Royal Scandal, Hollywood Crime, Nail Salon Drama: Pajiba October 2025 Book Recommendations Superpost
What books are you reading this month?
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Books | November 3, 2025
Widespread Panic by James Ellroy
What is everyone currently reading? I’m back on the James Ellroy train.
Yes, Ellroy has been my main literary obsession of 2025, and I don’t plan on dropping him anytime soon. The dark master of crime fiction is too compelling for me to walk away, even if he is somewhat eccentric.
Widespread Panic is surprisingly short by Ellroy’s standards—my edition is a spry 336 pages—but it is rich in detail. The protagonist, Freddy Otash, is a familiar character from Ellroy’s Underworld USA series and a memorable figure in Hollywood history.
Otash, a former LAPD officer and private detective, earned notoriety as a fixer and researcher for the tabloid magazine Confidential. When there was a mess to clean up or create, Otash was the man to call.
- He was famously employed by Peter Lawford to investigate Marilyn Monroe.
- This connection sparked decades of conspiracy theories about Monroe’s link to JFK.
Widespread Panic chronicles Otash’s shady operations in early 1950s Hollywood, where he mingled and clashed with Tinseltown’s elite.
Unlike Ellroy’s previous works, this book takes an unexpected dive into the speculative. Otash narrates from purgatory, delivering an unfiltered monologue of his life and criminal exploits to a hopefully forgiving higher power.
"The demon dog of crime fiction is too juicy for me to abandon, even if he is a genuine weirdo."
"Otash is narrating this story from purgatory, offering a no-holds-barred monologue of his life and crimes to a hopefully forgiving higher force."
Author's summary: Kayleigh Donaldson shares her ongoing fascination with James Ellroy’s gripping crime narratives, highlighting his latest work that blends Hollywood scandals with supernatural introspection.
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