WIDESPREAD PANIC

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by James Ellroy (2021)

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Freddy Otash is a bug-and-tap specialist. He lives to listen to and record his marks. Freddy’s also handy with the camera. Poof! Gotcha! Freddy’s business is extortion and blackmail. There’s money to be made and favours to be foraged from those who shun exposure. To maximise his income, Freddy works both ends of the trade, exposing cheating spouses during divorce gigs, whilst seeking and accepting hush money from nervous movie stars and assorted “Hollyweird” hangers on. But Freddy O. is not a purely venal man but rather is a man driven by a burning passion to know the truth. His hunger to see it all, to enlarge and enrich his mental catalogue, and to deliver some belated justice for the wronged, means that Freddy must pursue his quest without abatement. Perhaps, it is just Freddy’s way of balancing all his wrongs with a little bit of right. Now Freddy must enter into a macabre universe where snuff films are made, and the star of the film really does die. Fiction. 320 pages.

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DETAILS:

Title: Widespread panic

Year: 2021

Author: James Ellroy

Pages: 320

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Book review by Keith Salter