This is a strongly atmospheric story that cuts across the many worlds of post WWII LA. As a former actor on the rise who's now an ex-con, blacklisted by the studios and living day to day, John Ray's seen the best and the worst of Hollywood. Definitely noirish in flavor - there's a lot more wrong than right in this world. But speaking as someone who normally finds too much darkness in the real world to enjoy it in fiction, don't let that put you off. John Ray himself is flawed, but also appealing, as are many of those around him. His world may be dark, but it's also a believably real one, evocatively depicted with a great deal of depth and detail and occasional lyricism, including bits of light shining amid all that darkness. Nor is there any cardboard in the characters. Even the bit parts are memorable, solid, human: real characters both literally and figuratively. I enjoyed spending time in their company and will remember them for a while after. Highly recommended.