![What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal] by Zoë Heller](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922976l/13258._SX98_.jpg "What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal] by Zoë Heller")
90 books
—
1 voter
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal” as Want to Read:
LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal
by
Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, eventually to discover that the officer killed was tied to Marion “Suge” Knight’s notorious gangsta rap label, Death Row Records. During his investigation, Poole came to realize that a growing cadre of bla
...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
January 3rd 2003
by Grove Press
(first published 2002)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
LAbyrinth,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about LAbyrinth
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal
I had such high hopes for this book. I've been interested in the murders of Tupac and Biggie for years. I watched the BET six part documentary about Death Row Records and this week I plan on watching the USA limited series Unsolved: The Assassinations of Tupac & The Notorious B.I.G.
But..
This book was just awful. It was all over the place and despite the material they had to work with it was still boring. I know this book has gotten great reviews and some consider it to be the definitive book on ...more
But..
This book was just awful. It was all over the place and despite the material they had to work with it was still boring. I know this book has gotten great reviews and some consider it to be the definitive book on ...more
The gist of whats going on in this book is that the author concludes, mainly through interviews with a detective that was on the Biggie Smalls murder case that the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were hits ordered by Suge Knight and were carried out by police officers who were affiliated with the Bloods street gang and worked as security for Knights Death Row record label.
I don't know if he gets it right or not but he does make a pretty good argument that this is the case. When a white ...more
I don't know if he gets it right or not but he does make a pretty good argument that this is the case. When a white ...more
do i believe everything in this book? no. do i believe the death row records had lapd officers on their payroll? yes. is tupac still alive? i still dont know.
This book was good- but not great. I really enjoyed learning about the LAPD and the corruption within. Hopefully, this idea is nothing new to any of us, but getting another look, a closer look, was very refreshing. I also enjoyed how the book centered around the murders of Tupac and Biggie, it made the book relevant and more interesting. However, if this interests you, you probably also know that those investigations dead ended. Even after reading the book, I still do not feel like the true stor
...more
A fascinating look into the inner workings of the Death Row record label and it’s ties to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Be warned - every part of this tale might leave you uneasy
There is a saying -
The same might go for both Late 90s policing and Gangster Rap.
Dr. Dre is a musical genius, but beyond that everyone here looks bad when you look at them closely
Randall Sullivan treats everyone with a true reporter's view, and because of this, everyone looks bad.
Dr. Dre has a boatload of talent, but beyond that - it is dif ...more
There is a saying -
Those who are fans of hot dogs and politics should not look that closely at how either is made.
The same might go for both Late 90s policing and Gangster Rap.
Dr. Dre is a musical genius, but beyond that everyone here looks bad when you look at them closely
Randall Sullivan treats everyone with a true reporter's view, and because of this, everyone looks bad.
Dr. Dre has a boatload of talent, but beyond that - it is dif ...more
This book is a criminal investigation, that explains the many plausible causes for the murders of New York rapper, Notorious B.I.G, also known as Biggie Smalls or simply B.I.G, and his Californian counterpart Tupac Amaru Shakur. They both seemed to be really close when B.I.G was just hitting mainstream rap, but after they were both very famous, things started to get worse. Tupac and his crew were ambushed by people that Tupac assumed were connected to B.I.G and later when Tupac was in jail for a
...more
I couldnt put this book down... captivating & shockingly eye opening. The info about LA COPs working as hitmen/security for SUGE is unreal. Theres a pic of Dre and Pac sitting at decks looking very uncomfortable with all these Gang Banger cops partying it up behind them while they try and mix tunes. Also makes Training Day look like a documentary - think a guy called Perez was the inspiration for Alonzo. Another Gangster Blood Cop apparently was caught for pulling off one of the biggest heists i
...more
Despite the title, which brings to mind a quickly written and poorly researched book who's sole purpose is to capitalize on a sensationalistic crime, this is a book that clearly maps out the interconnected murders of Biggie Smalls, and Tupac. This is a well researched book that reads like a thriller. Even though I knew the end result, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat.
This book has it all, sex, drugs, murder, gangs, a corrupt police department, celebrity , money and crime. At the ce ...more
I love intrigue and this doesn't disappoint. This was a juicy read about rap stars, murder, gangsters, and dirty LAPD cops. Who killed Biggie? Who killed Tupac? How was the LAPD involved? Police corruption opened wide. A fascinating read, even the second time around.
...more
True story of LAPD detectives implicated in death of Tupac & others, & connections to Shug Knight. Excellent reporting & well written
A couple of months ago my wife and I got sucked into some television show about 90s gangster rap and the glib details in that program prompted a discussion about the shooting deaths of Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls) and Tupac Shakur. I got kind of interested in the story because of course I had heard about it and I remember the news coming out at the time, and I'd heard the grumblings and rumblings since that there was something fishy about the way the murders had never bee
...more
Oof. Logically I know every author is biased to some extant, but rarely is it as blatant as it is in Sullivan's case.
According to Sullivan, there are no good black cops in the LAPD. They're all either horribly corrupt and/or only made it on to the force because "liberals" forced the LAPD to get rid of the 100% unbiased and accurate written tests that candidates had to take.
Every white cop in the LAPD OTOH, is either Jesus Christ or is too afraid of having their career ruined to speak out agains ...more
According to Sullivan, there are no good black cops in the LAPD. They're all either horribly corrupt and/or only made it on to the force because "liberals" forced the LAPD to get rid of the 100% unbiased and accurate written tests that candidates had to take.
