Miles Corwin- Midnight Aisle/The Killing Season

Ash Levine, the elevation detective in the LAPD's elite Felony Special Squad, is chosen out to solve the murder of two young black men found shot to death in a Venice alley. The case is a high priority because 1 of the victims is the son of City Councilman Isaac Pinkney, a frequent critic of the LAPD. Searching for the killer throws Levine into the world of Los Angeles'due south Russian Mafia, Iraq and Transitional islamic state of afghanistan war veterans, and Middle Eastern archeologists. Ash'southward history as a kid of a Holocaust survivor gives him a unique perspective on murder, redemption, and justice. His background equally a paratrooper in the Israel Defense force Forces, and his relentless, single-minded focus on his investigations brand him a thoroughly absorbing character. As Ash closes in on the killer, the investigation becomes increasingly complex – and personal. Ash soon discovers that he is not only an investigator, only a target…

The second Ash Levine investigation (post-obit ' Kind of Blueish') from one-time LA Times reporter Miles Corwin and a gripping police procedural packed with action from the first. I'thou a long fourth dimension fan of Michael Connelly, Joseph Wambaugh and Elmore Leonard, then delighted that there is a new kid on the block, in terms of Los Angeles based offense fiction, and on the testify of this, I think Corwin could exist a worthy add-on to these luminaries of American criminal offense fiction.

 This is a multi-stranded plot with a seamless transition between the every solar day grind of the LA police department, to a tale involving sex trafficking, the smuggling of a stolen Iraqi relic and a conspiracy involving the US military machine. The plotting and pace is superb throughout but what actually impressed me about the novel was the depth of characterisation particularly in relation to the main graphic symbol of Ash Levine. Levine is a jiff of fresh air in terms of the depiction of the average American detective, being both Jewish and having served every bit a paratrooper with the Israeli Ground forces, balancing his army preparation with the necessary demands of beingness an LAPD detective, sometimes to the chagrin of his immediate superiors. He is a indomitable and determined graphic symbol who will stop at nada, despite having an Internal Investigation, hanging over him, to solve the example. Strongly influenced by his Jewish heritage, he has a loftier sense of morality influenced past the teachings of the Torah, but is equally at home in the twenty-four hours to 24-hour interval physicality of his detective role with a neat grasp of Krav Maga. This is particularly evident in the storyline dealing with sexual activity trafficking, and his determination to costless a young Russian girl from her incarceration at the hands of the Russia Mafia. The scenes with Levine and his family at Hannukah, and particularly the overbearing attentions of his mother, are a joy, perfectly capturing the verbal sparring and tensions that occur in the average family during the holiday period. In a good little side line to the central plot, every bit is common in nearly law-breaking novels, Levine has a cleaved marriage and his ex Robin, a successful lawyer, drifts in and out of the plot adding to his consternation and his hopes for a reconciliation, and of course his family take plenty to say about this besides!

 Having simply previously read Corwin's non-fiction book 'The Killing Season' (see review beneath) he is definitely a writer I volition return to on the strength of this novel, and will non hesitate to recommend fans of American police procedurals. I will definitely be seeking out a copy of 'Kind of Blue', the commencement novel featuring Ash Levine, and am looking forwards to post-obit this series in the long term if 'Midnight Alley' is indicative of Corwin's fictional prowess. A good find.

 Visit the author'southward website here: http://www.milescorwin.com/

 'Midnight Alley' is published by Oceanview Publishing

 Downloaded digital galley from NetGalley: http://www.netgalley.com/

The Killing SeasonMeet Pete Razanskas, 22-year veteran homicide cop and Marcella Winn, a rookie detective who grew up in the 'hood. They're an unlikely partnership whose job it is to endeavour to shut some of the hundreds of murder cases that happen every year in the gang-infested streets of S-Key LA. Criminal offense reporter Miles Corwin gained unprecedented admission to shadow them for the usual hot summer of endless homicide. We meet the cops, the victims and the murders (Crips and Bloods, drug dealers, psychopaths and even killer kids), witness their incredible daily lives and hear their stories in intimate detail. 'The Killing Season' is a raw, shocking and riveting story of an extreme place not far from the ordinary earth where war rages on the streets and life has little value.

Later becoming hooked on the brilliant Southland– a Los Angeles cop drama, information technology was only natural that this book would appeal. Miles Corwin expertly documents the world of the LAPD detective and the senseless killings that define the Southward-Primal area of Los Angeles. Following a veteran detective- the wonderful Pete Razanskas- and his feisty new partner Marcella Winn- we proceeds a existent insight into the crippling hours, an severely under-funded police department and the physical and emotional effects of this environs, not just on the police officers but also on the the victims of crime and the perpetrators themselves. A truly powerful slice of social commentary but replete with mordant wit and an essential humanity.

'The Killing Season'  is published by Ebury Printing.

(I bought this re-create)