Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but interesting - yada yada yada
Review: Several reviews have spun the "flawed but interesting" angle, and they're right. My only contribution to the body of reviews is that it's my first Ellroy book, my first serial killer book, and even my first real crime book! And I couldn't have been happier reading it.
I didn't find it particularly scary, and only a little bit chilling. Either I'm a psyco sympathiser or -- more likely -- I just didn't find the thriller aspect of it very convincing. There's a gap between the first person description conveyed in the book and what one surmises would be the endless horror felt by an objective witness. Partially that gap is deliberate; the recordings of a screwed-up mind will obviously (hopefully?) seem a bit alien. But partially, I think the writing could be a bit more convincing, and place you more in the "scene" than in the killer's mind. It's a very fine line, and I don't pretend to suggest exactly what Ellroy could have done better. Using newspaper reports and a detective's diary as narratives is clever, useful, and interesting, but I believe Ellroy relies on this technique just a bit too much.
On the other hand, it is a very interesting plot and characterisation, although reviews have been polarised on both these points. Tracking the thoughts and fantasies, highs and lows of such a deviant gives an invigorating and challenging point of view on "normal" society.
I hope that adequately conveys the impressions of a first-timer. It won't be my last Ellroy or serial killer book, and I was certainly happy for this to be an introduction.
Rating: 
Summary: A good idea that doesn't fully work.
Review: The book I think is a nice idea, but somehow I feel that since the main character lacks 'normal' feelings then it is wrong to see the story through his eyes. The places where he has to escape could have been made exiting by actually describing the chase, but instead it gets a line or two. The first part of the book is good, telling about his childhood, but from then on it is too much of the same, and in particular all the news clippings seem a tad too much - to stack them together. Certainly one gets an insight into a serial killers insane mind, but there isn't enough developed characters in the book - the only being Martin Plunkett, and also it seems too long eventhough it really isn't page-wise, which perhaps only show that it lacks a storyline. As such though then the book is good, and worth a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Road kill.
Review: The first person serial killer confessional has been done better. This attempt is not the best of the genre, nor is it the best Ellroy has to offer.Ellroy is at his best when he is weaving his fictional characters within and around real events and people with his intricate narrative noir styling. He briefly attempts this here, but to lesser and possible only token effect, it is the only recognizable Ellroy trait in the story. Ellroy is again at his best when he connects the dots of his narrative to reveal the true intricacies of the story at hand; unleashing the larger secret, revealing the final mystery. There is no secret here, no mystery; the picture is clear, the outcome known from the first. As a result the filler to get us from here to there becomes pedestrian, when it's not tedious and uninteresting.
Rating: 
Summary: Unrelenting
Review: This book is facinating--plain and simple. The way Ellroy plunges the twisted psyche of Martin Michael Plunket is expert; you won't want to put this down. It rates maximum creepiness, and the brilliance of the book is that you actually root for the guy. Just when it seems like his psychopathic jig is up, the real fun begins. The last line of the book is one you will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: So disturbing you want to rate it lower
Review: This book was so well written that I hated it. It is very disturbing. I was on an Ellroy kick reading everything he had written this book disturbed me enough that I have taken a break from Ellroy for a while. It is like watching Resevoir Dogs, too real and too intense but worth the uncomfortable experience.
Rating:
Summary: So disturbing you want to rate it lower
Review: This book was so well written that I hated it. It is very disturbing. I was on an Ellroy kick reading everything he had written this book disturbed me enough that I have taken a break from Ellroy for a while. It is like watching Resevoir Dogs, too real and too intense but worth the uncomfortable experience.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Ellroy's best
Review: This early serial killer book has some intriguing aspects but is lacking when it comes to plot and scenic structure. It sort of plods along and the somewhat interesting main character isn't enought to sustain a reader's enthusiasm. There isn't much tension in the plot. Everything seems somewhat predictable and the outcome inevitable. Mostly, fans of Ellroy's L.A. series will miss the manic pace, the full cast of characters and the complexity of scene and mood. This book is too much of a piece. Limited and ultimately hollow.
Rating:
Summary: Should have a warning label
Review: This is one of the most unpleasant books I have ever read. Nowhere have I encountered a narrative depiction of the crimes and motivations of a serial killer more realisitc than KILLER ON THE ROAD. What worries me about this book is how realistic it is. I am sure that there are readers who are not revolted by the acts portrayed in this book, or worse, find them somehow amusing or exciting. If you know someone like that, someone who says, "Yeah I loved that book, it was really cool," STAY AWAY FROM THEM BEFORE THEY DECIDE TO CUT YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!
Rating:
Summary: intriguing
Review: This was the first book i've read by Mr.Ellroy,The pace was quick which is unusual for me. It was pretty intense at times,and at times it was a little slow through all the headlines. All in all it was a pretty damn good book I will be looking forward to reading the rest of his novels.
Rating:
Summary: Different From the LA Noir Books, But Still Interesting
Review: True, Killer on the Road is different, and arguably weaker, than the "LA Noir" books - Black Dahlia, White Jazz, Big Nowhere, LA Confidential - but it is still worth a read. I don't have a clue (thankfully) whether the mind of Plunkett is the mind of a real serial killer or not. It reads as if it could be. The detached but obsessive self-introspection of Plunkett, as he details his crimes feels real enough. The pace, much slower than in later Ellroy novels, fits the subject matter well. The chill builds and builds as you follow Plunkett's spiral into hell. Without giving away too much of the book, the most chilling moment for me is a scene where two serial killers meet and compare notes. Their conversation could almost be that of two traveling salesmen comparing sales territories. The ordinariness of this scene is what made it so terrifying for me. Monsters with human faces, not numb, but indifferent, to what they do, will surface again in later Ellroy novels, but their closeness to rest of the world has not been drawn as sharp as it is here.
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