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Homicide Special: On the Streets with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit |
List Price: $25.00
Your Price: $15.75 |
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Reviews |
Description:
The hard-boiled, tough-talking homicide detective is one of the classic archetypes in contemporary American entertainment. TV and movies have always been loaded with trench coat wearing cops drilling suspects and catching elusive clues that crack the case. And while there is no historical shortage of fictional gumshoes, writer Miles Corwin shows us that the lives of real detectives, while perhaps not as glamorous, are infinitely more interesting. Corwin was given extensive access to one of Los Angeles' top units and provides fascinating insight into methods of evidence gathering, interrogation, and other facets of detective work. Homicide Special pushes past the headlines to retrieve a depth of insight that reveals the complex nature of the crimes and the efforts to solve them. Real investigations aren't quite as easily solved as those on, say, CSI, and Corwin's analysis of various cases illuminates the fragility of good police work. At the same time, the actual details of a homicide case are considerably more grisly than anything on television and readers should be prepared for rather unpleasant imagery. Among the many cases spotlighted are the murders of the daughter of a Las Vegas mobster, a prostitute with ties to the Russian mafia, and Bonny Lee Bakley, allegedly killed by her husband, actor Robert Blake. Corwin makes good use of the access he was granted, fleshing out minute details that provide an intimate feeling to the locales, suspects, and witnesses visited by the detectives. The celebrity culture of the detectives' beat and the unique universe that is contemporary Southern California living provide an unusually eclectic perspective to the true crime genre, throwing the stories captivatingly off kilter. Meanwhile, Corwin's narrative toes the tough-guy crime writer line, calling to mind a contemporary version of Dragnet. But such trappings are mere accents to the ultimate success of Corwin's book: the ability to realistically demonstrate the challenges and triumphs of top detectives seeking both answers and justice. --John Moe
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