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131st out of 313 books
—
434 voters
The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad
by
Stacy Horn (Goodreads Author)
An unflinching look at New York�s most enigmatic crimes and the cops who make it their job to solve them
Between 1985 and 2004, a staggering 8,894 unsolved murders were committed in New York City. Here is the first-ever inside look at the elite NYPD squad that cracks the �unsolvable� cases. Drawing on her unique access to the Cold Case Squad, Stacy Horn follows three toug...more
Between 1985 and 2004, a staggering 8,894 unsolved murders were committed in New York City. Here is the first-ever inside look at the elite NYPD squad that cracks the �unsolvable� cases. Drawing on her unique access to the Cold Case Squad, Stacy Horn follows three toug...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
July 25th 2006
by Penguin Books
(first published 1998)
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The material for this book is interesting enough, but the way it is written lets it down. It's disjointed because each case is split up into bits interspersed with bits of other cases. It goes into way too much detail at times, as if Horn feels compelled to share every scrap of data she accumulated. This gets boring, and it also confuses the poor reader who has not spent months getting familiar with the case. One is so complicated there is a whole-page flow diagram of how the people relate to ea...more
I'm not going to finish this- this is a good book but only truly interesting to me when I'm reading about the actual cold cases, of which there isn't much. This is much more about the history of the cold case squad in N.Y. and while I'm sure that's fascinating to some, it's just not what I wanted.
Jumps back and forth between some cold cases and between police working on them- you get what seems to be the entire history of the making of the squad. If that's what you're looking for then this is y...more
Jumps back and forth between some cold cases and between police working on them- you get what seems to be the entire history of the making of the squad. If that's what you're looking for then this is y...more
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I really enjoyed the subject matter, but found the book a little hard to read at times. I was over halfway through the book before I really felt I meshed with it, and could read without feeling a bit confused.
The cases jump around a lot, which in and of itself I didn't find difficult to follow, but new people were constantly being introduced, and sometimes I was hard to remember which Detective was which, and which cop was which...
There were times at the beginning of the book where I felt like I...more
The cases jump around a lot, which in and of itself I didn't find difficult to follow, but new people were constantly being introduced, and sometimes I was hard to remember which Detective was which, and which cop was which...
There were times at the beginning of the book where I felt like I...more
What I did not like about the book:
The writing style. Breathless, melodramatic, heavy-handed, inappropriately chatty and informal for the subject matter--it seems like an unrevised, unedited first draft by a bright and capable first-year composition student:
Whenever people describe [Cold Case Squad pioneer] Jack Maple, they invariably talk about what an amazing dresser he was. But I've seen pictures. The man dressed like a pimp, for God's sake. Outlandish, inelegant, it's just plain embarrassin...more
Interesting material. I found it a bit hard to keep track of certain facts/evidence because it jumps back and forth between cases. Not to mention all of the names. She does a great job of capturing the detectives frustration with how certain things are handled and the motivation behind their work.
Nothing special. It seemed unbalanced. Stilted narrative arc and poor organization of what seemed like information inadequate to support a book of it's scope made this feel like it set out to go somewhere, didn't, then ended with a stymied shrug.
They need a star rating for "meh". An in-depth look into a cold case unit that while interesting is poorly written and completely disjointed. Disappointing.
Slogging through pages and pages of data and police politics to get to information about the cold cases makes this a tedious read.
I couldn't finish this one. There was just too much about the politics of the NYPD and not enough about solving the cases.
The layout of the book is a bit haphazard, with events constantly jumping around on the timeline - this made it a bit confusing as to exactly what order things happened in, in each case. I didn't mind the cases themselves being intertwined but within themselves they needed to be more linear. I enjoyed the book - though parts seemed a bit irrelevant (all the talk about funding for example) they did build a better picture of the Cold Case Squad itself. Some of the cases focussed on were odd choice...more
Nov 28, 2009
Donna
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like detective fiction or true crime
Shelves:
nonfiction
This book traces the work of detectives who investigate homicides which happened many years in the past and have not yet come to a resolution. NYC created a special unit within the police department to handle such "cold cases."
I found this book quite interesting on its own and as compared to other true crime books. But what I found most enlightening was how it fit into my reading of detective fiction. So many mystery stories have that slow section in the middle where nothing seems to be happeni...more
I found this book quite interesting on its own and as compared to other true crime books. But what I found most enlightening was how it fit into my reading of detective fiction. So many mystery stories have that slow section in the middle where nothing seems to be happeni...more
I'm a sucker for true crime and am really interested in cold cases. Restless Sleep, as the title indicates is a look into the men, women and workings of the New York City Cold Case Squad. It was fascinating to learn how this department developed and how it has changed over the years. It's a compliment to the department that I was surprised at their cold case numbers. I thought they would be higher. Still the author states that in NY you have a 50% chance of getting away with murder. At the time...more
This nonfiction book takes a long look at the Cold Case Squad of the NYPD, the group that follows up on murders that were never solved when they were current events. How was it started? What kind of detective works these cases? How many are finally solved?
