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Preview
  • Homicide

  • A Year on the Killing Streets
  • By: David Simon
  • Narrated by: Reed Diamond
  • Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (143 ratings)

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Homicide

By: David Simon
Narrated by: Reed Diamond
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Summary

Through wonderfully descriptive writing, Simon details the work of 15 detectives, three sergeants and a lieutenant charged with investigating dozens of Baltimore's 234 murders that year. Simon takes listeners inside the detectives' lives, describing the frustration of departmental red tape and politics, the bursts of energy and moments of despair.

With an eye for the scenes of slaughter and pursuit and an ear for the cadences of cop talk, both business and banter, Simon gives this brilliant, harrowing account its authenticity and fascinating edge.

Simon plants us so close to these detectives that we see everything - the Police Department, the prosecutors, the courts, the city of Baltimore itself - from their angle.

This is a never-before-seen look at what it's really like to investigate murders for a living.

©1997 David Simon (P)1997 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.
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Critic reviews

  • Edgar Award Winner
    Anthony Award Winner

What listeners say about Homicide

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Listened to this as a fan of The Wire

An engaging set of stories, brilliantly read with urgency and pace which compliments Simon’s beautifully crafted prose.
Some familiar names and characters from the Wire.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great story, well told

This is the precursor to the great TV series Homicide: Life on the street, and the even greater The Wire. The writer spent a year with the Baltimore homicide department and follows the detectives as they investigate their murders. Written with black humour and a fine eye for the absurd events leading to murders, closing the cases and where the system lets everyone down. A fine performance by the narrator adds to the experience, very strongly recommended

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

abridged and too short

this wasn't a proper audiobook, it was basically a snippet of the original book. very disappointing.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is how to do an audiobook

Great book read with passion. Only (slightly) let down by use of cheesy music from time to time, but I even came to enjoy how clunky it was when it cropped up.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

short changed

the first part of this audiobook does not work. I've told audible and they haven't responded. It didn't work on my PC, it didn't work on my iPod and it didn't work on my iPad. after the usual audible description at the start, it skips to your next audiobook. the other parts worked fine, production seemed professional and well read, but I had no idea what was going on really as the first part didn't work. Please sort it out because I really wanted this book.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

confused

this book doesn't know what it is. it tries to give a factual account whilst the author dresses it up like a drama. i found it hard to follow, at tines, i think the narator did to.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good stuff but poor product

A good listen that fans of the wire will enjoy.

However…The timings are off on the chapters here. Can Audible fix this?

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