The Enchanters

A Novel

By: James Ellroy

Narrated by: Craig Wasson

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • James Ellroy—Demon Dog of American Letters—goes straight to the tragic heart of 1962 Hollywood with a wild riff on the Marilyn Monroe death myth in an astonishing, behind-the-headlines crime epic.

Los Angeles, August 4, 1962. The city broils through a midsummer heat wave. Marilyn Monroe ODs. A B-movie starlet is kidnapped. The overhyped LAPD overreacts. Chief Bill Parker’s looking for some getback. The Monroe deal looks like a moneymaker. He calls in Freddy Otash.

The freewheeling Freddy O: tainted ex-cop, defrocked private eye, dope fiend, and freelance extortionist. A man who lives by the maxim “Opportunity is love.” Freddy gets to work. He dimly perceives Marilyn Monroe’s death and the kidnapped starlet to be a poisonous riddle that only he has the guts and the brains to untangle. We are with him as he tears through all those who block his path to the truth. We are with him as he penetrates the faux-sunshine of Jack and Bobby Kennedy and the shuck of Camelot. We are with him as he falters, and grasps for love beyond opportunity. We are with him as he tracks Marilyn Monroe’s horrific last charade through a nightmare L.A. that he served to create — and as he confronts his complicity and his own raging madness.

It’s the Summer of ’62, baby. Freddy O’s got a hot date with history. The savage Sixties are ready to pop. It’s just a shot away.

The Enchanters is a transcendent work of American popular fiction. It is James Ellroy at his most crazed, brilliant, provocative, profanely hilarious, and stop-your-heart tender. It is a luminous psychological drama and an unparalleled thrill ride. It is, resoundingly, the great American crime novel.

©2023 James Ellroy (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"In Ellroy's latest audiobook, former cop Freddy Otash finds himself jammed up. He's investigating the death of Marilyn Monroe but has police officials, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, and a swarm of others--actors, a psychologist, and people from the seedier side of Los Angeles--getting in his way. Craig Wasson relishes his narration, bringing a high level of emotion when needed. A few fight scenes are especially well done." (AudioFile)

"James Ellroy, the neo-noir eminence of L.A. crime fiction, is back, with his favorite snake, Fred Otash, in tow. . . . And he sure can shoulder a novel. . . . To pick up a James Ellroy novel in the year 2023 is to know the score. . . . [Ellroy’s] fiction, at its most potent, is driven less by plot than by ritual. He has been canonized and censured; he writes now, in his mid-seventies, on a plane beyond the exigencies of either, enjoying a rare kind of freedom.” —The New Yorker

“James Ellroy's The Enchanters is classic Ellroy: a filthy, boozy, fast-paced, violent romp through the history and important figures of early 1960s Los Angeles, all told in Otash's frantic voice. . . . Ellroy keeps things moving at breakneck speed at all times, which is a fantastic feat considering this is a 448-page novel that delves deep into a plethora of scenes and seamlessly mixes fact and fiction. The trick to it is Ellroy's incomparable style; fast, punchy, telegrammatic prose that demands to be read quickly and that flows like an enraged river.” —NPR

“[The Enchanters] blends the real and imagined into the kind of atmospheric psychosexual spectacle fans have come to expect from the grand master of L.A.-noir. . . . Thoroughly crooked yet unexpectedly appealing, Otash … is a fixer with an eidetic memory who operates in the shadowy fringes of the west coast glamour factory. . . . The plot of The Enchanters is sprawling yet intricate, a riveting series of events made all the more vivid by the precision of the details — the heavy wiretap surveillance opens up a prominent peripheral cast of hangers on, psychiatrists, pornographers and other petty criminals that swirl around the edges of the scene. Ellroy’s writing matches its sensational subject. . . . Filtered through Freddy’s drug- and booze-addled but brilliant mind, the novel is vibrant and vivid, with a pungent whiff of decay. . . . Otash is a fascinating guide. . . . Carnivalesque—literary roller coaster meets Tilt-a-Whirl.” —The Washington Post

Most enjoyable Ellroy novel in years

The Enchanters is a welcome break from the DOURNESS of Perfidia and This Storm. Despite what he says in interviews about Fred Otash (a real-life figure), it's clear Ellroy has found a character he likes to write for. Frankly, I needed a break from Dudley Smith anyway.

