Homicide Spiral-Bound | 2006-08-22

David Simon

★★★★☆+

$24.39 - Free Shipping
From the creator of HBO's The Wire, the classic book about homicide investigation that became the basis for the hit television show

The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the center of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of hard men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world.

David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and this electrifying book tells the true story of a year on the violent streets of an American city. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator, Harry Edgerton, a black detective in a mostly white unit, and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the brutal rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl. Meanwhile, Baltimore is plagued by racial tensions and a drug epidemic, and the detectives often feel that the rising tide of chaos is about to swamp them completely.

Originally published 15 years ago, Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show of the same name. This new edition--which includes an introduction, an afterword, and photographs--revives a classic of its kind, a riveting tale about the men who work on the dark side of the American experience.

Publisher: Macmillan
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 672 pages
ISBN-10: 0805080759
Item Weight: 1.1 lbs
Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
"Engrossing...Mr. Simon does an extraordinary job of getting under the skin and into the minds of the police officers."
--New York Times Book Review

"We seem to have an insatiable appetite for police stories...David Simon's entry is far and away the best, the most readable, reliable and relentless of them all."
--The Washington Post Book World

"A frank, insightful, and meticulously detailed look at detectives and their work."
--San Francisco Chronicle








David Simon's Homicide won an Edgar Award and became the basis for the NBC award-winning drama. Simon's second book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood, co-authored with Edward Burns, was made into an HBO miniseries. Simon is currently the executive producer and writer for HBO's Peabody Award-winning series The Wire. He lives in Baltimore.