Theme issue of Clues: A Journal of Detection
Guest editors: Nathan Ashman (University of East Anglia) and Steven Powell (University of Liverpool)
2025 will mark the 30-year anniversary of James Ellroy’s American Tabloid, a historical novel which
challenged the established view of the events leading up to the assassination of President Kennedy. For
Ellroy, who had heretofore written acclaimed but largely genre-focused noir novels set in his native Los
Angeles, it represented a critical breakthrough in his writing career, and proved a major step in him
becoming a literary figure with an idiosyncratic revisionist take on American history. Thus, as Ellory’s
literary career moves into its fifth decade, it seems like an appropriate moment to reappraise his vast
literary output, particularly given the seeming decline of critical interest in his work from within the
academy over recent years. This can perhaps be situated within the context of Ellroy’s ever provocative
and controversial ‘Demon Dog’ persona, one that feels increasingly anachronistic in the era of social media and in the wake of recent political and social movements such as Black Lives Matter and Me Too. Yet these contexts also provide fertile ground for new or revised approaches to Ellroy’s canon and to the mode of the historical novel more broadly.
Subjects might include (but are not limited to):
● Ellroy’s characters as agencies of the State (and questions of state power more broadly)
● Ellroy and the Historical Crime Novel (including Ellroy’s influence on other practitioners and on
the development of the form more broadly)
● The various meanings of ‘policing’ and its relationship with the State in Ellroy’s fiction
● Gender in Ellroy’s work
● Ellroy and American History
● Sexuality in Ellroy’s work
● Race/racism in Ellroy’s work
● Music in Ellroy’s work
● Underworld and Overworld. Webs of corruption linking organised crime to the LAPD in James
Ellroy’s novels
● The protagonist as voyeur: Perverted viewpoints in the Quartet and Underworld USA novels
● Public and Private space
● Ellroy’s ‘demon dog’ persona (as well as broader consideration of animality in Ellroy’s work)
● Ellroy’s ‘late’ fiction
Submissions should include an abstract of 250-300 words and a brief bio (max 150 words). Proposals due 1st March 2025 and should be sent to Dr Steven Powell (s.p.powell@liverpool.ac.uk) and Dr Nathan Ashman (n.ashman@uea.ac.uk). Full manuscripts due of 5,000 to 6,500 words based on accepted proposal will be due 31st October 2025.
About Clues: Published biannually by McFarland & Co., the peer-reviewed Clues: A Journal of Detection
features academic articles on all aspects of mystery and detective material in print, television, and film
without limit to period or country covered. It also reviews nonfiction mystery works (biographies,
reference works, and the like) and materials applicable to classroom use (such as films). Executive Editor:
Caroline Reitz, John Jay College/The CUNY Graduate Center; Managing Editor: Elizabeth Foxwell,
McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers Clues Web Site: https://sites.google.com/site/cluesjournal/
Highbrow Lowbrow: Olivia de Havilland Special
The latest episode of Highbrow Lowbrow is an Olivia de Havilland Special. We look at two of the most intense and powerful films de Havilland made in her long, illustrious career. Dan’s highbrow pick is The Snake Pit, a gruelling portrayal of mental health that was generations ahead of its time.
My lowbrow choice is Lady in a Cage. One of the first home invasion films, this little-seen horror gem is proof that de Havilland could turn her hand to anything.
You can listen to the full episode here.
Trapped in a lift with some uninvited guests – Lady in a Cage
ELLROY READS – The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler
For the latest episode of ELLROY READS I look at the influence of Raymond Chandler on James Ellroy’s work. Ellroy fans will know that the Demon Dog has been merciless in tearing to shreds Chandler’s reputation as the master of the hardboiled private detective. However, this has not always been the case and, early in his writing career, Ellroy acknowledged Chandler as a major influence.
I hope you enjoy the episode, and please comment, subscribe, share, like and so forth.
ELLROY READS – Kiss Me, Deadly
In the latest episode of Ellroy Reads, I look at the influence Mickey Spillane, in particular his classic novel Kiss Me, Deadly, had on the young James Ellroy.
Spillane never won over the critics, but his Mike Hammer novels sold in the millions and Ellroy has acknowledged them as an influence. Find out more below:
Highbrow Lowbrow – Christopher Walken Special
The latest episode of Highbrow Lowbrow is a Christopher Walken special. My co-host Dan has he highbrow pick this time with the classic crime drama At Close Range, based on the Johnston gang’s reign of terror in Pennsylvania.
