellroy uses to explain the homosexual motives of the killer, and Kathleen McCarthy's sentimental pseudo-feminism. It's as if he wants to champion the underdog, but doesn't have the information, nor any personally relatable experience to do it properly.
Blood on the Moon is more style than substance, likely more interesting for fans who are curious about the progress of his career, and those who are satisfied with boilerplate 80s serial killer stories.
The first scene introduces the three antagonists, and Ellroy narrows it to the primary killer's identity at about a third of the way through. The only piece left to uncover is the killer's name. Lloyd identifies the threat, but ineptly fails to recognize the immediate danger:
The dream lover continued to send the flowers, anonymously, for many years. Over eighteen years. Always when the lonely woman needed them most
...
Then he stood up and helped Kathleen to her feet. "I think your dream lover is a very strange fighter," he said, "and I think he wants to own you, not inspire you..."
Ellroy is a crime writer after all, and the opening scene is a graphic, brutal rape:
He pulled down his fly to deliver a warm liquid coup de grace, and discovered he was hard.
They left him there, bereft of tears or the will to feel anything beyond the hollowness of his devastation.
The violence settles down a bit, but it's never far away:
They couldn't even mark the outline of the stiff with chalk, they had to use tape.
This leaves the spotlight on the characters themselves more than the plot. Unfortunately even though the characters have personalities, but they’re still cardboard thin, and fall apart under only light scrutiny. Lloyd himself is as criminal, and nearly as damaged as the killer, but he ultimately landed in law enforcement. He's chasing a "white light", a concept that Ellroy never really develops. His 'sidekick,' Dutch, is a veteran cop who appreciates Lloyd's genius for solving crime. Dutch is the only truly likeable character mainly because he's more relatable than the rest of the frail and unbalanced cast. The women often fight back, but they're no more than fodder for the killer.
Lloyd's a womanizer, devoted to his children, but doomed to lose his wife as expected in any generic cop story. The women he sees on the side are free-wheeling, future collateral victims.
Worst of all is the psychobabble Ellroy uses to explain the homosexual motives of the killer, and Kathleen McCarthy's sentimental pseudo-feminism. It's as if he wants to champion the underdog, but doesn't have the information, nor any personally relatable experience to do it properly.
Blood on the Moon is more style than substance, likely more interesting for fans who are curious about the progress of his career, and those who are satisfied with boilerplate 80s serial killer stories.
January 23, 2020
For now this is a 3.5, until I read the follow up or change my mind.
A few things before I forget them:
Ellroy reminds the reader often that our protagonist, Lloyd, is some genius lawman. Is he? Here's a few of his brilliant ideas:
Leave the woman that's at the end of decades worth of love from the serial killer just as the killer is "peaking" all alone by herself.
Investigate the killers place of work? Why do that when you can follow up on connected, but not murderous, racist cop first? And it's not like the woman who's the main object of interest for the killer is not at her poorly-locked house alone or anything.
Be dumb enough to do something risky, in the bedroom, that leaves evidence whilst being looked at by internal?
So smart is he that he cannot make the connection of the killers poems to famous poets that he's borrowing lines from? Maybe this one, Lloyd is a cop.
Just allow your, "the blacks are gonna get us, aaah", half-mad in the half-a-working-brain brother to stockpile more serious guns than an army of Batmans?
Go to a major standoff at the climax without a bullet proof vest?
I'm not trying to be snooty here - Ellroy is smarter than I am, so that he somehow allowed all this into his book and had it associated with his, "genius", lead detective is more disappointing than anything. But maybe, as in the myriad of writerly conveniences from start to finish, it's just a matter of early Ellroy on his way to becoming the man who would soon pen the, "L.A. Quartet"?
A few things before I forget them:
Ellroy reminds the reader often that our protagonist, Lloyd, is some genius lawman. Is he? Here's a few of his brilliant ideas:
Leave the woman that's at the end of decades worth of love from the serial killer just as the killer is "peaking" all alone by herself.
Investigate the killers place of work? Why do that when you can follow up on connected, but not murderous, racist cop first? And it's not like the woman who's the main object of interest for the killer is not at her poorly-locked house alone or anything.
Be dumb enough to do something risky, in the bedroom, that leaves evidence whilst being looked at by internal?
