''Suicide Hill '' is a

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

novel written by

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...

. Released in 1986, it is the third and final installment of the '' Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy''. In the 1993 documentary ''James Ellroy: The Demon Dog of American Literature'', Ellroy states that ''Suicide Hill'' is the Hopkins novel he is the most proud of. In an October 13, 2017 interview, actor

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

stated that he would be interested in playing the part of Lloyd Hopkins if a film or stage adaptation was to be put into production.

Plot summary

The novel begins with a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

's assessment recommending that Hopkins be immediately retired from duty with a full

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

following the events of ''

Because the Night "Because the Night" is a rock song from 1977 written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith which appears on the 1978 Patti Smith Group album ''Easter''. On March 2, 1978, the song was released as a single, and was commercially successful, reach ...

'' (1984). Hopkins eludes compulsory retirement with attachment as

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

liaison officer to an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

bank robbery investigation. Hopkins then manipulates his way into robbery/homicide investigations. The novel's story line and characters twist and turn.

References

External links

review
from

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1985 American novels Novels by James Ellroy Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department {{1980s-crime-novel-stub