Rating: 
Summary: An early Ellroy novel, quite likeable
Review: A good example of early Ellroy, enjoyable though not his best. I'd just finished reading AMERICAN TABLOID, so I missed his dead-on rendition of the '50s and '60s and all their sleazy flaws. This book is set in the '70s, and is less tightly-written than other Ellroy work, but is still a great P.I. novel and very much a pulp crime novel about a washed up alcoholic who gets involved with bizarre characters surrounding the golf caddy scene in L.A. Worth a read if you like later Ellroy.
Rating:
Summary: Ellroy's first effort
Review: After reading Brown's Requiem I found out that this is Ellroy's first published novel. The plot is a lot more simple than some of his subsequent works. There is not much mystery as from the beginning we are given a fairly good indication of who the bad guys are. The mystery here seems to be more with how Private Investigator Fritz Brown handles the situation he is presented with. Brown is a private investigator in name only as the beginning of the novel finds him working almost exclusively as a repo man for a car dealer who we later find out still thinks that brown has some dirt on him. Brown is a former Los Angeles Police officer who struggles with a drinking problem. He admittedly was a horrible police officer and was forced to resign after the severe beating of a pervert who he was told not to touch as the guy was a snitch and valuable to the police. The entrance of 'Fat Dog' Baker into the mix draws Brown into the seedy underworld of the Loss Angeles golf caddy community. Brown is hired by Fat Dog to investigate the older man with whom his sister is living. As Brown is running all over Southern California, Tijuana Mexico and San Francisco California, he encounters various low life characters, caddies, police officers, relatives of murder victims, would be assasins, beach camping hippies, and various characters with organized crime connections. Brown uncovers evidence of various crimes including arsons, murders, bookmaking operations, and welfare scams. The result is an interesting, and rather straight forward, hard boiled detective story set in early 80's southern california colored by the main characters love of classical music...Hence the title Browns Requiem.
This novel will not be remembered as James Ellroy's best work, but it is a strong first effort and deserves to be read by those who enjoy this genre of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Little preparation for what was to come
Review: Ellroy's first novel compares favorably to the paperback mystery novels he was, according to his memoir "My Dark Places," digesting in vast quantities prior to writing "Requiem." The novel does not compare to the scope or ambition of Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet," which begins with "The Black Dahlia" and concludes with "White Jazz." This is understandable: many years and books stand in between. Readers thinking of sampling Ellroy should start with the quartet: if your appetite for more Ellroy is piqued, then cast back to this curio.
Rating: 
Summary: good, but not great, Ellroy
Review: Ellroy's first novel is a decent PI novel that is slightly better than the usual entry, revealing little of the genius to come. A good read, no more.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not great, Ellroy
Review: Ellroy's first novel is a decent PI novel that is slightly better than the usual entry, revealing little of the genius to come. A good read, no more.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and careless.
Review: Ellroy's first novel, and it shows. Not a bad book when compared with other writers, it's definitely below par for Ellroy. As a former caddie we can presume that Ellroy handles the sections of the book dealing with "loopers" and their lives accurately but other than this the plot of the book falls into place ridiculously easily. Is it really so simple to impersonate a police officer on the telephone every time you need some information? The book is also careless. A character is described is "slim and athletic" and then twenty pages later as "fat and strong". If you read this one, read it before you read any other Ellroy then maybe you won't be so disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Ellroy's First Kicks Ass
Review: Getting into Ellroy? Why not start at the beginning? Watch his style develop. I think folks get disappointed when they read this and other earlier works after they read "the hits" like "L.A. Confidential" and "American Tabloid." But hey, had he come out of the gates with "American Tabloid" he'd probably be done by now. Fortunately for us, Ellroy started off slow. "Brown's Requiem" is a much more straightforward hard-boiled novel. But just like his later work, it rocks, it rolls, it leaves you on the side of the road hitchiking back to town. As I read this book, I couldn't help thinking of it as an updated "The Big Sleep." It has that sad, broken, 3 am undertone to it. If you dig that tough, L.A. stuff, you'll dig this. Note: The story does involve caddies and golf (which I know nothing about) but it doesn't matter. The golf element is merely a backdrop. The book is also about murder, arson and Mexican porn and, regardless of what my friends will tell you, I know nothing about these subjects either and still enjoyed the Hell out this book. Put it this way: You won't be reading any excerpts from "Brown's Requiem" in "Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul."
Rating:
Summary: Ellroy's First Kicks Ass
Review: Getting into Ellroy? Why not start at the beginning? Watch his style develop. I think folks get disappointed when they read this and other earlier works after they read "the hits" like "L.A. Confidential" and "American Tabloid." But hey, had he come out of the gates with "American Tabloid" he'd probably be done by now. Fortunately for us, Ellroy started off slow. "Brown's Requiem" is a much more straightforward hard-boiled novel. But just like his later work, it rocks, it rolls, it leaves you on the side of the road hitchiking back to town. As I read this book, I couldn't help thinking of it as an updated "The Big Sleep." It has that sad, broken, 3 am undertone to it. If you dig that tough, L.A. stuff, you'll dig this. Note: The story does involve caddies and golf (which I know nothing about) but it doesn't matter. The golf element is merely a backdrop. The book is also about murder, arson and Mexican porn and, regardless of what my friends will tell you, I know nothing about these subjects either and still enjoyed the Hell out this book. Put it this way: You won't be reading any excerpts from "Brown's Requiem" in "Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul."
Rating:
Summary: Great P.I. Fiction
Review: I am not a James Ellroy fan. In fact, "Brown's Requiem" is the only novel of his that I have read, because it is the only one of his books I've found that is a straight private detective story. And as an example of the that genre, this books stands among the best. Ellroy's hero, Fritz Brown, is everything a good P.I. should be; world weary, cynical, alcoholic and carrying heavy baggage from his past. He also has plenty of good character eccentricities, like a fascination for classical music. He is also prone to make that classic P.I. mistake, to fall in love with a woman he knows he probably shouldn't fall in love with.All of this said the book takes some unexpected twists and turns. Brown ends up investigating his own client, his romantic interest turns out to have a VERY complicated past and his case turns out to be far more elaboarate than it first appears. All of this leads to a violent and satisfying climax, like any good P.I. novel should. Fans of P.I. masters such Andrew Vachss, George Pellecanos and yes, Raymond Chandler, out to be right at home with Fritz Brown.
Rating:
Summary: Great P.I. Fiction
Review: I am not a James Ellroy fan. In fact, "Brown's Requiem" is the only novel of his that I have read, because it is the only one of his books I've found that is a straight private detective story. And as an example of the that genre, this books stands among the best. Ellroy's hero, Fritz Brown, is everything a good P.I. should be; world weary, cynical, alcoholic and carrying heavy baggage from his past. He also has plenty of good character eccentricities, like a fascination for classical music. He is also prone to make that classic P.I. mistake, to fall in love with a woman he knows he probably shouldn't fall in love with. All of this said the book takes some unexpected twists and turns. Brown ends up investigating his own client, his romantic interest turns out to have a VERY complicated past and his case turns out to be far more elaboarate than it first appears. All of this leads to a violent and satisfying climax, like any good P.I. novel should. Fans of P.I. masters such Andrew Vachss, George Pellecanos and yes, Raymond Chandler, out to be right at home with Fritz Brown.
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