Clandestine

By James Ellroy

In this Edgar Award finalist by the New York Times–bestselling author of L.A. Confidential, a murder investigation nearly drives a cop to madness.
  Despite the sunshine, high necklines, and demure purity of its silver-screen goddesses, Los Angeles in the 1950s is not a gentle place. Even as a young cop, Freddy Underhill knows this. Patrolling one of L.A.’s roughest districts, he sees the lust, rage, and madness that permeate the city—and stands in wonder and dismay at it all. He covers the beat with his partner Wacky Walker, a World War II veteran with a Medal of Honor, a drinking problem, and a serious obsession with death. When an old flame of Freddy’s is murdered, the investigation takes them deep into the shadiest part of the city, where Freddy will have to embrace the darkness if he wants to emerge with his life.

From the author of The Black Dahlia, a legendary name in crime fiction called “one of the great American writers of our time” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, this is a gritty tale of the dark side of postwar America, as well as a riveting mystery filled with “skillful characterization [and] fast-paced action” (Library Journal).
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: Aug 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781453227954

Reviews for Clandestine

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young cop draws a parallel that no one else sees between two brutal murder cases, and his life is never the same again.This book is sort of a 'prequel' (although it takes place later) to Ellroy's more famous L.A. Quartet. Based on some of the reviews I quickly skimmed before reading, it didn't get the highest ratings so my expectations were somewhat low. Perhaps that worked in this book's favor, because I absolutely could not put it down. The mystery and characters were incredibly compelling, even if the resolution was a tiny bit less climatic than I'd like. The gritty noir style is done perfectly, although it may not be for everyone. Ellroy uses an abundance of racist and misogynistic language, although my interpretation of such language as used here is that it's less a reflection of the author and more of the time period he is conveying -- particularly that he is trying to dispel the notion of simpler, better bygone time by showing the 1950s in their worst light.For the audiobook reader, William Roberts was the perfect match for this book. His voices and narration were so spot-on that you could almost believe he was actually Fred Underhill (the book's protagonist) speaking to you.

[claudia.anderson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

didn't like the narrator at all, very monitone

[csdaley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great start but it fizzled about half way through. Not terrible but nowhere near his best.

[ozzieslim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed “L.A. Confidential” and “American Tabloid” that I read many years ago. I caught L.A. Confidential on cable a few weeks ago and that whet my appetite for an Ellroy novel. While I was in the bookshop I stumbled across “Clandestine” and realized that several if the characters from the L.A. novels were also in this one.I was not disappointed. This story introduces a young cop named Freddy Underhill. He is on the rise in the Wilshire district and in an effort to become one of the youngest detectives in the L.A.P.D., he pursues the possibility of a serial killer while finding love with a local District Attorney.In so doing, he is introduced to Dudley Smith and his underlings. These cops are not exactly squeaky clean in the manner in which they extract confessions from defendants. Underhill falls in with them as Stakes him as a possible protégé. Underhill, knowing that Smith will try to grab the glory, attempts to out maneuver him and ends up being triple crossed and the defendant comes to an unfortunate end. This ends up with Freddy losing his job as a member of the L.A.P.D.Flash forward four years and Freddy sees yet another murder that appears to be related to the previous ones that Freddy investigated. An intricate series of events of unfolds that tie together several of the events and individuals discussed in the earlier part of the novel.What I love about his writing, aside from these complicated plots, is the realism of the language he uses. It is era appropriate and locality appropriate. I also enjoy the style. It is unique and if you haven’t read any Ellroy, it may take you a few chapters to get used to the flow.This is easily a four star read. I recommend any of his books. L.A> Confidential is a wonderful place to start but there is a substantial body of his work that will keep a reader interested and engaged for some time to come.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clandestine by James Ellroy is set in 1951 Los Angeles. The author effortlessly recreates the grit, violence and sordidness of the dark side of this city. Frank Underhill is an ambitious young policemen who allows his suspicions to lead him into an alliance with an unstable and shady detective that has disastrous effects on his life. When a very similar murder takes place a few years later, he is compelled to investigate even though he is no longer a policemen. This is one of Ellroy’s earlier books and all the plot points that make him such an excellent noir writer are there but the book has a tendency to drag and at times I thought I would never reach the end. However, the author’s in depth exploration of the main characters’ motives and actions raised this book far above normal crime fiction. The author’s vivid descriptions of 1950’s LA and his casual references to the corrupt police practices that were prevalent in those days gave the story a gutsy reality.Although a little rough around the edges, the twists and turns in Clandestine totally drew me in. With it’s deeply flawed characters and engrossing story the author has evoked a very compelling and disturbing period LA history. As I am a huge fan of noir fiction and I admired the author’s writing style, James Ellroy is certainly an author that I will be visiting again.