Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

599 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 1991 by Houghton Mifflin.

ISBN:: 978-0-395-48829-4
OCLC Number:: 23356235

The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed or bludgeoned to death. At the centre of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of hard men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world. David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and his remarkable book is both a compelling account of casework and an investigation into out culture of violence.

8 editions

Simo reviewed Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon

None

2 stars

If I would have read this book before watching Homicide TV series or The Wire, it would have earned more stars because of the eye-opening description of the work of police detectives and the station house power plays. However, the story telling of the book looses to the two works of fiction mentioned. This may be understandable because of the requirements of describing real people and events, but nonetheless this book was a slow read and even boring at some points.

I respect David Simon for the work done and will probably read the other book written by him at some point.

Subjects

Baltimore (Md.). Police Dept. Homicide Unit.
Homicide investigation -- Maryland -- Baltimore.