Non-Fiction Books

“Remarkable—great journalism, social commentary, and writing rolled into a fascinating, gripping, and at times heart-wrenching story.”—Michael Connelly Gaining unprecedented access to the LAPD, crime reporter Miles Corwin shadows two homicide detectives on the mean streets of South Central L.A. Pete “Raz” Razanskas and Marcella Winn were unlikely partners: one a crusty, twenty-two-year veteran of the force; the other a street-smart woman who grew up in the neighborhood. A graphic, uncensored look at real cops and real killers, The Killing Season is that rare combination of first-rate reportage and riveting storytelling that will leave you shaken, informed, and blasted awake. Praise for The Killing Season “A grab-you-by-the-throat page-turner.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review “Gripping drama and pathos . . . Rarely has the genre been worked to better effect. . . . [Corwin] could scarcely have invented a better cast and story.” — The New York Times Book Review “ The Killing Season captures the sights, sounds, and smells of a big-city homicide squad at work as well as any book within recent memory. It’s crime reporting at its raw and scintillating best.” —Vincent Bugliosi, author of Outrage and Helter Skelter

Bestselling author of The Killing Season and veteran Los Angeles Times reporter Miles Corwin spent a school year with twelve high school seniors -- South-Central kids who qualified for a gifted program because of their exceptional IQs and test scores. Sitting alongside them in classrooms where bullets were known to rip through windows, Corwin chronicled their amazing odyssey as they faced the greatest challenges of their academic lives. And Still We Rise is an unforgettable story of transcending obstacles that would dash the hopes of any but the most exceptional spirits.

With an Updated Epilogue by the Author "A compelling portrait of seasoned homicide cops at work. This is L.A.'s darkest side: ironic, heart-breaking, stunningly violent, unfailingly human. Riveting." -Jonathan Kellerman The mandate for Los Angeles' unique police unit Homicide Special is to take on the toughest, most controversial, and highest-profile cases. In this "literate, unfailingly interesting work of true crime" ( Kirkus Reviews ), acclaimed writer Miles Corwin uses unprecedented access to narrate six of the unit's cases-and capture its newest generation at work. When a call girl from Kiev dies in the line of duty, detectives Chuck Knolls and Brian McCartin seek her killer among a circle of Russian women who have been sold into white slavery. When a gangster's daughter takes a bullet, veterans Jerry Stephens and Paul Coulter trace clues scattered across the country to a Manhattan real-estate magnate. A cold case is reopened; a mother-daughter drowning and a baffling rape/murder are solved. And, finally, Corwin re-creates the investigation surrounding the late Bonny Lee Blakley, allegedly murdered by her actor-husband, Robert Blake. With a revised epilogue updating each of these fascinating cases, Homicide Special offers a riveting, behind-the-scenes look at one of the preeminent units of homicide detectives in the country.