My lowbrow pick is the James Bond film A View to a Kill. Once critically derided, Roger Moore’s swansong as Bond, featuring an unforgettable performance by Walken as the villainous Max Zorin, has become a fan favourite.
You can listen to the episode, and all past episodes here.
In the latest episode of ELLROY READS, I look at one of the most literary influences on James Ellroy’s life and career – The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow.
I discuss how Bellow’s classic novel made the young, and as yet unpublished, Ellroy want to become a great literary figure, rather than just a crime writer.
I hope you enjoy the episode and please like, comment, subscribe, share etc.
Zero Ri$k by Simon Hayes – Review
Zero Ri$k arrived in the post with a bunch of books I was asked to review, and my first instinct was to decline. It’s a financial thriller and appeared to be self-published, in a roundabout way through a company owned by the author, and this usually disqualifies a book from being put on my already over-burdened to be read pile.
However, something changed my mind. The reader reviews have been excellent, Hayes has a background in the murky world of high finance and clearly knows his stuff, and there’s a book launch at a swanky venue in the City of London next week. In short, there was enough buzz to make me read it and I’m glad I did.
The story begins on the day after the Brexit referendum in 2016. A group of financiers are still reeling from the double-shock of Britain voting to leave the European Union and the Prime Minister David Cameron (you may be forgiven for forgetting the name, there have been five PMs since him) resigning in the wake of the result. However, the real threat to the global economy comes not from politics, these City traders opine, but from the newly-emerging and increasingly common cyber-attacks. As an academic I can attest to this, cyber-attacks have become a frequent menace to UK universities, as they have to all walks of life in the digital world. The story then jumps forward to the near-future – Christmas, 2024. A global financial meltdown begins when some unknown person or organisation begins adding a zero to the balance of every bank account. Suddenly the rich aren’t rich and the poor ain’t poor, as all the value in stocks, shares and property disappears in the blink of an eye.
Simon Hayes makes good use of this ingenious premise as Zero Ri$k is a gripping financial thriller which is well worth investing your time in.
Pentimento Mori by Valeria Corciolani – Review
Valeria Corciolani is an illustrator, teacher and one of the most prominent mystery writers in Italy today. Despite the fact that her novels are popular, well-reviewed and have been adapted into films in her native country only her latest novel, Pentimento Mori, has been translated and published in English.
In addition to this startling first, Pentimento Mori is also the first in a new series of mystery novels to feature renowned art historian Dr Edna Silvera. Silvera inadvertantly finds herself playing detective when she discovers a potentially priceless medieval painting in a junk shop whose proprietor has been recently murdered. Becoming a thorn in the side of a public prosecutor and a target of some very dangerous people, Silvera must solve an art mystery to truly understand the price of murder.
I’m delighted that Kazabo publishing have finally translated Valeria Corciolani’s assured, playful and absorbing writing into English. She brings her intricate knowledge and first-class scholarship to produce an art mystery which is as delightfully engaging as it is deliciously fiendish, and I hope that many more Dr Edna Silvera mysteries will be published in the future.
Highbrow Lowbrow: Hammer Horror Special
After a short break, during which time I have been filming the ELLROY READS series on YouTube, Dan Slattery and I have brought back our HIGHBROW LOWBROW podcast. If you’re unfamiliar with the podcast, I choose a ‘highbrow’ film and discuss its merits, and then Dan picks a ‘lowbrow’ film broadly on the same topic and argues it’s just as good. Yes, we know these are subjective terms but that’s all part of the fun!
If you are already familiar with the podcast, then I hope you enjoy it’s return. Today’s episode is a Hammer Horror Special. My pick is the Bette Davis classic The Nanny, and Dan’s argues that The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is an underrated sequel.
You can find all listening options for the series here.
ELLROY READS King’s Ransom
In the latest episode of ELLROY READS I look at one of the all-time great crime novel series – the 87th Precinct by Ed McBain. I discuss some of the many identities of McBain, focusing specifically on his novel King’s Ransom and its superlative film adaptation High and Low by Akira Kurosawa. Finally, I discuss the considerable impact McBain had on James Ellroy’s work.
Hope you enjoy watching and please comment, subscribe, share, like etc.
