True Crime: A Murder Without Motive: the killing of Rebecca Ryle

More an author memoir than true crime,  A Murder Without Motive: the killing of Rebecca Ryle is not what I expected - in a bad way. Rather than writing a book about the murder, investigation, court room battles, and interviews with subject matter experts close to the crime, the author launched a self indulgent tirade which lacked relevance to the subject matter and bored this reader with a tale of a stock standard middle-income male growing up in suburbia, moving away then boasting an intellectual superiority to his peers when he returns of which he also casts the murder victim, Rebecca Ryle (who happens to be the core of the book, though the reader wouldn't know it) among his ilk despite not conversing or KNOWING her aside from third party information.

This book is about the way the author felt about the murder and his own perception and conclusions in-conjunction with his brothers thoughts and insights (him, having known the killer in a somewhat limited capacity) - some eight years after the tragedy.

It's not until the Afterword that the author mentioned he wanted to write a true crime book that emphasized the family aspect and the hardships of moving on as opposed to the crime itself that the theme started to make sense. Had this been consistent, and not derailed by the authors free rein to talk about himself, I may have felt differently - may have. 

What the Afterword doesn't do, is justify the need to write about the author listening to NWA, picking fights with kids 4 years his junior, touching upon Perth's race gangs, attending or commenting on teenage house parties, or why including the his own correspondence with the Ryle family via Facebook was necessary (it didn't add any context or substance). 

I also found the over stimulated vocabulary a constant blight that served no purpose other than to impress upon the reader, the author's ability to over-use and under sell his sentences. Rarely does a book leave me feeling so underwhelmed.  

I was given a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

A Murder Without Motive: the killing of Rebecca Ryle is available from 27 Jan 2016. 

Rating: 1/5

L.A. Noir - The Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy by James Ellroy

The Lloyd Hopkins trilogy is a dark, and at times, disturbing collection of crime noir fiction that takes the reader on a journey through the seedy LA underbelly and the corrupt blue line of justice. The series protagonist is tainted yet redeemable, his adversaries, formidable; these characteristic aspects form key elements to the trilogy. In a rarity for me, I read all three books back-to-back, whereas usually I'll take some time in-between delving into different books by other authors. I'm glad I 'red-lined' L.A. Noir.  

BLOOD ON THE MOON

(Crime / Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy #1)

Rating: 5/5

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.

BECAUSE THE NIGHT

(Crime / Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy #2)

Rating: 5/5

Had a 'villain of the month' flavor with series protagonist Det Sgt Lloyd Hopkins squaring off against a manipulative criminal mastermind with a penchant to kill by proxy. Weaving a complex game of cat and mouse, Ellroy layers the depravity in a densely woven tale that is all about the crime and little about Hopkins - a far cry from the previous book, BLOOD ON THE MOON. More enjoyable if you're familiar with the series, but still serviceable if you're jumping into the L.A. Noir series at book 2. BLOOD ON THE MOON is a very good read that resonates long after the story ends.

SUICIDE HILL

(Crime / Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy #3)

Rating: 5/5

In SUICIDE HILL, James Ellroy puts the emphasis on a wayward bank robber and his delusional dream of converting a junkie into a rock star prone to tricking to feed her habit, rather than the tainted series protagonist Lloyd Hopkins which gives the last installment in the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy a distinctly unique feel to its predecessors. Hopkins, is once again a man on a mission to deliver justice by any means. His sense of right and wrong, while slightly warped add an air of unpredictability to the book which is a stable in this highly readable noir trilogy. The story is sorrid, bloody, and complex in both a police procedural and psychological sense. What else would you expect from James Ellroy?

Recent Reads - January 2016 Kick-off

January has gotten off to a pretty decent start in reading terms. For the early part of this year I'm paying more attention to my tbr and devoting time to books that have sat on the shelf for far too long. Here's my thoughts on my recent reads:

THE MAD SCULPTOR by Harold Schechter

(Non-fiction / True Crime)

Rating: 5/5

Entertaining throughout with enough pulp sentiments to detach the reader from the horrific nature of the murders described within the bloodstained pages. Each character read as if crafted by fiction rather than fact such was the easy manner and heavy pulp overtones used to tell Bob Irwin's story and that of his unsuspecting victims. As a pulp enthusiast I lapped this up and will look to read more from this author.

TARGET FOR THEIR DARK DESIRE by Carter Brown

(Pulp / Al Wheeler series)

Rating: 4/5

A strong opening stanza introduced all the key elements of a dime store pulp; an attractive victim, a dame in distress, a hero cop, and a list of shady suspects conveniently written in the victim's diary. The mystery; a soupy mix of everything pulp. Unfortunately this book was marred by a juvenile police chief whose characterization was unbelievable and his dialogue cringe worthy. Also the later stages of the mystery introduced one too many elements; had Carter Brown kept it simple and focused on the call girl death mystery, TARGET FOR THEIR DARK DESIRE would've been much better. Complaints aside, this is a decent Al Wheeler book and a must read for Carter Brown fans.

BOMBSHELL by Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins

(Historical-Fiction mash-up / Semi-thriller)

Rating: 2/5

Marilyn Monroe foils an assassination attempt on Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev circa 1959. Blending fact with liberal fiction, the authors craft an okay read that pits the proverbial bombshell against bullets in an internal affair which threatens to start WW III. Whilst both Khrushchev and Monroe are well characterized and easily readable BOMBSHELL suffered from too many pages with too little progressive content. BOMBSHELL wasn't a book I wanted to keep reading unfortunately - drab despite an interesting concept. The authors also focused far too much on Monroe's intellectual prowess which did everything but enforce that element of her as a character in this book. I get where the authors were taking this but it just missed the mark for me.