The Killing Season

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.