I could not finish this book. It had so many characters I could not keep track of them. However, I am sure there are readers it will appeal to. Give it a try.

Thank you to Mr. Ellroy, Knopf, and NetGalley for the ooppurtunity to read This Storm by the legendary James Ellroy. First of all, let me preface that I am not being critical of the great Mr. Ellroy, but I did not enjoy This Storm as much as his first LA Quartet that began with The Black Dahlia, a classic in Noir Fiction. I think the problem began with reading this second installment before Perfidia, the first of the 2nd LA Quartet. Hope that is not as confusing as it sounds! Looking back at the reviews of Perfidia, which are positive, leads me to believe I should of started in the correct order. The setting is Los Angeles of course, but in 1942 in the middle of WWII. There are themes of corruption along with racism and violence with the Japanese Interment Camps. I do not like to talk too much about plot points, it is better to be discovered, but unfortunately the narrative suffers here at the expense of the wordiness. There are classic elements of The Ellroy novel here, the short declarative, staccato sentences and paragraphs along with a long line of unsavory characters. In fact you will probably have a hard time finding any characters to "root" for. I think Mr. Ellroy has evolved from the classic crime novel, to more of a commentary of how the world is evolving. Judging by the characters and the settings, it is not going well in case you haven't noticed! While I enjoyed the classic sharp Ellroy style, I think this novel is a little wordy and short of narrative.. Again, that may be because I did not read Perfidia. I am going to go back and read the first installment, not the first time for many of us! That would be my suggestion for any new reader to this 2nd quartet. While this was not my favorite Ellroy book, I am glad that Mr. Ellroy is still producing novels in his trademark legendary trademark style. Both books are out now! Thank you to all, Happy Reading! #thisstorm #netgalley #jamesellroy