Customer Reviews

Homicide 69

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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Sam Reaves creates some interesting characters and has a good eye for Chicago and police work in this novel. More so, he has a great feel for the Outfit (the Mob in Chicago) and its conventions and intertwines the underworld nicely with the upperworld (if the labels can truly be applied here) of the police department in Chicago.

At 480 pages it's long, but don't think of it as 3 hours in church rather than the standard one, think of it as a 5 pound box of your favorite chocolates rather than just a one pound box. The characters will draw you in and make you stick around for the ending -- which is worth it.

I finished Homicide 69 on Saturday afternoon on break with the family in Florida. I can say very candidly it is the first book ever to dominate my vacation. I was at a complete loss all day Sunday, wishing there had been another hundred pages. It far exceeded its billing and reviews---far. Part history, part social anthropology and part first rate detective yarn, I found H69 to be much more complex and nuanced than anything in the genre I've ever read. The way Reaves handles Dooley's personal evolution against the backdrop of a changing and troubled society is nothing short of masterful. As a reader who came of age in this place and time, I am still fascinated by Dooley's conflicted sense of integrity, sort of a "practical integrity" with distinct institutional limits. It had to be precisely the way an honest Chicago cop in those days could justify himself within an essentially corrupt system. As a criminal defense lawyer, I've rooted against homicide cops for 28 years, but I was "Dooley's boy" to the last emotion charged page.

Reaves' research is maticulous, uncompromising and compelling. If there is a downside at all, it would be that only readers with a parochial perspective could appreciate the extent of it. Using his hard-earned insight into the '60s Chicago underworld, inside City Hall and outside of it, Reaves pulls the reader back in time and drops him into a living, three-dimentional extravaganza of thrills and emotions.

But, in the end, great characters make great books, no matter the genre. Homicide 69 was truly a great book because Michael Dooley will be with me for a long time to come. I want more.

Bob Smith

[...]

Get ready for a gripping detective story written in the spirit of the classic detective novel. Homicide 69 is a great read from cover to cover, and you aren't going to want to put it down.

Set in the gritty time of 1969 Chicago, Homicide 69 follows the path of veteran Detective Mike Dooley as he doggedly follows a case he just can't let go. The homicide of a young woman seems to be an open and shut case when a seedy character confesses to his involvement. However, Dooley knows something isn't right. He follows his instincts into a world with beautiful women, mobsters, crooked cops, and the FBI. He is determined, against all odds (and orders from above) to find out who really killed the young woman and bring them to justice.

The story goes far beyond just the investigation, which is a large part of the intrigue of the novel. Dooley has a strained family situation, with an unsatisfied wife, teenage daughter, a son struggling with his identity and another son in Vietnam. He must balance being a part of all of their lives while following a case that is capturing all of his thoughts and most of his time. In addition to his family, Dooley has a partner, bosses, and a very special witness to keep happy. His struggle to balance all of the challenges in his life adds a subtle element of drama to the story.

The novel brilliantly incorporates many of the historical events into the story. It is very interesting to get a picture of how events like the moon landing affected day-to-day life in 1969.

Homicide 69 is an interesting and very exciting read. The characters are well developed and you will come to care deeply about their well-being. While the novel doesn't leave any loose ends, it definitely leaves you wanting Mr. Reaves to write some more.

Armchair Interviews says: An outstanding 5-star read!