Homicide
A Year On The Killing Streets
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- €9.99
Publisher Description
'A masterpiece' MARTIN AMIS
'The best book about homicide detectives by an American writer' NORMAN MAILER
Based on a year on the killing streets of Baltimore, David Simon's true crime masterpiece reveals a city few will ever experience. Day in day out citizens are shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the centre of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Baltimore Sun reporter Simon spent a year tracking the homicide unit of his city's police, following the officers from crime scenes to interrogations to hospital emergency rooms. With empathy, psychological nuance, racy verbatim dialogue and razor-sharp prose, he offers a rare insider's look at the detective's tension-wracked world. Presiding over a score of sleuths is commander Gary D'Addario, ``connoisseur of survival'' who grapples with political intrigue, massive red tape and ``red balls'' (major, difficult cases). His detectives include Tom Pelligrini, obsessed with solving the rape-murder of an 11-year-old girl; Rich Garvey, whose ``perfect year'' is upset by a murder case that collapses in court; and black, cosmopolitan Harry Edgerton, a lone wolf, son of a jazz pianist. This hectic daily log reveals the detective's beat on Baltimore's mean streets (234 murders in 1988) to be brutal, bureaucratic and, occasionally, mundane.
Customer Reviews
Outstanding.
A top class read from start to finish. The most candid and honest true crime book I have ever read. If people want to know what police work really is then they should read this book. There is no substitute for really being there and the author gets access like in no book I have read. The inner workings of a police unit are laid bare here and the result is fascinating. A must read.