( 7 reviews )
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Posted: Jan 15 2009
I picked this up on audio book (admittedly because it was on clearance and i had a gift card) I have a lengthy car drive to and from work everyday and pass the time with audio books. Like most people I found this book to be repetative, and a tad dry. I found myself googling most of the cases talked about to find more information. It really does leave you wanting to know more, but not in a good way. I may try some of the authors fiction, hopefully those will be better.
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Posted: Dec 19 2008
I picked this up not quite knowing what to expect. I've read a number of Connelly's LA-set crime novels and more or less enjoyed them. I've also been looking for a good true crime book (most of it is dreck), and knowing he was a crime reporter, thought this might fit the bill. What I didn't realize (shame on me for not reading the subtitle), was that this is basically a collection of various news articles he wrote back in the mid-'80s to mid-'90s when he worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. It has to be said that there's nothing particularly engaging about reading 15 to 20-year-old newspaper crime articles from cities you've never lived in. There's no precious little narrative in any of the stories, and while Connelly does occasionally slip in the interesting detail or nuance, it's mostly pretty standard dry newspaperese. In other words, what crime happened, where it happened, who it happened to, and what the cops are doing to discover why it happened and who did it. In some cases, a series of articles follows a crime over time, resulting in a great deal of repetition of facts and statements for the contemporary reader. Which is not to suggest that there aren't some interesting articles -- my own favorites included one about a deadly but inept group of amateur hitmen, and one about how the LAPD established links with Mexican authorities to prosecute criminals who've fled into Mexico. And of course, there are some grim profiles (such as serial killer Christopher Wilder), strange profiles (fraudster and bigamist David Miller), and tragic profiles (prolific burglar and crack addict Billy Schroeder). Had Connelly added some material to explain how these specific cases informed his fictional writing, the book might be worth reading. Instead, by the end of the book, I was glad to be done with the blizzard of crime therein. The cumulative effect is rather depressing, and there's nothing particularly informative about any of it. Those interested in the details of LA homicide cops are probably better served by Miles Corwin's books Homicide Special and The Killing Season.
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Posted: Jul 6 2007
I checked the audio book out from the library. Couldn't get through it. After the 3rd CD, I returned it. The same information is repeated over and over and over and over.....for a second I thought my CD player was repeating the same tracks. Incredibly dull and annoying to hear the same articles about the same cases again and again with the same information and descriptions. How this got passed the editors, I have no idea. Unless you want to be bored to tears, skip this one.
