The 1947 murder of a 22 year old girl named Elizabeth Short has haunted Los Angeles like no other, for its sheer cruelty, its sado-sexual extremity and for its unsolved mystery.

The Black Dahlia is James Ellroy's fever dream of the investigation following the torture killing of Elizabeth Short, an aspiring starlet, in post-war Los Angeles.

The victim becomes the sole obsession of two LAPD murder detectives, and readers will share their hypnotic, morbid fascination with the girl and her violent death.

This book will stay with you like a nightmare that's too real to forget. Though lurid and not entirely true down to every detail, its power is undeniable

A film based on Ellroy's novel, directed by Brian DePalma and starring Mia Kirschner (as Elizabeth), Josh Hartnett, Rose McGowan, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart is due for release this year.

To touch upon the tragic death of the Black Dahlia is to reach the ultimate depths of true evil.