Crime Scenes

Rating:
Summary: through the eyes of a cop
Review: "crime scenes" is a journey onto the streets and a look through the eyes of cops. this book is real and does not hold back. you will read about things that cops have to deal with on a daily basis. about private feelings that would take years of trust between you & a cop for them to even reveal to you. stories... about how cops cope with working for a huge political machine, a kid with big dreams trying to get out of the ghetto, working undercover and trying to sweep the streets of drugs/crime, losing a partner, and a prostitute who thinks a baby will help get her off the streets. you will laugh, cry, and be shocked after you read this book but be thankful that gina gallo exposed her life as a cop to write such a moving book as crime scenes. trust me, you will rarely get the truth and a real look behind the scenes of those who promised to "serve and protect..."

Rating:
Summary: Brought Tears To My Eyes
Review: As an old, broken down Insane Fish this book brought back so many memories. I am a retired Chicago PO that worked all the same streets as Gina. From the projects to narcotics to gangs. I have never met Gina but it seems she was writing for me. GREAT WORK ...

Rating:
Summary: speeding to the scene
Review: As I begin to enter my 25th year of urban Law enforcement I can count on one hand the number of books which buckle the reader's knees and drag him from behind into the hellish world of the urban Ghetto. And not only into the ghetto but where the sensation of vicarious observation leaves the reader and the raw terror black humor and true sadness and hopeless despair swirls around the reader all at once. If yopu want to know what Big City Police work is like without leaving the easy chair and fireplace ... Read this book..

Rating:
Summary: Crime Scenes: Watch where you walk
Review: CRIME SCENES is the best true crime book to come on the scene since the last Wambaugh. Gina Gallo captures the violent and ironic world of street cops in one of America's largest cities. She tells the story of cops trying to make a difference and just trying to stay alive in a world turned upside down by violence and bizarre bureaucrats. Chapter One, the Insane Fish, will set the tone for you as she lets you in on police humor, the humor that many of us saw first in the trenches of a foreign war. The humor of soldiers hoping that the parachute will open. Cops laugh to survive and Gallo shows us that side of the world. But she also will leave us close to tears when she describes the victims. We drive past the homeless and the hopeless but Gallo and her comrades in arms know them. She tells that story too and it will leave us very uncomfortable. Something is amiss on the streets and Gina Gallo is here to tell that story. Your delightful task is to read it. She has done all of the heavy lifting for us. Gallo's writing style is addictive. Her sense of humor is deadly. This is a book that is destined for the big screen. Get it now. And watch where you walk, sir, there is blood on the street over there.

Rating:
Summary: She has "walked the walk"
Review: Gina Gallo, Chicago Police Department, takes the reader intothe world of the street cop. She is a "cop" in every senseof the word. She writes of her personal experiences that range fromthe terrifying "Dance with the Devil" to the comical"Mailbox Marilyn" chapters. Police officers everywhere willidentify with her accounts of "La Puta". Any street copthat I ever knew will read this book and feel that he or she has met apeer in Gina Gallo. I would recommend this to police academy trainerswho want to let recuits know what the "street" will be likefor them...

Rating:
Summary: Not Gina Gallo's best work but acceptable...
Review: I enjoy this author's work so much but found this book somewhat sloppy, verbally chaotic, and at times actually boring. I hate to say anything negative about this awesome author's work but I have to give my honest opinion about this book and I only give it 3 stars, mostly for effort.

Rating:
Summary: Strap on your kevlar vest
Review: If you've ever wanted to do a midnight ride along through some of Chicago's worst projects, climb on in and buckle your seatbelt. You'll trawl the stroll for errant johns as an undercover prostitute, sweat through dicey drug deals with heavily-armed psychopaths, and come eyeball-to eyeball with the city's gangs, including the Insane Fish, the freakiest gang to claim Chicago streets as their exclusive home turf. This is Gina Gallo's world, a place where the good guys don't always win and cops sacrifice home, family, and sometime's their lives, so we can sleep easily at night. This ain't TV. This is what being a Chicago street cop looks like up close and personal, written by a veteran of 18 years on the force. If you're ready to experience the smoke and sweat of front line law enforcement, this is the book for you. Believe me, Gina Gallo is the hardest cop who will ever break your heart.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Side of a Street Cop
Review: In the streets, one never knows whats going to come your way during your tour. Just like this book, it covers such an array of riveting, spellbinding, and heartbreaking stories. Will keep you interested, and emotionally involved.

This is definitely a must read. Truly sensational, this author has a lot to say and a fantastic way of articulating events, incidents, that makes you part of the action. Takes you through a small history and explains the story.

Sensational, descriptive, tear jerking, heartbreaking and sometimes humorous. It explains the inner workings of the unseen police world, without the hollywood glitz and glamour. The good guy doesn't always win, but you're definitely cheering them on for future battles.

I finished this book within hours, and am ready to delve into her next book "Armed and Dangerous". Thank you Gina for giving us a true depiction of everyday life in the streets, a thankless job for the most part that is so much more than a job!! KUDOS to you. And I look forward to more of your stories.

Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: There are a lot of anecdotal police books being published these days, many of them self-published. The primary reasons officers are paying to see their books in print is that publishing houses are rejecting them because many are poorly written, and even the good ones are not selling well. There are exceptions. Chicago police officer Gina Gallo has authored a well-written anecdotal police book titled Crime Scenes, published by Blue Murder Press.

Gallo pulls no punches as she colors the gritty world of Chicago's mean streets, the gangs, guns, hookers and the dope. She tells the story of cops trying to make a difference and trying to stay alive in a world turned upside down by street violence and stupid bureaucrats.

She begins with a story that reveals a little about police humor, that thing that keeps cops sane. Gallo handles humor wonderfully in this opening story and in others that follow as she shows just how goofy people can be. But just when she gets you laughing, sometimes out loud, her next story will tug at your heartstrings.

The book is not just about cops, but about victims, too. Some of those are funny, but many are heartbreaking, revealing a compassionate side of police work never reported by the media or seen by those who look only for the negative in police officers.

Each story takes five to ten minutes to read, which is perfect in this fast-paced world. Be careful, though: The stories are sort of like potato chips. You can't stop after just one.

Rating:
Summary: tough true-life tales of cop life
Review: Want to know what it's like to be a cop--to really understand it? Short of joining the force, the best thing you can do is read this book. Cops see it all. What they see and do imbues our culture, fires our imagination, sparks our interest in urban romance--the sort of stories in which good-looking tough guys risk life and limb to serve, honor and protect us normal, vulnerable citizens. That's the fiction. What we have here, in CRIME SCENES, is the real stuff. Ordinary people--albeit highly trained--in extraordinary circumstances. This book shows us what cops see day in and day out, the traumas they deal with, the horrors they confront, the humor they find in the strangest places, and the affects it all has on their lives. A lot of media time and space is spent on crime and law enforcement, and the media always has a lot to say when cops do bad things. For people like me, it's always seemed fairly obvious that bad cops, inept cops, cops who make mistakes are mere jerks who abuse their power or who never fully understood and appreciated the responsibility bestowed upon them. After reading this book, it became clear that I needed to muster a bit of understanding and appreciation myself. And this book helped me do it. Now I have a better understanding of the extreme circumstances cops routinely confront as a matter of going to work every day, and I'm not so sure I'd be able to do it. This book taught me respect.