Manhattan North Homicide (St. Martin's True Crime Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas McKenna (Author), William Harrington (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's True Crime Library | Publication Date: February 1997

Firsthand accounts of New York City's most notorious cases are told from the perspectives of its elite officers and includes descriptions of the Central Park Jogger case, the Preppie Murder, and the Baby Maldonado case.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312960093
• ISBN-13: 978-0312960094
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,592,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Detective Stories, June 23, 2003

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manhattan North Homicide (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

The 240 pages in this very readable book cover the highlights in the career of Detective First Grade McKenna and his thirty years in the NYPD. He shares his thoughts while discussing many of his interesting cases. The book reads like a TV series waiting to happen. The 14 chapters tell of the events behind the newspaper stories.

Chapter 1 tells of the Central Park Jogger attacked in April 1989. Page 9 tells that if a suspect denies being at the scene of the crime, he has something to hide. Perhaps there's another reason for not getting involved? Detective McKenna got a confession that resulted in a conviction. But in 2003 the DNA evidence caused their release from jail, and exoneration. "There was no physical evidence". Is there a lesson to be learned? Should anyone be convicted on a disputed confession when there is no other evidence? But it happens.

When crimes occur, Detectives show up after to gather the statements of eyewitnesses, and begin their investigation. Sometimes they get information from people who were not there. After spending hours and days the facts emerge to point to the suspects. They are tracked down, arrested, then convicted. Detective McKenna emphasizes that "police work is all teamwork". Many of the crimes just happen by opportunity; there are few masterminds in street crime. One exception is on page 40. After you read this book you can turn to the classic Hammett and Chandler short stories with a new viewpoint.