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      The Big Nowhere

      by James Ellroy
      Published
      Sep 1988
      Main Genre
      Mystery Mystery
      Rating
      Buy on Amazon Book
      Series
      L.A. Quartet

      About This Book

      The D. A.'s brass, a sheriff's deputy, and a rough-and-tumble bagman are unknowingly chasing a nightmare in this thrilling novel from the author of "some of the most powerful crime novels ever written" (New York Times).
      Los Angeles, 1950 Red crosscurrents: the Commie Scare and a string of brutal mutilation killings. Gangland intrigue and Hollywood sleaze. Three cops caught in a hellish web of ambition, perversion, and deceit. Danny Upshaw is a Sheriff's deputy stuck with a bunch of snuffs nobody cares about; they're his chance to make his name as a cop...and to sate his darkest curiosities. Mal Considine is D.A.'s Bureau brass. He's climbing on the Red Scare bandwagon to advance his career and to gain custody of his adopted son, a child he saved from the horror of postwar Europe. Buzz Meeks-bagman, ex-Narco goon, and pimp for Howard Hughes-is fighting communism for the money. All three men have purchased tickets to a nightmare.

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      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      Suspense

      Subgenres

      Hard-Boiled Mystery

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      Formats & Editions

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      Paperback

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      Mass Market Paperback
      First Edition Sep 1988 Mysterious Press ISBN13 9780445408326 ISBN10 0445408324
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      Feb 1994 Arrow (UK) ISBN13 9780099366614 ISBN10 0099366614
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      Trade Paperback
      May 1998 Warner ISBN13 9780446674379 ISBN10 0446674370
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      Jun 2011 Random House (UK) ISBN13 9780099537878 ISBN10 0099537877
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      Aug 2025 Knopf ISBN13 9798217007905 ISBN10 B0DMVDZZ18
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      Hardcover

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      Hardcover
      Bantam ISBN13 9780792480556 ISBN10 0792480554
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      Hardcover
      Dec 1989 Ultramarine Publishing Company ISBN13 9780893662394 ISBN10 0893662399
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      Hardcover
      May 2004 Mysterious Press ISBN13 9780892962839 ISBN10 0892962836
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      eBook

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      eBook
      Nov 2011 William Heinemann (UK) ISBN13 9781407088464 ISBN10 1407088467
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      Jan 2013 Grand Central ISBN13 9781455528752 ISBN10 1455528757
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      Jan 2013 Grand Central ISBN10 B00AMILACM
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      Aug 2025 Knopf ISBN13 9798217007912

      Audio

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      ISBN10 B01FYBP5U4
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      Playaway
      Sep 2015 Hachette Audio ISBN13 9781478962984 ISBN10 1478962984
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      Sep 2015 Little, Brown ISBN13 9781478935520 ISBN10 1478935529
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      Sep 2015 Little, Brown ISBN13 9781478935520 ISBN10 1478935529
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      Sep 2015 Grand Central ISBN13 9781478906162 ISBN10 1478906162
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      Sep 2015 Hachette Audio ISBN10 B013IY9A96
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      Jun 2016 Isis Publishing Ltd ISBN10 B01FYBOWZS
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