L. A. Confidential – James Ellroy, 1990 ★★★

Hollywood Swinging

James Ellroy’s Los Angeles is a depraved sinkhole of villainy and vice where a cop’s idea of bracing a suspect is breaking his skull or mangling his hand.

Women trade on male weakness for easy money. Everyone is ultimately corrupt. “You want to know what the big lie is? You and your precious absolute justice!” a rape victim tells her avenger before making sure she hurts him where he lives.

If you are into that sort of thing, I can’t imagine a better Charon for your journey to the underworld than Ellroy. And if there is one novel of his to push you on that journey, it would have to be this.

With Rommel In The Desert – Heinz Werner Schmidt, 1951 ★★½

Running with the Fox

During its brief lifespan, victory and defeat were close companions for the German Afrika Korps. Experiencing both firsthand was one young officer who would fight on the front lines and ride in a staff car with the unit’s legendary commander, Erwin Rommel, a. k. a. the Desert Fox.

As a memoir, With Rommel In The Desert offers color and a fair amount of candor, but is a loss when it comes to context or depth. If you grew up like me watching World War II movies or TV shows like “The Rat Patrol,” this is engaging if somewhat breezy and episodic.

Despite the title, Rommel is a background figure most of the time.

For Your Eyes Only – Ian Fleming, 1960 ★★★½

Cherchez la femme

Other than being insanely hot, Bond Girls are not all of one type. For Your Eyes Only is a chance to experience some of their variety in a collection of five short stories that feature Agent 007.

This was the first Bond book of a new decade, a decade Bond helped define but hardly rated in this soon. For Your Eyes Only is a quiet book that way, and for its lack of baroque storycraft or campy exaggeration. For once, Ian Fleming was writing carefully and on the level; the result is a fine short-story collection that may even please some non-fans.