Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

Starkly shows life inside a police homicide unit. Brings a realization of how cheap life is to many people in our society. Great read for anyone wanting to know the inside story of the workings of a police department.

I didn't realize it was abridged. Ok... my bad, but it was a bummer to realize that I have to buy it all over again to get the missing parts.

The reader is good, but the generic "creepy" music that's piped in at the ends of the chapters is laughable. I think David Simon would scoff at that shiz.

This book was a joy to listen to. Simon's writing goes far beyond the critically acclaimed television show, and highlights what it could have been. Diamond's narration is flawless. This is the best of the true crime genre I've come across. I laughed out loud and recoiled in horror at different points. This is a fascinating look inside the world of Baltimore homicide detectives.

This is a superb book on tape. The book is about one year in the Baltimore homicide division. It follows a few detectives as they go about their job.

The book is excellent, but the reader puts it over the top. He does a great job of imparting feeling to the characters and the story.

This book, and the show based on it, are such an unbeliveably realistic, complex, clever, and engaging way of telling a 'mystery story' that I can no longer enjoy pat mysteries where the killer reveals all at the end. This is a phenomenal book, and read superbly by the narrator.

As an ardent fan of the show "Homcicide: Life on the Streets", I was fascinated to listen the story that started it all. The narrator, Reed Diamond, was also a character in the show "Homicide." This journalist-turned-author and screen writer has a crystal-clear understanding of the underside of Baltimore crime, politics and corruption. The best part: much of this book and its characters eventually became the fantastic TV series "The Wire," also written by Simon.

I couldn't get into this book. I tried a couple of times and it just didn't hold my attention

I think I missed that this was an abridged version because I purchased it on my smartphone app - feeling very disappointed about that, as it certainly explains why there is a relatively few number of stories included (as I listened I kept thinking "How did they keep the TV series going so long with so little here to work with). The narrator is fantastic, however, and the writing style is great.

I agree with another reviewer about the musical interludes - silly, and don't add to the listening experience at all.

I listened to this book on the basis of other reviews. They are right! Homicide has a terrific reader, is well written, and is a blast to listen to. This is a fun, interesting listen that should make us all appreciate detectives and policemen even more.

This book gives an inside perspective on the workings of the Baltimore homicide division. It is a low-key story of the relationships and experiences of cops.

No. I love cop stories, but they must have a compelling story and an interesting protagonist.

The performance was flat. My mind kept wandering.

The scenes did not even stay in my head.

Too bad this did not stand up to David Simon's later writing.