Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

Well written, fast paced, real life. Great book! So unlike the murder mysteries on television -- that fantasy is blown wide open. It should be required reading prior to anyone about to serve on a jury.

Good book, very interesting view into the workings of the Baltimore PD. It has many interesting stories and insights. The thing that keeps it from being a five-star book are that it is somewhat disjointed, which means that it remains on the edge of being gripping without quite crossing the line. Solid 4 stars.

As a retired police officer in an Australian state a young detective may well finish a shift with boot marks on his back, if a homicide occurred, those boots being from sergeants and above stampeding to get their names on the occurrence sheets. I can only look back now and wonder how much I could have learned by working as an observer with Baltimore police. I am in no doubt it would of made me better, complete copper.

Very well-written, and difficult to put down. This book takes an honest look at the realities of working the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit in the 1980's, and while Simon clearly immerses himself in the unit, he maintains a mostly objective narrative.

An interesting 'insider' look at police work in Baltimore's homicide unit. If you've seen the tv series "Homicide, Life on the street" you'll begin to see situations and cases which were the foundation for the hit show. A very good read.

David Simon has written a compelling novel that shows you how homicide detectives deal with the horrors they see every day. If you loved the TV show, this is must-read and tells the true story of the Baltimore PD homicide unit.

I was sidetracked and am still reading. I live in Baltimore and just finished watching all 5 seasons of The Wire. A real world continuation of a theme, even though it came first. Very interesting and illuminating!

I had seen the the Homicide: Life on the Streets TV series before. Also was a big fan of David Simon's "The Wire".

This is an excellent book and I am looking forward to reading his other book, The Corner.

This is a pretty interesting book, especially the detailed sections on crime scene analysis and suspect interrogation, etc. Fascinating to learn that forensic evidence didn't really come into play much of the time (at least in the late 80's/early 90's). Good old-fashioned police work (i.e. interviewing/interrogation) was critical to most of the successful convictions during this time frame. The detectives have a great sense of humor about the horrific aspects of their jobs, but I suppose you'd have to. Great book for people who like true crime novels.

Love anything this guys writes...directs, (the wire) he's awesome....Haven't finished the book but I can already tell through his storytelling or fact telling that this guy knows his stuff ! If you love the show 'The Wire' , you will love this book, straight out of the mean streets of baltimore.