Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy – Publication Day!

Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy is published by Bloomsbury today. Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered a copy. If you didn’t pre-order then go out and get yourself a copy now, and do come to the book launch at Linghams Booksellers in Heswall on February 28th if you can. I’ll see you there!

So far the reviews have been excellent. Here’s a sample:

“A highly enjoyable read … shrewd in its critiques of the work and jargon-free – an academic biography in the best sense. I suspect it will spoil the genre of literary biography for me for a while: can the life of any other living writer be anywhere near as horribly gripping?” Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph

“An essential purchase for anyone interested in modern American crime fiction, couched in prose that is as lively as its uncompromising subject.” ―Barry Forshaw, Crime Time

“When it comes to James Ellroy, [Powell] is the go-to expert who plays sleuth to the inventor of many an L.A. sleuth. . . . The same obsessive thread that runs through all of Ellroy’s work also weaves kinetically through Powell’s prose. In this latest book, he reveals nuances of the epic writer’s life and process that only an Ellroy expert can.” ― Jill Dearman, Brooklyn Rail

“[A] stark, revealing account of [Ellroy’s] life.” ―Martin Chilton, The Independent

“Powell brings out the conflicting sides of Ellroy’s personality tactfully and sympathetically — without ever taking his eye off the truth … has all the pace, twists and shocks of a good crime novel.” Martin Sanderson, The Times

“Even if you thought you knew Ellroy, there will be something in Powell’s book to surprise you, something that will offer a greater understanding of Ellroy  and how he’s  been able to turn the complexities of his life and the world around him into the totality of his fiction.” Woody Haut

“On Ellroy the writer, he [Powell] is quietly superb, as confident on his symbolism as his plots, whose thickets he cuts through with aplomb.” Paul Franz, Airmail