Shakedown · Freddy Otash Confesses

James Ellroy is an American original of the most profane order. The bestselling author of the *noir* classics *L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia,* and *The Cold Six Thousand*, he has been hailed by the *Los Angeles Times* as "one of the best writers of our era." A self-proclaimed Luddite, Ellroy is turning to technology for the first time with the publication of Shakedown, a novella released by the digital publisher Byliner. In it, Ellroy is as frenetically depraved as ever, minting an antihero who is a cad for the ages.

Meet Freddy Otash: a corrupt cop turned sleaze hustler, extortionist, pimp, and an actual historical figure who made the 1950s magazine *Confidential* the go-to source for the sins of the rich and famous. In his prime, Freddy raised hell, and in the pages of *Shakedown* he finds himself stuck in purgatory—-literally—-waiting for a transfer to heaven. Will he make it there, or will fate keep him down below? Promised redemption if he confesses his past sins and transgressions, Freddy writes a tell-all peopled by Hollywood greats like Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, and James Dean (to name a few) who are up to all sorts of wrong. Threesomes, foursomes, you name it—-anything goes in this licentious world.

*Shakedown* explodes the postwar America of June and Ward Cleaver, breathing randy new life into the man who whetted our national appetite for sex and scandal. Freddy's lack of scruples—-and lack of morality—-make today's gossip culture seem almost innocent. What's true and what's fiction? Ellroy's certainly not telling.