A sampling of cases are examined closely, including the murders of a young teen in 1988, a troubled wife from Alabama in 1951, a drug-dealer and his wife in 1996, and a policeman in 1977. Ultimately, one leads to a whole network of interconnect...more
A sampling of cases are examined closely, including the murders of a young teen in 1988, a troubled wife from Alabama in 1951, a drug-dealer and his wife in 1996, and a policeman in 1977. Ultimately, one leads to a whole network of interconnect...more
I enjoyed reading this book even though I thought it could have been improved as far as style of writing goes. I read complaints about Horn's language before I read the book. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I think she was trying to sound like a NYC cop. Or at least the ones she had been talking to. I didn't mind how she skipped around and jumped from case to case because the chapters were always clearly labeled. I think some of the asides could have been further separated into different c...more
This is a great tribute to a group of people that manage to pay some kind of respect to those disrespected in their last moments - victims of crime in a huge city with a short memory... I couldn't stop reading it not for the crimes themselves but because I wanted to know more about the people who want to do this work. Despite the initial impressions of the subject, it was a great read all round.
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A "true life detective" book about the unsolved or cold-case murders that lie on the books with the NYPD, and which a paltry amount of detectives are asked to look at once more in an attempt to solve them. It gripped me at the start, but there was a coldness and detachment from the cases and the characters that put me off. The woman writing it came over somewhat brittle and hard, and I couldn't help but think that this would have been a great book in the hands of someone like Joseph Wambaugh. I...more
It was a good not great read. Interesting look at the NYPD Cold Case squad in the early to mid 2000's with focus on 4 specific cases and the detectives who worked them. I enjoyed the writer's style and reading about the cases but as someone else said in their review, I found myself skimming over paragraghs of the facts and figures a lot of the time. I would still recommend to anyone who's interested in Police procedure and/or cold cases and am interested in reading more from the author.
An intriguing look at the history of New York City's Cold Case squad, with several cases recounted as examples. Horn does an excellent job profiling the various detectives featured, and the cases she cites are riveting. The book slows down in parts when Horn devotes pages and pages to the tiniest details of a case, but overall it's an interesting look at how one subsection of NYC's police department functions.
Nov 04, 2008
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
could-not-finish,
crime
Yes, murder is a horrible act. No argument here. But I don't need that pounded into my head in a way that insults my intelligence. I was interested in the subject enough to grab this book off the library shelf even though it was only nearby to the one I was actually looking for. The author's tone might be described as "melodramatic" or even "overwrought."
http://www.citizenreader.com/citizen/...
Fascinating look into cold cases in NYC. I must add that the prologue was breath-taking in philosophy/idea of what it might mean to die a violent death. Well done look at police work in our biggest city. lots of stats though which I suppose were necessary but I skipped over!
Fascinating look into cold cases in NYC. I must add that the prologue was breath-taking in philosophy/idea of what it might mean to die a violent death. Well done look at police work in our biggest city. lots of stats though which I suppose were necessary but I skipped over!
Thoroughly researched and meticulously detailed, this nonfiction tale takes us on several cold cases in NYC. It also educates the reader on the politics, background, and structure of the NYPD. I recommend this book highly for true crime fans and those who want to know how the NYPD works.
Interesting coverage of the pursuit of murder cases gone cold. Some of the crimes are rather gruesome, but covered in a factual manner. The administrative aspects of NYPD law enforcement were interesting. Author emphasizes the long-term impact of cold cases and they shouldn't be left unsolved.
I love cold case file stuff, but why pick these cases for the book? Not a lot of action, and not very enthralling. I guess it was effective in "de-glamorizing" the cold case world where it pretty much must be frustration at every turn.
Solid police procedural meets anecdotal 20th century history of NYC. Perhaps the best part is how she does not solve any of the cold cases, highlighting what a terrible job these cops must have.
Well-researched but the organization was very disjointed. Five cases spread out over three sections, so you have to read a third of each one at a time. Frustrating.
True crime in a journalistic diary type of view. It jumps around a lot between cases which can be hard to follow but not if you're sooooooper smart like me!
I enjoyed the inside look into the Cold Case Squad, but I wish there were more time devoted to the cases themselves.
Rosario liked this book. Some of the cold cases were solved after many years and some were never solved.
Interesting read.
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I've just finished up my fifth non-fiction book. It's called "Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing With Others" (Algonquin Books, 2013). It's about the history and science of singing, and finding happiness in a song.
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