Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers

Michael Connelly has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best mystery writers in the business today. But before he became a novelist, he was a reporter, handling crime writing both in the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. Crime Beat is a collection of some of the articles he wrote for both papers. Covering an eight year span between 1984 and 1992 (around the time his fiction career really took off), Crime Beat follows a number of different cases, sometimes focusing on the cops, other times on the criminals. Since this is real-life stuff, resolutions are not always present, although some articles end with notes about what happened after the original story came out. The Call, the opening story, is Connelly's description about the workings of a homicide department. Right off the bat, he captures our interest with his true tale of the frustrations in solving murder cases. Not all stories, however, favorably present the police: in particular, we get a series of articles about L.A.'s Special Investigation Section, which was accused of the ambush and killing of several robbery suspects and would culminate in a series of lawsuits. On the other side, we see the criminals: people like Christopher Bernard Wilder who had a cross-country killing spree and David Miller whose bigamy and shady financial dealings would eventually drive him to kill. There is also the gang of wannabe mercenary killers who tried to be cool and professional but were anything but; although successful in a couple murders, they also botched a number of attempts and didn't really cover their tracks well. The stories are interesting, but the main insight that Crime Beat offers is a look into the formative years of Connelly and what made him the great novelist he is. And while the writing is good, you might be disappointed if you expect it to meet the caliber of his fiction: after all, Connelly was still developing his trade, he was under much tighter editorial supervision, and his creativity was constrained by the facts. Nonetheless, this is a nice set of short, true-crime stories.

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (6/06) I just finished reading this book and as a career police officer and retired Chief of Police, I found it to be an excellent representation of law enforcement investigations and the issues that are encountered. Mr. Connelly truly knows what he is writing about as he spent considerable time with the police as a journalist and writer. He captures the critical details and articulates them in a manner that puts the reader in the shoes of the investigator. The cases he selected to write about are both interesting, with the right details captured, and span time. It is clear Mr. Connelly cares about his work as his writing clearly captures the reader's attention. He has done his homework and it shows. This is my first read of a Michael Connelly book and you can be sure I will get and read his other 16 books. In addition, I am not the only one who speaks highly of his work. He is rated highly by reviews from some of America's most notable publications. This really is worth reading.

This book is like a Master Class for potential crime authors. In fact, for all authors. What Mr. Connelly does here is show you how he sought "hooks" when covering the Crime Beat in LA and Florida -- angles that made his stories seem alive and human. From the chewed eyeglass frames of his over-worked and near burned-out Detective to the mother of a missing woman who sadly says she cant get her daughter "past the gas station" where she was last seen, Mr. Connelly shows you how he takes the inhumanity of murder and makes it human, bringing it down to a common denominator that shows it can happen to any of us any time. His insight never wavers when writing about mass murderers who criss-cross the country claiming victims along the way or helping us understand how the Rodney King incident opened a can of worms for every defense attorney in LA to harvest and turn against the very people defending the city. Then, Mr. Connelly shows you how he takes bits and pieces of these real life incidents and flawlessly weaves them into first class works of fiction. This book is sure to help any aspiring writer to become a better writer. As one of those writers, I have nothing but gratitude. Thanks, Michael.

This is the collected journalism written by Mr. Connelly before he became a successful crime writer. Fans of Harry Bosch will love reading the articles; which serve as a primer on how the character developed and evolved. The collection describes the life of a homicide detective in great detail. It is not the life we see portrayed on Law and Order. If you're waiting for the next Harry Bosch novel, ECHO PARK, which will be published in October, don't buy this book. If you love Michael Connelly's writing then buy it. To say Mr. Connelly wrote this for the money is an insult to his integrity. This book was originally published as a limited-edition collectors item. His fans wanted the book published, and here it is. Kacey Kowars

Bestselling mystery author Michael provides a true crime look at his days as crime reporter in Florida and California. CRIME BEAT is divided into three overall segments, "The Cops," "The Killers" and "The Cases". Within each Mr. Connelly provides a wide range of stories that he covered as a journalist. The true stories are fascinating in that macabre way that make the genre such a success. Not shockingly, the most poignant moments involve combat fatigue syndrome detectives dealing with bereaving family members of victims with what went down. Fans of the author's mysteries and those who appreciate true crime will want to read this powerful look at the real life underlying basis to much of Mr. Connelly's fiction. Harriet Klausner