Chevalier’s Books is thrilled to host acclaimed author James Ellroy, who knows the dark history of Los Angeles, and particularly our ‘hood, only too well. On Thursday, July 9th, at 6:30pm, Chevalier’s will celebrate the paperback release of his bestselling novel Perfidia, and his most recent nonfiction work, LAPD ’53 (written with Glynn Martin of the Los Angeles Police Museum). If you’ve read his brilliant memoir My Dark Places, you’ll know that this visit marks Ellroy’s return to the scene of his crime.
Perfidia centers on the hellish murder of a Japanese family in December of 1941. LAPD Captain William H. Parker is superbly gifted, corrosively ambitious, liquored-up, and consumed by dubious ideology. He is bitterly at odds with Sergeant Dudley Smith – Irish émigré, ex-IRA killer, fledgling war profiteer. Hideo Ashida is a police chemist and the only Japanese on the L.A. cop payroll. Kay Lake is a twenty-one-year-old dilettante looking for adventure. The investigation throws them together and rips them apart. The crime becomes a political storm center that brilliantly illuminates these four driven souls—comrades, rivals, lovers, history’s pawns.
With LAPD ’53, Ellroy has teamed up with the Los Angeles Police Museum to present a stunning text on 1953 L.A. While combing the museum’s photo archives, Ellroy discovered that the year featured a wide array of stark and unusual imagery—and he has written 25,000 words that illuminate the crimes and law enforcement of the era. More than 80 duotone photos are spread throughout the book in the manner of hard-edged police evidence.
Chevalier’s is excited to host this event with “one of the great American writers of our time” (LA Times). Ellroy will be reading from and discussing his books, with a signing to follow. Don’t miss this rare opportunity for a reading and book signing by a legendary writer!
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Chevalier’s Books 126 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004 James Ellroy Reading: 7/9/15 at 6:30 pm Open daily 10am – 6pm
