ON THE TRACK OF MURDER Behind the Scenes with a Homicide Commando Squad

Hardback. In 1972, New York's Police Department organised specially selected commando squads of homicide detectives to investigate some of the more than 1,500 fatal shootings, bludgeonings, and strangulations that occurred each year in the city. Each squad was to be assigned the most difficult, and often the most notorious, murders in its borough. The greatest need for such a squad was in Manhattan, where nearly 40% of New York's murders occurred. This, then, is the story of that squad of Manhattan homicide detectives, its 12 handpicked members and their wives. It is about the murderers the detectives pursued, among them Charlie Chopoff, the crazed killer of 4 little boys; a gang of robbers who turned into cop killers; and the kidnapper-assassins of a middle-aged housewife. It is also the story of the squad's 36yr old commander, Sergeant Gerald McQueen, the only child of deaf parents, who fulfilled a childhood dream when he received the gold badge of a detective. For McQueen and his men there were moments of triumph when a murderer was finally caught, but also despair when, after seemingly endless hours of canvassing and searching, a crime proves insoluble. With Map. 313pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate, together with that of another previous owner. Lightly browned edges, Vg+ in Vg+ dw. A fairly heavy book which may require additional postage.