James Ellroy - The Cold Six Thousand

The Cold Six Thousand is the follow up to James Ellroy's American Tabloid. That book finished with the assassination of John F Kennedy, and this one begins almost minutes later. The dirty alliances that formed the complex network of conspiracy in the first book are unmade and then remade by JFK's death. J. Edgar Hoover wants to ensure that the narrative of the assassination is focused on the lone gunman, and sends Ward Littell to Dallas to make sure this happens. As Littell manages the investigation he discovers wider conspiracies around Mafia money, Jimmy Hoffa and Howard Hughes' plans to take over Las Vegas. At the same time, French Pete Bondurant is locked in a personal, but CIA funded, war against Communism. This means incursions against Cuba, but quickly spreads to Vietnam as the US war there gets more and more involved. Drugs are funnelled from South East Asia to the ghettos of America, further enriching various criminal forces. Wayne Tedrow Jr, the son of a millionaire, far right businessman, arrives in Dallas from Vegas with six thousand dollars in order to find, and kill, a low level criminal who has upset the casino mafia.

Under the pressure of events, Martin Luther King's Civil Rights' campaigning is becoming more and more anti-capitalist. Drawing the wrath of the "deep state", Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and a host of real life characters are under threat from several growing conspiracies that seek to strengthen the hand of organised crime and undermine the liberal left.

As with the first book The Cold Six Thousand deals with the monstrous underbelly of the US in its most turbulent years. As the Civil Rights movement explodes onto the streets, the far right and the racist establishment look to fight back. The swirling conspiracies might not be historically true, but they certainly fit the facts. This is America at its most unequal, violent and interventionist. The only decent characters are those one the streets trying to change things, but they face the most unpleasant and violent resistance. Ellroy's staccato style might not be for everyone, and I found this book slower paced than the first - perhaps because the climax of that book was the murder of JFK. But its worth persevering with Ellroy - each page is punchy and the end is a shock.

Related Reviews

Ellroy - American Tabloid
Ellroy - L.A.Confidential