Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit [Paperback]

Miles Corwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The hard-boiled, tough-talking homicide detective is one of the classic archetypes in contemporary American entertainment. TV and movies have always been loaded with trench coat wearing cops drilling suspects and catching elusive clues that crack the case. And while there is no historical shortage of fictional gumshoes, writer Miles Corwin shows us that the lives of real detectives, while perhaps not as glamorous, are infinitely more interesting. Corwin was given extensive access to one of Los Angeles' top units and provides fascinating insight into methods of evidence gathering, interrogation, and other facets of detective work. Homicide Special pushes past the headlines to retrieve a depth of insight that reveals the complex nature of the crimes and the efforts to solve them. Real investigations aren't quite as easily solved as those on, say, CSI, and Corwin's analysis of various cases illuminates the fragility of good police work. At the same time, the actual details of a homicide case are considerably more grisly than anything on television and readers should be prepared for rather unpleasant imagery. Among the many cases spotlighted are the murders of the daughter of a Las Vegas mobster, a prostitute with ties to the Russian mafia, and Bonny Lee Bakley, allegedly killed by her husband, actor Robert Blake. Corwin makes good use of the access he was granted, fleshing out minute details that provide an intimate feeling to the locales, suspects, and witnesses visited by the detectives. The celebrity culture of the detectives' beat and the unique universe that is contemporary Southern California living provide an unusually eclectic perspective to the true crime genre, throwing the stories captivatingly off kilter. Meanwhile, Corwin's narrative toes the tough-guy crime writer line, calling to mind a contemporary version of Dragnet. But such trappings are mere accents to the ultimate success of Corwin's book: the ability to realistically demonstrate the challenges and triumphs of top detectives seeking both answers and justice. --John Moe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Granted "unfettered access" to one of the LAPD's investigative units, Homicide Special, Los Angeles Times crime reporter Corwin (The Killing Season; And Still We Rise) shadowed several veteran detectives during 2001 and 2002. While not recounting every homicide case he observed, the author vividly renders a handful that exemplify the range of entrenched social fissures and seedy criminality that have long defined Los Angeles. From its ethnic underbelly to the unnoticed fringes of Hollywood fame, the investigations include the murders of a struggling screenwriter and a daughter of a former Las Vegas mobster; a Japanese mother and daughter found bound together and floating in a marina weeks after their deaths; a beautiful immigrant prostitute with complicated connections to the Russian mafia; a teenage girl killed 38 years ago-a "cold case" that was reopened by a pair of devoted detectives; and Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, whose bloody death became chum for a tabloid feeding frenzy. With a touch of Chandleresque panache, Corwin's true crime reads like vintage noir, delivering taut dialogue sprinkled with off-color wisecracks and lyrical passages describing horizons "veiled by a tawny band of smog" or harbors filled with the "thrumming of boat engines and the squall of gulls." But unlike the ham-and-eggs detectives of Chandler's era, these latter-day California cops (the unit worked on the O.J. Simpson case) wear fancy suits purchased in Thailand, moonlight as sous-chefs and munch on "pumpkinseed-crusted three-cheese chile rellenos with papaya salsa."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (August 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805076948
• ISBN-13: 978-0805076943
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gripping, True to Life (and Death) Read, January 30, 2004

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This review is from: Homicide Special: On the Streets with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit (Hardcover)

I started "Homicide Special" yesterday afternoon, and literally could not do anything else until I finished it several hours later. I hated for it to end. A reader gets an honest feel for the rhythm of detective work, and realizes how months of work can be undone by a careless mistake (even one made decades ago in a long dormant case) or by a clerk who inadvertently destroys old evidence.
The author is scrupulously fair to the police and gives a realistic snapshot of contemporary Los Angeles with its international mix of cultures. Several of these bizarre cases prove the old saw that truth IS stranger than fiction. Corwin is one of the best at putting you at the scene without calling attention to himself. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in police work -- or good journalism.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exemplary journalism, February 18, 2004

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kevnm "kevnm" (Costa Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Homicide Special: On the Streets with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit (Hardcover)

Those interested in crime and punishment often have to settle for second-rate true crime books pasted together from newspaper articles. This book, by contrast, is a model of expert journalism and compelling writing. Mr. Corwin is an observer of great sensitivity and transports the reader to crime scenes, interview rooms and crime labs. Tough, authentic, absorbing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book and you'll be inside the LAPD!!, March 16, 2004

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S. Lucyk "pslucyk" (Rio Rancho, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Homicide Special: On the Streets with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit (Hardcover)

Would you like to be a "fly on the wall" inside a homicide investigation?

This is an incredibly intriguing book that allows the reader to become familiar with all aspects of the LAPD Homicide Special division and the "ins and outs" of homicide investigation. It chronicles several real homicide investigations from start to finish, allowing the reader to identify with the investigators and the victims. (Some are even famous) The history of the LAPD, occasionally shady but never boring, is also narrated. Throughout the book the reader learns about everything from crime scene investigations to interrogation methods. This book is excellent. If you have even the slightest interest in police work, you really should read this book. It reads like fiction- detectives you root for, victims your heart bleeds for, and bad guys that get busted.