Homicide Special

A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit

By: Miles Corwin

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Los Angeles is a town of dreamers, and of those who prey on them. The scene of innumerable bizarre crimes, it is also home to a unique police unit called Homicide Special, whose mandate is to take on the toughest, most controversial, and highest-profile cases. Now, acclaimed writer Miles Corwin uses his unprecedented access to this legendary unit to portray six of its cases, and capture its newest generation at work.

When a call girl from Kiev dies, detectives Chuck Knolls and Brian McCartin seek her killer among a circle of Russian women who have been sold unwittingly into white slavery. When a gangster's daughter, brought up in Las Vegas, takes a bullet, veterans Jerry Stephens and Paul Coulter trace clues scattered across the country to one of Manhattan's wealthiest real estate magnates. A cold case is reopened; a suspicious mother-daughter drowning and a baffling rape/murder case are solved. And finally, Corwin re-creates the investigation surrounding the late Bonny Lee Bakley, a woman driven by the desire for fame, who was allegedly murdered by her actor-husband, Robert Blake.

Compulsively readable, artfully written, and surprisingly redemptive, Homicide Special offers a thrilling insider's report on some of the nation's most high-profile and complex homicides and the extraordinary men who solve them.

©2003 Miles Corwin (P)2004 Audio Renaissance

Critic reviews

"[Miles Corwin] vividly renders a handful [of homicide cases] that exemplify the range of entrenched social fissures and seedy criminality that have long defined Los Angeles." (Publishers Weekly)
"Corwin's book will enthrall true-crime fans." (Booklist)

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Being a criminal investiagtor, and understanding the techniques of the trade this book correlates with the way we handle criminals in California. If a reader wants to read a true crime book this is it.

a day in RHD

i did not like the jumping from case to case...nor the abrupt ending. no clear story line about one or two of the detectives

Great narration, good story!

Homicide Special was a good listen. The information was great and certainly kept my interest. There was a lot of switching gears back and forth from case to case throughout the story, which made it difficult to follow at times (especially while multitasking when listening). The descriptions throughout the book were vivid. A good listen for true crime fanatics!

Wow! Great audio book!

Enjoyed the content, as well as the presentation. Very interesting subject, and the narration was superb.

This is a good one...

I really enjoyed this book. Good narration and content. I also enjoyed hearing the history behind Homicide Special and their ups and downs. Thumbs up on this book!

Great book in a year of crimes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes because it's a very interesting look into to lives of police during just one year.

What did you like best about this story?

How much work these officers do on a daily basis.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He's teriffic!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

This is really an eye opener. It's hard to imagine how these officers and all officers do it. This book shows how. Very good listen!

homicide special

if true crime is high on your list then put this book on the top. it's a great read or rather listen.i give it 6 stars

O.K

This audiobook was o.k. I have read more compelling crime documentary/novels. It was difficult for me to get past the voice of the narrator which was irritating. I was not particularly enthused with the "office politics" portion of the book either. Other than that, some of the homicide stories were interesting.

Other reviews are too generous. This book is meh.

Stories about detectives trying to catch the bad guy are inherently fascinating. The stories in this book are no exception.

However, the writer of this book added little. The writing style was jumbled. I had a hard time following the author's description of events.

The author kept randomly switching between crime A, crime B, crime C, for no apparent reason, even though the crimes were unrelated to each other.

Unless you have a specific interest in the recent history of the LAPD in particular, I recommend passing on this book. And even if you do have some special interest, don't expect any deep or novel insights. This book is just a plain matter-of-fact description of some recent investigations, and not very well organized.

Jonathan Davis did a fine job with this material, as always.