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A review by knitnetic
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon
5.0
This book provides wonderful insight into the life of a homicide detective in Baltimore, one of the least safe cities in the United States. In the late 1980's (when this book was written), Baltimore was in the middle of a rise in crime that would continue well into the 1990's. In 1988, the homicide department dealt with two murders every three days; by the time the city rang in the new decade, there would be more murders than days in the year.
Though the language and subject matter of this book are quite rough, that really contributes to the ethos of the story. You feel as though you are really getting a look into the everyday horror experienced by these officers. Nothing is sugar coated here; from rape to child murder, we get every gory detail. There is humor, but there is also incredible darkness. Fans of true crime will not go wrong here.
I'd also like to draw the reader's attention to the afterword of the book. Here, Mr. David details some of the challenges of serving with the department as an investigative journalist. In particular, I appreciated his description of how difficult he found it not to get wrapped up in the investigations, or begin to act as a detective himself. Given how well he seemed to understand their mindset, it really made me appreciate his work.
Though the language and subject matter of this book are quite rough, that really contributes to the ethos of the story. You feel as though you are really getting a look into the everyday horror experienced by these officers. Nothing is sugar coated here; from rape to child murder, we get every gory detail. There is humor, but there is also incredible darkness. Fans of true crime will not go wrong here.
I'd also like to draw the reader's attention to the afterword of the book. Here, Mr. David details some of the challenges of serving with the department as an investigative journalist. In particular, I appreciated his description of how difficult he found it not to get wrapped up in the investigations, or begin to act as a detective himself. Given how well he seemed to understand their mindset, it really made me appreciate his work.