The basic setup is the same as the movie, but the book is told from the point of views of the killer, the cop and the detective (alternating chapters). These men are homophobic and their thoughts clearly state so (unlike the film, where we don't get inside their heads). They're also anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic immigrant. It's a florid, noir read (with a gritty, Beat-nick type pose style). Certainly offensive to some readers.

Thanks for recapping the book. As I stated in another thread, novels and screenplays tell stories differently because novels can have a point of view. This is precisely what James Ellroy does--shows the homophobia in all its dreary glory. By casting a spotlight on it, he uses ironic hyperbole to "rub our noses in it." Yes, certainly offensive to some readers, and enjoyable entertainment for others who take it at face value. But the joke is ultimately on them, because by showing the cops to be just as demented and sick as the killers, he imputes that the society of which these depraved individuals are guardians is just as sick as they are. It's subversive fiction.