Synopses & Reviews
With an Updated Epilogue by the Author"A compelling portrait of seasoned homicide cops at work. This is L.A.'s darkest side: ironic, heart-breaking, stunningly violent, unfailingly human. Riveting."
-Jonathan Kellerman
The mandate for Los Angeles' unique police unit Homicide Special is to take on the toughest, most controversial, and highest-profile cases. In this "literate, unfailingly interesting work of true crime" (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed writer Miles Corwin uses unprecedented access to narrate six of the unit's cases-and capture its newest generation at work.
When a call girl from Kiev dies in the line of duty, detectives Chuck Knolls and Brian McCartin seek her killer among a circle of Russian women who have been sold into white slavery. When a gangster's daughter takes a bullet, veterans Jerry Stephens and Paul Coulter trace clues scattered across the country to a Manhattan real-estate magnate. A cold case is reopened; a mother-daughter drowning and a baffling rape/murder are solved. And, finally, Corwin re-creates the investigation surrounding the late Bonny Lee Blakley, allegedly murdered by her actor-husband, Robert Blake.
With a revised epilogue updating each of these fascinating cases, Homicide Special offers a riveting, behind-the-scenes look at one of the preeminent units of homicide detectives in the country.
Review
"Interrogation technique is a strong element in Corwin's accounts of all the cases covered here....Corwin's book will enthrall true-crime fans." Booklist
Review
"The prose is occasionally lackluster, and Corwin's descriptions tend toward the perfunctory....[A]ll this pales beside the story that he has to tell....Corwin has helped demystify not just Homicide Special, but all of police culture, and given it a very personal face." Los Angeles Times
Review
"[Corwin] does a commendable job of providing 'you are there' narration of his experience....Corwin does a good job of describing the meticulous, tedious, and seemingly glacial nature of police work." Library Journal
Synopsis
With an Updated Epilogue by the Author.
The mandate for Los Angeles' unique police unit Homicide Special is to take on the toughest, most controversial, and highest-profile cases. In this "literate, unfailingly interesting work of true crime" (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed writer Miles Corwin uses unprecedented access to narrate six of the unit's cases and capture its newest generation at work.
When a call girl from Kiev dies in the line of duty, detectives Chuck Knolls and Brian McCartin seek her killer among a circle of Russian women who have been sold into white slavery. When a gangster's daughter takes a bullet, veterans Jerry Stephens and Paul Coulter trace clues scattered across the country to a Manhattan real-estate magnate. A cold case is reopened; a mother-daughter drowning and a baffling rape/murder are solved. And, finally, Corwin re-creates the investigation surrounding the late Bonny Lee Blakley, allegedly murdered by her actor-husband, Robert Blake.
With a revised epilogue updating each of these fascinating cases, Homicide Special offers a riveting, behind-the-scenes look at one of the preeminent units of homicide detectives in the country.
Synopsis
Acclaimed writer Miles Corwin uses his unprecedented access to the legendary Homicide Special, the LAPD's elite detective unit, to narrate six of its cases and capture its newest generation at work.
About the Author
A former staff reporter at the
Los Angeles Times,
Miles Corwin is the author of
The Killing Season and
And Still We Rise. He lives in Los Angeles.