CLOCKERS, by Richard Price

(originally posted on October 24, 2006)

Before Dennis Lehane's MYSTIC RIVER, before George Pelecanos's DC Chronicles and before THE WIRE, there was Richard Price, chronicling life on the streets with devastating and vociferous impact. Even though the novel's set in the late 80s, its core truths - that giving significance to a single murder is an uphill battle, that the line between both sides of the law is far finer and far grayer than we hope - still ring true, and will for decades to come. It is, in short, required reading.