Craig Wasson's brand of mannered over-acting, which might derail another author's work, continues to be a perfect fit for Ellroy. I wish they'd re-release all of Ellroy's essential titles (especially White Jazz) with Wasson behind the microphone.

The Book I've Been Waiting For

The early 60s is my favorite decade because the cast of characters in those years was unequaled. Ellroy skillfully interlaced history, conjecture, favorite names and the unbridled LAPD of the era, as only he can do. If this time period is of interest, it's definitely worth listening to. With that being said, I think it could have been a shorter book, as I found a lot of repetition starting to mount about 3/4 through, and I began to lose a little interest. I stayed with it, though, and glad I did, because the glossary of characters and terms at the end was helpful. The narrator, Craig Wasson, was absolutely amazing! I still remember him from the haunting film Body Double. His ability with accents is a joy to listen to.

Epic and electric

James Ellroy's electric prose rendered with verve and gusto by Craig Wasson. An epic vision of early 60s LA in all its pulp glory. Ellroy is the master crime novelist. Loved it!

Ellroy’s Prose Crackles, Wasson’s deeply emotional performance

Craig Wasson, star of the ever underrated De Palma flick Body Double, hits this reading out of the park. The characterizations, the emotions he takes on & transmutes, all while slamming home Ellroy’s fastball web of jargon, fractured language and repetitious rhythms. This & Wasson’s version of Blood’s a Rover are not to be missed. I didn’t think I liked books on tape in general, especially not epics like latterday Ellroy, until I heard these.

Essential Ellroy

His evocation of Post-War L.A. may or may not be accurate but the Real-Life Characters seem on point. Hoffa, Eddie Fisher, Peter Lawford, Marilyn Monroe, L.A. Cops, JFK, and RFK all sound like their PR projections I remember.

All this wrapped up in the Ellroy-style Enchanted haze of booze, pills, smoke, brass-knuckles, and guns. Enjoyable trip to Pre-JFK America. Four Stars. ****

Charming, but not Enchanting

Got this book because there was a 2 for 1 deal going on ‘select books’ and the synopsis sounded interesting. First time reading James Ellroy and the style was a bit of an acquired taste. Did come to enjoy it and the narrator’s delivery was awesome. Content was a bit trashy at times but I believe that to be part of what he was going for in this late 50’s-early 60’s era noir gumshoe. Fred Otash, the real-life notorious alcoholic pill-junky ex-cop turned private eye protagonist/narrator, will not be everybody’s bag. But then again, I also think that might have been part of what the author was going for. The book had a lot of character, and even more characters. In brief, what it lacked in exciting plot it made up for in whit. I’m certainly going to check out more of James Ellroy’s books.

Great to have Wasson back!

The 2nd book in the series is just okay with a fantastic backdrop. It just never quite got there for me. Solid just not quite great. first book was better.

the old mastard still has it

like an old boxer waiting in the shadows he steps into the ring and delivers a masterpiece of chaos. For those James Ellroy loyalists it's Christmas morning.

Great Fun

A huge cast from the early 60’s of characters from the movie biz, the criminal underworld and the LA police. Lots of dope, sex and crime.

