Black Dahlia Avenger

I've been reading Black Dahlia Avenger and it's quite a page-turner.

I'll try not to give anything away, even though the identity of the killer is not something you find out at the end of the book.  Far from.  But that's not the most important revelation.

It is a "Columbo mystery" in case you are a mystery.  More of a howdunnit than a whodunnit.   But more of a whydunnit than a howdunnit, really.  As in the Colombo mysteries, the real mystery is how the truth will eventually come to light.  And a whoelsewasitdunnit-to.  And a whywuzzinitsolved. (That aspect might be especially scary.)

But even beyond that, the way the investigative material comes together with the personal remembrances of the author are amazing.

Steve Hodel paints a picture of a place on the Gold Coast where intellectual elite, the entertainment elite, the artistic elite,  and the elite of corruption and hedonism all converged on a certain home in L.A.  The personal remembrances touch upon several celebrities.  Doesn't come across as namedropping but a revelation of how, in Southern California, people-who-know-people actually tend to, well, know people.  The sordidness of the scene will revolt you, as artists purport to transcend morality by indulging a mix of egotism, vengeance, and thrill-seeking as they send their message to scoety that they are free of traditional morality.

It's an investigative odyssey.   One I recommend.