So smart is he that he cannot make the connection of the killers poems to famous poets that he's borrowing lines from? Maybe this one, Lloyd is a cop.
Just allow your, "the blacks are gonna get us, aaah", half-mad in the half-a-working-brain brother to stockpile more serious guns than an army of Batmans?
Go to a major standoff at the climax without a bullet proof vest?
I'm not trying to be snooty here - Ellroy is smarter than I am, so that he somehow allowed all this into his book and had it associated with his, "genius", lead detective is more disappointing than anything. But maybe, as in the myriad of writerly conveniences from start to finish, it's just a matter of early Ellroy on his way to becoming the man who would soon pen the, "L.A. Quartet"?
March 28, 2019
Blood on the Moon is an early James Ellroy novel, and is similar to others in that it has moments of brilliance but never truly comes together into something great.
Ellroy has a way with words unlike any other author I know, almost making poetry out of dark, disturbing themes. Here he focuses a lot on the villain, a depraved serial killer known as The Poet. The stories of his killings are darkly fascinating, even if his genesis as a killer is a bit generic and stereotypical.
The introduction of Lloyd Hopkins is also very successful here, as we get to witness a brutally violent formative experience in his life that will drive him in his career as a police officer.
The biggest miss here was the climax, as it never truly reached the heights of the best cat and mouse serial killer novels. Which, in a refreshing bit of honesty, Ellroy admits in the introduction.
Overall, not the best Ellroy but certainly a worthwhile entry into his bibliography.
Ellroy has a way with words unlike any other author I know, almost making poetry out of dark, disturbing themes. Here he focuses a lot on the villain, a depraved serial killer known as The Poet. The stories of his killings are darkly fascinating, even if his genesis as a killer is a bit generic and stereotypical.
The introduction of Lloyd Hopkins is also very successful here, as we get to witness a brutally violent formative experience in his life that will drive him in his career as a police officer.
The biggest miss here was the climax, as it never truly reached the heights of the best cat and mouse serial killer novels. Which, in a refreshing bit of honesty, Ellroy admits in the introduction.
Overall, not the best Ellroy but certainly a worthwhile entry into his bibliography.
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August 4, 2012
I was only partially impressed by this book, one of Ellroy's earlier novels. Sometimes the writing is awesome, some parts of this book show flashes of his future brilliance. Mostly the plot is simplistic and illogical. The protagonist, Homicide investigator Lloyd Hopkins, appears to solve cases by pulling the clues directly from his ass.
Even with these significant problems, Ellroy's ability as a writer of prose makes this a worthwhile read.
Even with these significant problems, Ellroy's ability as a writer of prose makes this a worthwhile read.
October 21, 2022
Read this book because I’m currently bingeing all of Elroy’s works. Pales in comparison to the L.A. Quartet. A page-turner but unsatisfying in the end. Interested to see if the rest of this trilogy gets any better. I agree with others that this is not the place to start.
September 25, 2025
it's fun to read this knowing where Ellroy would end up, this is a perfectly enjoyable pulp fiction book with nothing all that unique or special (and a particularly bad lead character tbh) which is almost completely unrecognizable from anything Ellroy would come to write. I don't think the choice of a completely fluid viewpoint was a good one, this definitely could have been written from just the point of view of Lloyd and would have been improved. the plot and most of the storytelling, however, are fun and exciting. probably wouldn't read again, especially when the film Cop exists which is based on this and is significantly better
March 11, 2021
I absolutely love crime novels set in Los Angeles. Ellroy's novels not only have this setting but the fucked up characters and the story to go with it. The main character was flawed as hell and the antagonist was a straight up creep, the standard Ellroy fare.
I've only read a few Ellroy novels to date but given this was one of the earlier ones, you could see that his telegraphic writing style was not quite as prevalent as in the latter series.
Great stuff!
I've only read a few Ellroy novels to date but given this was one of the earlier ones, you could see that his telegraphic writing style was not quite as prevalent as in the latter series.
Great stuff!
January 18, 2023
First time reading this and it is definitely not as good as his other classic series but its good enough to keep reading I guess. I have read the 2nd in the series before and enjoy that one but its been long enough that other than remembering Lloyd Hopkins name and him being a "genius detective" I didn't remember much else about these books. I can see the beginnings of who Ellroy becomes as a writer but yeah... Not as good as his later works.
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