Ghettoside

A True Story of Murder in America

By: Jill Leovy

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

New York Times Best Seller

Named one of the 10 best books of the year by San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune

A masterly work of literary journalism about a senseless murder, a relentless detective, and the great plague of homicide in America

National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, The Globe and Mail, BookPage, Kirkus Reviews

On a warm spring evening in South Los Angeles, a young man is shot and killed on a sidewalk minutes away from his home, one of the thousands of Black Americans murdered that year. His assailant runs down the street, jumps into an SUV, and vanishes, hoping to join the scores of killers in American cities who are never arrested for their crimes. But as soon as the case is assigned to Detective John Skaggs, the odds shift.

Here is the kaleidoscopic story of the quintessential but mostly ignored American murder - a “ghettoside” killing, one young Black man slaying another - and a brilliant and driven cadre of detectives whose creed is to pursue justice for forgotten victims at all costs. Ghettoside is a fast-paced narrative of a devastating crime, an intimate portrait of detectives and a community bonded in tragedy, and a surprising new lens into the great subject of why murder happens in our cities - and how the epidemic of killings might yet be stopped.

Praise for Ghettoside

“A serious and kaleidoscopic achievement... [Jill Leovy is] a crisp writer with a crisp mind and the ability to boil entire skies of information into hard journalistic rain.” (Dwight Garner, The New York Times)

“Masterful...gritty reporting that matches the police work behind it.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Moving and engrossing.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Penetrating and heartbreaking... Ghettoside points out how relatively little America has cared even as recently as the last decade about the value of young Black men’s lives.” (USA Today)

“Functions both as a snappy police procedural and - more significantly - as a searing indictment of legal neglect... Leovy’s powerful testimony demands respectful attention.” (The Boston Globe)

©2015 Jill Leovy (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Rebecca Lowman takes a low-key approach, and it works perfectly; this audiobook is so dramatic and sad that it doesn’t need any amping up." (AudioFile Magazine)

“Ghettoside is fantastic. It does what the best narrative nonfiction does: It transcends its subject by taking one person’s journey and making it all our journeys. That’s what makes this not just a gritty, heart-wrenching, and telling book, but an important one. From the patrol cop to the president, everyone needs to read this book.” (Michael Connelly)

"Ghettoside is remarkable: a deep anatomy of lawlessness.” (Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal)

Good book on an interesting topic.

This narrative persents the facts in a gripping way. a great read! a great read!

Important! Especially if you call L.A. 'home'.

It's hard to imagine why it took so long for this powerful perspective to be told as it is. It tells of the important price we've paid year after year, letting young people fall into violence. Heartbreaking.

Good book slow reader

Eye opening book. Narrator can be slow and a little boring. Once you get going it's worth it. Recommend for anyone looking for a true crime book.

The best nonfiction book I've read

Poignant, a must read. Beautifully told, heartbreaking account of black on black murder in our society. I'm stunned by the detail in this book. This is immersive journalism at its finest. Every American, no matter race, color or creed should read this book. It's a life changer.

important book

This book explains the problems with policing in minority communities and suggests solutions for reimagining police.

Great read

The book helps understanding violence in LA during the 1990s and early 2000s when the causes and how violence grows.

Devastating

Compelling story written in a cogent narrative style. The author intercalates crime statistics to support conclusions and provides greater context. The story itself is devastating and will provoke thought and reflection.

Riveting, compelling, disturbing

Ghettocide takes the devastating and overwhelming yet underreported phenomenon of black on black violence and brings it right home in a compelling, honest, sometimes brutal narrative.

An excellent book everyone should read, especially our leaders and politicians.

A wake up call!

An excellent wake up call and an inside look at the criminal justice system using an excellent example of what "could" be done to fix it!!

Enlightening and gripping

Loved this book. Interesting story not often told. Hidden truth of the lives of many Americans