Widespread Panic: A novel

Freddy Otash was a man with the goods on anyone who was worth a headline in Hollywood. He also invaded privacy, destroyed lives, and provided fodder for “Confidential” magazine. His current location is not ideal, as he is in limbo, not worthy of Heaven or Hell. However, a reckoning has come, and it is time to divulge his story in order to redeem or condemn his soul. Freddy’s moral compass was broken for quite some time, as he rode the gravy train of the graft with the LAPD. However, an assignment to take out a Cop-shooter leaves him shaken. A security job on a movie set opens up new opportunities, as he meets an actress who shares an interest in extortion. Freddy’s descent into hedonism and self-destruction has begun, with luminaries such as James Dean, LAPD Chief William Parker, and others along for the ride.

Widespread Panic is a whirlwind crime confessional from the sin-saturated mind of James Ellroy. A trip back into the corruption-sodden wickedness of 1940’s-50’s Los Angeles proves too good to pass up. Ellroy entertains with his rapid-fire prose which adds to the intensity of the action until a climax which satisfies while also reverberating with heartfelt emotion.