Every white cop in the LAPD OTOH, is either Jesus Christ or is too afraid of having their career ruined to speak out agains ...more
I watched the movie based on this book so I think having done so made it easier to read. There are a lot of players and a whole lot of information to keep track of and the author did what he could with that. It does definitely make it a more challenging read to have to refer to the roster or go back to keep track of everyone.
This book is much more an indictment of the LAPD’s corruption in the wake of Rodney King and OJ Simpson and for that reason alone I think people should read it. There are s ...more
This book is much more an indictment of the LAPD’s corruption in the wake of Rodney King and OJ Simpson and for that reason alone I think people should read it. There are s ...more
I really only wanted to get this book for the coverage of the Lapd rampart Scandal. It was decidedly a lot less of that than I wanted. Even then it was obvious that the writer wasn't going to be impartial and was wholly in the pocket of and believing everything given to him by detective Robert Poole.
I was not as interested in the hip hop aspect of this story as I am very Familiar with it. However for the bulk of this I was fine with his work on breaking down some of the music industry informatio ...more
I was not as interested in the hip hop aspect of this story as I am very Familiar with it. However for the bulk of this I was fine with his work on breaking down some of the music industry informatio ...more
American ganstar rap in the 1990s consisted of a multi-layered conflict between; the east coast and west coast, the bloods and crips gangs and death row and bad boys record labels. The face of the conflict were two rappers - Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Both would be murdered within six months of each other in separate drive by shootings. The murders remain unsolved...
Enter LAPD detective Russell Poole, a highly decorated and respected member of the LAPD. Tasked with investigating a fatal sho ...more
Enter LAPD detective Russell Poole, a highly decorated and respected member of the LAPD. Tasked with investigating a fatal sho ...more
A stunning takedown of LAPD in sweeping the two rappers' murders under the rug. The author does a detailed, excellent job of implicating Death Row Records, Suge Knight (currently in prison on an unrelated murder conviction) and LAPD in orchestrating, carrying out and covering up the two murders. I scoffed when I first learned of author Randall Sullivan's theory, but those of us who always believed LAPD was a paragon of virtue (!) will be shocked by this book. Sullivan provides detailed analysis
...more
A fascinating examination of the killings of both Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G, beginning with the fallout after an undercover cop is shot by another - this victim connecting directly to Suge Knight. It weaves well the history of each rapper, the origins and tensions between the LA gang scene, and the rap industry. I thought that this was incredibly well written and researched, and highly feasible.
4.5 stars. Having seen the movie, City of Lies, about the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the corruption in the LA police was unbelievable. The treatment of the officers trying to solve the murders was very upsetting as they were deterred at every step by those in power. Amazing what happens to people when enormous amounts of money are at stake. Good read, but not for everyone. Warning: graphic violence.
Even though I know nothing of rap music, I found this book to be incredibly interesting as it exposes both the rap world and the LAPD. There are so many players and and the corruption on both sides is far-reaching that I had a hard time following it all. Sometimes the author goes of on tangents, like explaining the origin of breakdancing, but it’s all fascinating.
If I could give this three and a half stars, I would. It took me a little over a month to read this book unfortunately. I enjoyed reading this book but got a bit bogged down in all the details and trying to remember names of everyone involved in the story line. It did help to have watched the tv show this was based on. I am interested in reading the second book to get updates on everything!
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
If you are interested in the Tupac and Biggie murders, this an enjoyable read, although occassionally it feels almost too detailed. But given that its partly based off of Detective Russell Poole's investigative notes, its not surprising.
...more
This book started off really great and then I got completely lost in all of the back and forth. The story telling is scattered and reads like someone took a bunch of reports, dumped them on a table, and had someone sort them out as best as possible in chronological order.
A must read for Tupac/Death Row Records fans
Great book! I've wanted to read this book for a long time but could never get my hands on a physical copy. Really interesting if you're a Tupac/DRR fan. Had me hooked start to finish. Brilliant read. ...more
Great book! I've wanted to read this book for a long time but could never get my hands on a physical copy. Really interesting if you're a Tupac/DRR fan. Had me hooked start to finish. Brilliant read. ...more
An ok read regarding the fallout of the Tupac and biggie murders. While it gives good information about those murders, it can get long winded and doesn't give more info than what was found. It's decent but not needed.
...more
This book was an absolute bore. Yawn. It was painful to get through it. Absolute waste of time.
Great read! I Highly recommend
Mind blowing! Just reaffirms my mistrust of the police. Fascinating read!
Very quick read because the characters and their exploits are so interesting.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Related Articles
As this strange summer of staying put winds down, one thing remains truer than ever: Books offer us endless adventure and new horizons to...
63 likes · 28 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“The bodyguard’s description of the shooting added a detail Poole had never heard before: That white Cadillac didn’t just pull up “alongside” the car Tupac and Suge were riding in, Alexander said, but was actually a little bit ahead of the BMW when the killer opened fire, allowing him to shoot at an angle that made it possible to avoid hitting Suge with a stray bullet.”
—
1 likes
“Hackie said, Reggie Wright Jr. told him (during a conversation at the Death Row studios in Tarzana) that the case against Snoop was destroyed when important evidence disappeared from the West Los Angeles Police Station. Wright seemed to imply that one of his friends on the LAPD had taken care of this for him, Hackie recalled.”
—
1 likes
More quotes…
