Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon is a work of non-fiction about the Homicide Unit of Baltimore's Police Department during one year in the 1980's when he was a journalist for the Baltimore Sun. This book was actually the inspiration for the TV show Homicide: Life on the Streets so if you've seen that show you might recognize some of the characters (albeit with different names and ethnicity in some cases). Simon focuses on a few of the key cases that the unit investigated during the year he observed (although it was more like became entrenched in their cases and lives). He managed to both show the very best of what it means to be a sensitive, thorough homicide detective and the lengths that they were willing to take to close out their cases (it's often about the closeout rate). The dark underbelly of the city, its inhabitants, and the men (and lone woman) tasked with solving those most heinous of crimes is laid bare in stark detail. These men (and one lone woman who was rarely a focus in the novel) are distinctly human with foibles like all the rest. Vulgarity, racism, sexism, and a general callousness permeate the department. (Baltimore was none too pleased with the portrayal of their city by the way.) Simon shows that not all cases have a tidy ending and in fact could remain unsolved well past the detective's tenure with the unit. If you're looking for a neat police procedural then you'll be disappointed with this book but if you're interested in the investigative process itself you've hit the jackpot. 5/10

 

A/N: Keep in mind when this book was written because there are definitely some problematic issues such as racist slurs, derogatory attitudes towards people of color, sexist asides, and general ickiness that made me shudder. I can't be sure how much of this was a product of the times and/or how much is just a part of Simon's character but it was off-putting in the extreme.

 

What I'm Currently Reading: Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis by Kathryn Sermak (with Danielle Morton)

 

David Simon's Homicide is an extremely riviting read. It's up there as one of my favorite non-fiction reads. I was familiar with Simon's work with The Wire, and it was cool to read some scenes and dialogue that I recognized from the show. Like with other non-fiction books I dig, this one reads a lot like a novel. It's a very quick and easy read. Even if you've never seen The Wire, I still think it's worth checking out.

 

5 stars

Enjoyed this non-fiction book. It was a little slow and dry in some parts, but the behind-the-scenes look at homicide detectives was very interesting. Wish I'd watched The Wire on HBO!

Updated Review:I re-read this because I am going to teach it this fall. In a book about how homicides are investigated, Simon looks at race, class, politics, police, residents, drugs, sexism, racism, and any another ism. There is plently in this book to chew over.Older ReviewI finally read this. I loved the NBC series based on this book. Honestly, if you are debating reading this book, read it. Simon is fair, and his writing is compelling. You get a real sense of people he writes about as well as the department as a whole. If you watched the series, you will be amazed about how much was used from the book in developing plot lines. It is a book that I will think about using in class.

This is an amazing book. Two people picked this out of my "To Read" list as their suggestion for what I should tackle next. Interestingly enough, I had already started it. I had heard about this book originally on a private list that I'm on, but never saw a copy at any bookstore that I went to. Then I heard that there was a TV show based on it, but I still couldn't find a copy anywhere. Just as I was about to give up, I passed through Powell's Books in Portland, and found a first edition hardcover for cheap--and it was worth three times that amount.

Simon spent an entire year observing a squad of Baltimore homicide detectives. The result is an incredible page-turner, filled with humor, pathos, stupidity, politics, brutality, and, through it all, death. This is not Hill Street Blues, and especially not Barney Miller. As realistic as Hill Street Blues tried to be, it really can't touch the mundane uniqueness--the singular exciting boredom-- that is the job of homicide investigation.

To parody Dr. Seuss, "Ah, the things you'll see!" This is a travel book as much as any trip to a foreign land--an exploration into the world of police procedures and life. It's not a place many of us would choose to live in, much less visit. I much prefer to read about it.