James Ellroy's American Tabloid

A Full Cast Audio Drama

Please note: This content is for mature audiences only. It contains adult language and themes. Discretion is advised.

In 1995, James Ellroy’s novel American Tabloid shocked the world with its gritty reimagining of the events leading up to the JFK assassination. Now, an all-star cast brings Ellroy’s masterwork to life in this gripping new audio adaptation.

Hollywood luminaries including Brian Cox (Succession), Alessandro Nivola (The Many Saints of Newark), Elliott Gould (Ocean’s Eleven), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman), Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire), Giovani Ribisi (Lucky Pete) and Matt Dillon (There’s Something About Mary) lend their talents to this salacious thriller narrated by Ellroy himself.

The high-low tale tracks the machinations of real power brokers, like Jimmy Hoffa, John F. and Bobby Kennedy, and J. Edgar Hoover, as well as the fictionalized footmen who did their dirty work behind the scenes. Weaving true events into his sordid story, Ellroy creates a portrait of midcentury America that’s as recognizable as it is shocking.

Take a trip beyond the gloss of the Kennedy presidency into the backroom deals and unsavory characters that really made things happen. Follow along with characters like Big Pete Bondurant, a violent associate of both Howard Hughes and Jimmy Hoffa who will go to any lengths to insulate his employers from repercussions, and Kemper Boyd, an FBI agent tasked with going undercover in the Kennedy political operation.

Ellroy invites a whole new generation to leave their historical preconceptions at the door—to lift up the rock and see what’s living underneath.

Available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

©2023 Audio Up, Inc. (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC.

"America Was Never Innocent"

The Audible Original production of "American Tabloid" takes an already enthralling novel and turns it into an audio-drama that plunges the listener into a world of intrigue, deceit, and labyrinthine schemes. The dialogue crackles, the story grabs you by the throat and never lets go, and the performances (with one VERY notable exception) are pitch-perfect from top to bottom. In "American Tabloid", Ellroy shows us America as a powderkeg waiting for a spark to ignite it and immolate the world with it. An insidious and pernicious CIA has its tentacles in every strata of society, a communist country lies 50 miles off America's shores, the mafia is at the height of it's influence, and the Kennedy family has its hands on the reins of power. It's a world where alliances are made with villains, plans within plans have the diremost consequences, and absolutely nobody is innocent. Of all the Ellroy novels that Audible could've adapted, I'm glad they chose "American Tabloid".
That said, there is one caveat: the narrator, James Ellroy himself, is so baffilingly unsuited to read his own material. I've never heard an author who has such an off-putting take on his own prose. It's guttural, harsh, and so strangely read it's almost comical. A story this taut, tense, and engrossing really needed a better narrator to articulate it. Caveat aside, the rest of the performances, to a one, are perfectly delivered. Audible scrounged up a "Murderer's Row" of talent to perform the dialogue and each and every actor has a surprising grasp on their respective characters and personalities. Particular acclaim should go to Allesandro Nivola, William Forsythe, and Shea Whigham as the leads. The stellar cast, immersive sound-design, tightly-paced and exquisitely written story all serve to deliver an utterly addicting Cold War pot-boiler that simmers from word one and builds and builds until its explosive conclusion...

And I could NOT stop listening.

If you enjoyed James Ellroy's "American Tabloid" as much as I did and are looking for similar titles please check out Ellroy's other works like "L.A. Confidential", "The Black Dahlia", and "The Enchanters". I also can't recommend Don Dellilo's "Libra" enough, as well as "Winter Kills" by Richard Condon.

A great novel and a unique audio production

James Ellroy’s complex noir epics are incomparable, and this one is arguably his masterpiece.

This audio production features superb voice performances by a big cast of actors, plus a sprinkling of sound effects to help bring things to life.

The tricky bit is Ellroy himself reading the narration. Once I got into it, I came to love his noir growl and idiosyncratic cadences, but I understand why many reviews don’t take to it. Check out the sample and keep in mind that you are hearing the man himself.

Highly recommend

This is a great story line with the cast, Brain Cox did a fascinating job reading this. And with his voice and the way he read it and the music and sound affects made you think you were actually in that era. it was wild on on the different spin of the story. i loved this book.

A fantastic performance.

An already amazing book from James Ellroy really comes alive with the actors and performances.

Loved the performance/production

Great production that hopefully reflects Ellroy's vision. Or he's doing it for the money. Anyway enjoyed the actors and this format.