In February 2013, journalist Del Quentin Wilbur spent a month with the Homicide Squad in Prince George’s County, which borders Washington DC. PG County (as it is referred to in the book) is in a fairly deprived area with a high crime rate, especially gun crime.

Wilbur gives details of the cases that the detectives investigate during the month of February, with maybe extra focus on the particularly heinous and apparently unmotivated murder of a young female in her own home.

I loved this book. The descriptions of the crime scenes, and how they affected the detectives was so well described, and more than just giving details of the work that these incredible people do, it also demonstrated how it affected them personally. I did feel that it must have clearly been influenced by David Simon’s ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ (which for my money is one of the best non-fiction books ever written), and indeed, Wilbur does reference this book and explains that he wanted to see how the job of homicide detective had changed since Homicide was written in the late 80s.

This book made me thankful that I live in a country where gun crime is not prevalent – in PG County it’s basically part of life, and many innocent people get caught up in it – and made me wonder what it must be like to live your life constantly in fear.

Anyway, my review cannot do this book justice, but I do highly recommend it, especially for fans of true crime. There is no sensationalism here, just an interesting narrative of the facts, showing how the detectives go about their jobs, while trying to keep their own lives and minds intact. ( )

A complete 180 from my usual cozy mystery. This has the fast-paced, in-depth feel of journalistic writing, no doubt because of the author's years as a newspaper reporter, and really does make you feel like you're right there on the scene of the crime or in the interrogation 'box' with the detectives. The author makes it clear he couldn't be with every detective on every case (a physical impossibility) but I wish he'd included more time with the female detectives in his coverage. Other than the one minor complaint, this is hands down a winner. ( )

I read this book shortly after reading Ghettocide. It was interesting to pair them together. This was the insider's view of a high crime rate police department.

It was, as I said interesting, but a bit difficult to follow. There were perhaps too many detectives featured and the narrative a bit jumpy ( )

Received this through Goodreads Giveaway. 3.5 stars. My main complaint is that it was hard to keep track of names and cases, as the author jumped around throughout the book. I also would recommend reading the authors note at the end first; it clarified a few questions I had about the text. Overall, it was quite interesting to see what real police work is like, especially relating to homicide. If you like true crime, this book is for you. ( )

Wilber details an unusually difficult month in the life of a homicide squad in a low-income county outside of Washington, DC. Plenty of information about the toll working late hours under difficult conditions take on the detectives, as well as detail about the investigative process itself.

Because of the large number of crimes covered in the book, as well as the number of detectives investigating those crimes, I never felt any particular attachment to any character. But maybe that's just as well - after a few chapters, I realized that the overwhelming workload was part of the point of the book! Sad how many of the victims were just innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Made me thankful that my children and I live in a relatively boring community!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes crime novels or police procedurals. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction! ( )