I'm a gumshoe kinda guy - I go for the classic, hard-boiled stories in the form of Chandler and Hammett and often have some apprehensions when it comes to police procedural(ish) stories. However, a colleague recommended this book to me and since I am working my way through the "Crime Masterworks" series I thought why not...?
Boy am I glad I did!
The story revolves around 70s LA cops who each have their own vices and troubles as they try to tackle the grim world they are empowered to protect. When things get a bit much (and they often do) these cops call a "Choir Practice", which is a booze and sex orgy, off duty in a public park.
The story sets off in a fairly episodic structure, with each pair of officers having their own "choir-practice-triggering" strange and dark experience. However, the intertwining of the characters and their stories is so deftly done that these dark and often humorous short stories are all pulling the characters together towards the final climax.
But the plot is irrelevant; it is the characters that make this story as brilliant as it is. I can not remember a story with so many central characters that all remained unique and memorable. Wambaugh's use of character nicknames is a mechanic that is as eloquent as it is simple and we are provided with a mini-character portrait as soon as we find out the tag each character has been given by the other officers. And whilst the characters are all rich with back story and mannerisms they never stray too far into the absurd. They avoid being cartoonish and remain grounded "real" men.
****SPOILER - SORT OF****
But the most interesting thing about all of them; their unifying feature and reason for the choir practices, is their vulnerability. These men are scared, not of the street, not of those around them, but of what the job will do to them. They are frightened of the day when they decide enough is enough and the fact that the more dark things they deal with on the job the quicker they might arrive at the decision.
****END OF SORT-OF SPOILER****
This is a book I feel genuinely enriched to have read
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