lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
As a huge fan of "The Wire" from HBO, it's no surprise that I am also pretty much in love with this book. It's a powerful piece of non-fiction that exposes a part of American culture that no one wants to acknowledge. Although Baltimore is the setting, and brings with it very specific scenes and events, this could really take place in AnyLargeCity, USA, and I imagine similar-yet-different scenarios playing out in Homicide offices anywhere. Warning for sensitive souls--this book is full of foul language, raunchy humor, and potentially racist rants, but I think it just adds to the charm. It's a real portrait of men in the trenches of a war on the streets.
shuzhens's review against another edition
5.0
Amazingly detailed, and at once tragic, poignant, ironic, and funny, a rarity for the true crime genre. I came away with tremendous respect for both the author and the Baltimore homicide department.
notschshelby's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
ashleybreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
matt4hire's review against another edition
5.0
Though the bits that are narrative and the bits that are more journalistic in style do make the book a little overly dry, they're understandable. Also, the afterword, at least on Simon's end, goes on waaaaay too long.
some_okie_dude27's review against another edition
I recorded a video review for this book on my YouTube channel! Give it a watch!
Like many, I discovered David Simon from his work on The Wire, which he created alongside with former Baltimore police detective and school teacher Ed Burns, who even gets a shoutout in this book. Also like many, I consider The Wire to be one of the greatest television shows that's ever been aired. I had also been recommended this book by journalist friends of mine, so I decided after tracking it down, I would give it a try.
In many ways, Homicide feels like a spiritual predecessor to The Wire. The similarities become so uncanny at points where you could pick up some of the inspirations for the characters on The Wire, particularly Jimmy, Bunk, and Jay Landsman, who was named after one of the detectives who is followed in this book. We even see similar themes that are shared throughout this book as well as The Wire, such as the ineffectiveness of our institutions and the inherently broken nature of our system, which often hinders police officers and other officers of the court's ability to do their jobs effectively. There is a feeling of powerlessness that pervades this book, as these cops are forced to deal with road blocks that keep them from doing their job, and the fact that as much crime that they stop, it seems that more just seem to pop up.
There aren't any master criminals or super sleuths in this book, just dumb people killing each other over dumb reasons and hapless detectives who often catch their guy through pure luck as much as it is skill. It's made even more difficult since they're dealing with a community who distrusts them at best, or actively dislike or hate them at worst. The most haunting aspect of this book was how normal this all becomes. These guys deal with the worst aspects of humanity every day of their lives, yet they carry on and they experience it with such frequency that it becomes another part of the job.
Simon proves that he is a gifted storyteller, with an ear for dialogue and a gift for establishing the gritty atmosphere of this unforgiving world. He doesn't have the patience to explain the intricacies of the harsh world that police detectives often find themselves in. There's a dark and grimy presence in this book that suffocates you along the way, but Simon does create levity with dark humor and absurd scenes that are so bizarre that it showcases how reality can be stranger than fiction. He gives you a window into the world of the homicide detective, and it almost seems as if he is one of them as he writes about their experience.
Admittedly, this book felt like a war of attrition at times, where I had to wear down this book's defenses in order to gain victory. There were even points that I had to sit the book down and take in all that I had read. It's not that this book or super complicated to understand, but the information that this book provides is a lot to take in, and the chapters don't help with their extended length. But luckily, Simon gets you to understand the lingo of the homicide detectives without ever overly explaining it to the audience. He gives the audience their answers through context clues and character interaction (or in this chase, the interaction between the detectives.) One can't help but admire his trust in his audience, and it was one of the main things that I admired about this book.
Homicide is not merely a book about the police catching criminals. Much like The Wire, it is a call to action. It's a declaration about how we have created this system that feeds cycles, and that those cycles will continue to happen as long as we continue to sit around and twiddle our thumbs and do nothing. Homicide was David Simon's first big statement about our institutions, and even here we see the root of his talents take form.
A raw read, but ultimately a good one.
blevins's review against another edition
5.0
I don't want to keep bringing up The Wire over and over but dang it, if something is good and no one watches it, I'm going to keep doing it! This book, written by The Wire's creator and written in 1991 is a thrilling, engrossing, disturbing, sad look into the Baltimore homicide department over the course of a year. Baltimore had lots of murders and this is an in depth look at virtually ever facet of what is like to be a detective. It also covers other areas of urban Baltimore life--sort of like The Wire! This book was the basis of the terrific tv show Homicide. At nearly 700 pages, this has everything you'll ever want to know about police work and crime. Fascinating.
woodsy23's review against another edition
4.0
Took me quite a long time to read but thoroughly enjoyed it.