The Killing Season : A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division [Mass Market Paperback]

Miles Corwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 1998

Gaining unprecedented access to the LAPD, crime reporter Miles Corwin shadows two homicide detectives on the mean streets of South Central L.A. Pete "Raz" Razanskas and Marcella Winn were unlikely partners: one a crusty, twenty-two-year veteran of the force; the other a street-smart woman from the 'hood. A graphic, uncensored look at real cops and real killers, THE KILLING SEASON is that rare combination of first-rate reportage and riveting storytelling that will leave you shaken, informed, and blasted awake.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the summer of '94, while the rest of the U. S. was focused on the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, 400 murders took place in another Los Angeles neighborhood. Los Angeles Times crime reporter Miles Corwin was there in the trenches. He became the third member of a team of South-Central homicide cops--a veteran male detective who dressed and talked like a cowboy, and a young black female trainee who grew up right there in "the Hood." As the rookie detective learned the ropes, Corwin learned right along with her, keeping the same grueling 24-7 schedule. This isn't a book with evocative descriptions or philosophical musings; Corwin writes in the fluid, unembellished style of a skilled journalist, and is especially adept at reproducing conversations--wicked teasing between cops, difficult interviews with reluctant witnesses, and the patter of the streets. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

South Central Los Angeles is a proving ground for homicide detectives. Taken as a city in its own right, the region would "rank among the nation's top ten" in murders, according to Los Angeles Times crime reporter Corwin in this gripping brief. During the summer of 1994, Corwin rode with two homicide cops as they raced from crime to crime, trying to keep up with the murderous pace. One, Pete Razankas, is the stereotype of a burnt-out cop: thrice-married, perpetually behind on his paperwork, a veteran of 22 years in South Central, looking forward only to his annual hunting trip. His summer duties include shepherding Marcella Winn, a gifted detective trainee, through her transition to the homicide unit. Razankas is a shoot-from-the-hip conversationalist who makes an occasional racist, ethnic or sexist remark during his perpetual razzing of his colleagues. By contrast, Winn is the rare black woman in this predominantly white male environment. Through Corwin's eyes, she appears as a font of folk wisdom, often quoting her mother's mantra, "What I don't understand would make a whole new world." Authors of insider narratives often tend to impose an artificial dramatic arc on their material. Corwin avoids this by framing his story against the change of seasons. By focusing on the hidden victims?the children of the murdered?he brings to light the traumatic effects of violent crime on the young. His occasional asides on the LAPD and the history of South Central provide welcome historical context. More than a tale of cops and robbers, Corwin's reporting brings home the hard reality of overworked cops and a stressed-out system fighting a losing battle against an epidemic of violent death.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1st Ballantine Books Ed edition (March 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449002918
• ISBN-13: 978-0449002919
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,510,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Killing Season--The Best of the Bunch, November 12, 2000

By 

"peterbparis" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Season : A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division (Mass Market Paperback)

Where David Simon's HOMICIDE succeeds in sounding in prose, THE KILLING SEASON succeeds in speaking the truth. I have read most of the "True Cop" genre, which is mired in cops with axes to grind, journalists with careers to further, and others constrained by their lack of literary talent. As a cop, I was so relieved to see that at least one journalist could shed his skepticism of police officers' motivations and just sit, watch, listen, and reflect.

The shock, sadness, and resignation Corwin expresses so eloquently and easily are the constant companions of even the most idealistic cop. Most, however, can't master the vocabulary to express their motivations to the general public, who seem to think we are all power-hungry, single-minded, and without empathy. We think the same of journalists, and Miles Corwin goes a long way to bridging this gap of mutual understanding. If you want to know what cops are like, read this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Prequel To Homicide Special, July 11, 2006

By 

J H Murphy "Hank Murphy" (Agoura, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Killing Season (Paperback)

I won't try to repeat the details from the other reviews, but here's my take:

1. I read this in one night -- could not put it down. I'd read Homicide Special before this and enjoyed it. This is perhaps not as engrossing as his later book, which interweaved several detective teams through six investigations -- The Killing Season concentrates on one pair, which gives the opportunity for more detail.

2. I can imagine meeting Rakanzas, the senior detective - Corwin's portrait of a tobacco-chewing, wise-cracking veteran is spread throughout the book, building his character slowly but in depth.

3. I didn't see the same characterization of his partner, but certainly no worse than par for the course in true crime books.

4. The detective team eventually splits. This part of the book seems to gloss over the details, and I think more time could have been spent here.

5. Corwin gives a fair amount of coverage to the victim's relatives, and the aftermaths of the murders. He points out the disparity between the news coverage and police effort given to a couple of contemporary murders on L.A.'s prosperous Westside and San Pedro areas, versus the shoestring response to the comparative slaughter in South Central. This could have been followed up a bit more in the book IMHO. (In fact, the LA Times did a front-page Column One series on homicides in South Central earlier this year (2006), and the situation seems to continue.)

6. The supporting players (the lieutenants and other detectives) don't get as much attention in this book as in Homicide Central.

7. If you are an Angeleno and read crime novels or true crime, I think you will enjoy this book. If you are outside the LA area, it's still worthwhile, but I'd suggest a map to give some scope to the story.

8. One thing I would have liked to have seen was an appendix outlining the relationships of the various sets of Crip and Blood gangs, although Corwin does give a reasonable thumbnail history of the gang problem.

Overall, I'd give this four-and-one-half stars. The raw material is compelling, and Corwin's style presents it nicely, leading to the refinement of his style in Homicide Special.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for native angelenos, October 9, 2000

By 

Nick Rose (Newport Coast, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Season : A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division (Mass Market Paperback)

As a native angeleno, I found this book about the daily lives of homicide detectives in South-Central Los Angeles to be fascinating. Corwin also provides an insightful look into the history of animosity between the LAPD and minority groups in the city, thereby providing some enlightenment into the etiology of the 1992 riots. This book is a must read for native angelenos as well as a quick page-turner for anyone fascinated with homicide detectives and their investigations.