Perfidia

A novel

By: James Ellroy

Narrated by: Craig Wasson

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

It is December 6, 1941. America stands at the brink of World War II. Last hopes for peace are shattered when Japanese squadrons bomb Pearl Harbor. Los Angeles has been a haven for loyal Japanese-Americans—but now, war fever and race hate grip the city and the Japanese internment begins.

The hellish murder of a Japanese family summons three men and one woman. William H. Parker is a captain on the Los Angeles Police Department. He’s 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.

Perfidia is a novel of astonishments. It is World War II as you have never seen it, and Los Angeles as James Ellroy has never written it before. Here, he gives us the party at the edge of the abyss and the precipice of America’s ascendance. Perfidia is that moment, spellbindingly captured. It beckons us to solve a great crime that, in its turn, explicates the crime of war itself. It is a great American novel.

Classic Ellroy

Listening to Ellroy's books is so enjoyable! Great story and a great reading. Can't wait for the next one!

Stylish and engrossing, but sometimes messy and inauthentic

Sprawling, epic and utterly stylish. Ellroy is a master at time and place. This however does feel a bit sloppier and bit less cohesive and authentic than his other works.

Terrific, violent and fun

A strong return to the LA scene that shrugs off the politicized ennui of the Cold Six Thousand and Blood's A Rover

Wasson delivers another gem

I really love James Elroy books. Within that grouping, this is not my favorite but nonetheless very entertaining. Craig Wasson is an absolute master and he delivers a great performance here. His interpretation of Dudley Smith brings him to life. For Elroy and Wasson fans, I would recommend this book.

Better in your own head

Craig Wasson is to audiobooks what Mickey Rooney is to Breakfast at Tiffany's. Kindle or print this one too.