Homicide: A Year On the Killing Streets is a dense book, but then the topic -- a full year spent with the Baltimore Police Homicide Department -- is worthy of an in-depth treatment. Little is glamorized here and there are times when I was surprised that the Baltimore PD agreed to let David Simon research the department to the extent he did. There's enough material here, in fact, that the book inspired two television series -- Homicide: Life on the Streets and The Wire.

FuzzyCo grade: A