Killer on the Road (Former Title: Silent Terror): Amazon.ca: James Ellroy: Books

Product Description

Book Description

In one of Ellroy's most fascinating and grueling novels, the twisted, mortally brilliant mind of serial murderer Martin Plunkett, is laid open for the reader, with chilling, pulse-pounding realism. A gripping novel from the author of The Black Dahlia and The Big Nowhere. Reissue.

About the Author

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. His L.A. quartet -- The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential and White Jazz -- were international bestsellers. American Tabloid was Time's Novel of the Year in 1995; his memoir My Dark Places was Time's Best Book and a New York Times Notable book for 1996. His novel The Cold Six Thousand was a New York Times Notable Book and Los Angeles Times Best Book for 2001. He lives on the coast of California.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
Dusenberry's estimated body count was low, and Warden Wardlow's stone metaphor only partly accurate. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Should have a warning label, Jan 11 2003

By

"mr_arch_stanton" (Santa Fe, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer On The Road (Paperback)

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!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not Ellroy's best effort, but a worthwhile read nonetheless, July 29 2002

By

floydslip (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer On The Road (Paperback)

First off, I must state that I am a fan of James Ellroy. This may cause me to appreciate his lesser works more than if they had been written by someone I hold in less regard. While "Killer on the Road" is certainly one of Ellroy's lesser works, there are certain aspects of the book that I find compelling and make it worth reading.

A convention that Ellroy employs throughout his works is to further the plot through the use of newspaper articles. This detached "journalistic" writing can provide a lot of important facts in a short amount of space and also serves as a contrast to the remainder of the novel which is generally presented subjectively through the eyes of one character or another. In general, it is a highly effective approach to develop the action of the story as well as being quite entertaining.

In "Killer on the Road" this convention is taken one step further. Virtually all chapters are preceded with a series of articles describing the discovery of bodies and descriptions of the deceased, police leads or suspects (if any), and other facts related to the crime. The remainder of the chapter follows Martin Plunkett as he perpetrates the crimes the reader has just read about in a "newspaper." I found myself returning to the beginning of each chapter constantly to review the detached account of the slayings in light of the subjective version that Martin has just provided. The juxtaposition of the two accounts is an effective narrative device that adds depth to the story.

Compared to other Ellroy novels, however, "Killer on the Road" is much less complicated and interesting, but it does have its merits. I wouldn't start with this novel as an introduction to Ellroy's works, but neither would I overlook it.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Gore and violence signifying nothing, May 1 2002

By

Justin Mclaughlin "Justin McL." (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Killer On The Road (Paperback)

I'm a James Ellroy fan, and all of his other books I've read have been wonderfully written, mesmerizing, and fascinating in their characterizations and plotting. The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz, The Black Dahlia, American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand....they're all remarkable in one way or another. This book was all the more disappointing as a result, with its drab writing, shocking violence that seemingly exists to shock, and the rather dull and humorless tone of the whole exercise and the lead character. An obvious comparison is Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, but that book was a satire (that angle fleshed out more explicitly in the film version). This book is just a cold, clinical study with none of the wonderfully inventive writing style Ellroy would utilize in later novels. Clearly this is an early work where Ellroy is trying to work out his demons, maybe manifesting them in a completely reprehensible and fairly one-note character as a way of keeping the distance from them. This doesn't work. I think when he begins exploring the same themes via more complex characters such as Danny in The Big Nowhere or Lt. Dave Klein in White Jazz it works much better. Killer On the Road is simply an early, much lesser work by an American master, and an unlikable, one-note work at that.

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Average book but poor by Ellroy standards
Out of the 4 Ellroy books I have read, this one was by far the worst out of the group. It profiles a serial killer and is writeen as his autobiography. Read more

Published on Jan 27 2002 by S. Bowman

5.0 out of 5 stars So disturbing you want to rate it lower
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... Read more

Published on May 24 2001 by Computer Geek