Noir with a pulse

I've always loved noir as a genre. Novels like "The Maltese Falcon", "Farewell, My Lovely", and "Double Indemnity" as well as films like "Out Of The Past", "Kiss Me Deadly", and "Touch Of Evil" always had a way of grabbing me and keeping me immersed. And how not? In a genre rife with femme-fatales, driven yet morally ambiguous protagonists, and labyrinthine plots, it was impossible for me not to become enamored with the dangerous allure of "noir" as we know it. Yet it wasn't until I first read James Ellroy that I became what addicts call a "lifer". His work opened up a world of visceral, gritty danger. His staccato prose, enthralling mysteries, implacable yet irreparably broken characters, and the palpable, simmering atmosphere he conjured up with his stories grabbed me (and many others) by the throat and never let us go. That said, I had begun to fear that "The Demon-Dog of American Letters" had lost a step. Some of his novels in recent years had seemingly begun to lose their focus and impact. "This Storm" in particular was tedious, desperately in need of another edit (or four), and had a plot that was practically incomprehensible. Fortunately, the reigning king of noir is back with a vengeance with "The Enchanters".
The story begins with "Widespread Panic" protagonist, and Hollywood's sleaziest private eye (i.e. shakedown artist), Freddy Otash getting word that America's biggest star, Marilyn Monroe, has been found dead. What looks to the outside world as an accidental overdose, or possible suicide, is to Freddy anything but. Otash had been investgating Monroe at the behest of Jimmy Hoffa in the hopes of taking some of the luster off the Kennedy's and Camelot. After months of surveillance, wiretaps, and almost banal brutality, Otash has seen how volatile, dangerous, and uncontrollable her life had become in the year leading up to her death. What follows is an investigation that takes Otash straight to the black heart of 1960's Hollywood like a shot of adrenaline. Like the Ellroy of old, the author gives "The Enchanters" a pace that grips you by the throat and squeezes. Political intrigue, Cold War paranoia, Hollywood exploitation, and casual violence abound. In “The Enchanters”, Ellroy plays with the conspiracies surrounding Monroe's death in much the same way he played with the JFK assassination conspiracies in "American Tabloid". He exhaustively studied the actual historical event and uses it as a jumping off point to craft a narrative that is entirely his. And while "American Tabloid" might be his finest work, "The Enchanters" is no less impressive, no less compelling, and no less engrossing.
History geeks and readers new to the Ellroy style might need to prepare themselves for a...let us be polite and say "less than reverential" look at historical figures like Monroe, Jack & Robert Kennedy, and many others, however. At this point, any practiced Ellroy reader is entirely cynical and jaded (myself included) and very well aware that "America was never innocent". If, however, you are new to the works of James Ellroy, do prepare yourself. The casual racism, sexism, homophobia (to say nothing of violence) of the setting are in abundance and so is Ellroy's own nihilistic sensibilities in regards to power and the people who wield it. This is not the reverential "icon of the silver screen" take on Monroe we’re all used to. Ellroy writes her as an exploited, mentally unstable, almost pathetic fantasist who is entirely in over her head and blind to the very real danger she's in. JFK is not written as the inspiring, noble, and progressive president most americans hold in such high esteem. Ellroy establishes him as a philandering, exploitative, hypocritical trust-fund baby. Even Otash himself, a real historical figure that Ellroy himself had met a time or two is not spared from a scalding characterization and the contempt the author feels for the man is palpable. This iconoclastic take on titanic figures of American history is not out of the ordinary for Ellroy however, and the characterizations never take the reader out of the novel.
"The Enchanters" is Ellroy at his very best. The story and mystery sucks the reader in and never lets them catch their breath. It's a story with despicable characters you cant help but follow, a mystery so captivating you won’t want to stop, and a gritty atmosphere so palpable you'll want to take a bleach-bath after you finish reading it. It is noir with a pulse….

And I loved every second of it.

If you enjoyed "The Enchanters" as much as I did and are looking for similar works, then definitely check out some of Ellroy’s earlier efforts like the aforementioned “American Tabloid" or "Widespread Panic". You might also enjoy “The Black Dahlia”, “L.A. Confidential”, or “Perfidia”. If however you’re looking to explore the dark side of old Hollywood some more, you might also appreciate “Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness” by William J Mann, “Helter Skelter” by Vincent Bugliosi, "The Garden On Sunset" by Martin Turnbull, or "The City of Angles" by Jonathan Leaf.