The Informers
The Informers is a welcome return to form for Ellis after the sheer scale and numbing violence of 'American Psycho'. Not that Ellis doesn't indulge in a little violence and gore here, it simply doesn't overtake the novel.
Action is set over several years of the 1980s and perhaps the early 1990s, going back and forth, all in Los Angeles. It's a series of short stories with some recurring characters and references to other stories and other novels of Ellis'.
There was never any emotional connection to any of these characters, but despite this the overall book was compelling in a way that 'American Psycho' hadn't been.
I especially liked the horror elements inserted throughout, slyly foreshadowed the whole time but never enough to raise suspicion - until BAM - it's there and you wonder why you never connected the dots beforehand.
I would not recommend this book to just anyone, if you're going to read one novel of Ellis' it should be 'Less Than Zero', but if you're interest is sparked in Ellis through that novel, this book should be your next stop.
