Because the Night

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and unbelievable
Review: I once heard a bastardization of a Truman Capote comment: "Writers go through three phases: Learning their craft, writing their best work and typing for money. Try to avoid the first and third." I read Ellroy's LA Quartet first, and would recommend White Jazz, LA Confidential, American Tabloid and the Big Nowhere to anyone; all were 9s or 10s. All were written at Ellroy's peak.

This book was a disappointment in the extreme; it was fairly mechanical; I couldn't even get through it. Rather than this book, look at his aforementioned novels; you won't get better noir writing.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best of Ellroy
Review: If you like crime novels and you haven't read any Ellroy yet (what were you waiting for?)you will probably enjoy this book. If you have already read the LA Quartet or the American tabloid series then you will find this book is not in the same league: the plot is less coherent, a bit naif sometimes. In any case Ellroy will always be far ahead its rivals. And the language is almost as tough as usual.


Rating:
Summary: Involving as usual
Review: Probably not the best Ellroy's novel, but certainly you won't have the suspicion of having lose your time. You can't give up reading

Rating:
Summary: OPUS FOUR
Review: Second novel of the Lloyd Hopkins saga, BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT has been published in 1984. Like in BLOOD ON THE MOON, James Ellroy has adopted in this book two points of view, Lloyd's and John Havilland's, the killer.

Even if the twists of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT are highly improbable, the novel still stays as intense as it was when I first read it seventeen years ago (gasp!). Ellroy was then one of the first writers to introduce serial killers in his books and was already a master in describing the psychology of his characters.

What strikes me the most now is the evident relation between the mad psychiatrist Havilland and the writer Ellroy. The symptoms of Havilland's madness are very similar to the creative process of the writer. Havilland tries to recreate traumatic scenes of his childhood by directing "live" the poor souls that have fallen in his trap. How not to recognize here the endless efforts of James Ellroy in order to exorcize his mother's murder books after books ?

So if you have the curiosity to go beyond the main argument of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT, you will soon find out that this book is not only a unique opportunity given to the reader to analyze Lloyd Hopkins thanks John Havilland's psychological skill but is also a terrifying trip through James Ellroy's own obsessions.

A book to rediscover.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and unbelievable
Review: Sometimes a story is only as good as its villan, and in "Because the Night" the villan is totally unbelievable: A renowned criminal psychiatrist, who is also a psychotic, a talented thief, a drug dealer and a cult leader/manipulator. His motive: the acquisition of data? Please.

I still enjoyed Hopkins as a character, but the whole premis of the book was strained, and there was no opportunity for the main character to really shine. Overall, a weak sister to Ellroy's other Hopkins stories, which are in turn pale comparisons to his other works like "LA Confidential" and "Black Dahlia."

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good novel . .. but not Ellroy's best.
Review: This is a pretty decent mystery, but not nearly as engaging as Ellroy's other works. If you enjoy Ellroy's writing, then by all means, read it, but if you're just getting acquainted with him and want a recommendation, then skip to the L.A. Quartet novels... Then if you find that you enjoy Ellroy's style, you can come back to this one later. As an aside, I've put up a James Ellroy message board which you can visit via Inside the Web. Please visit if you're an Ellroy fan!