Customer Rating: Summary: Mis-titled: a year in the life of a D.A. homicide team Comment: This is a "true crimes" book, not any sort of analysis or even reporting on a prosecutor's office. It deals with several very big homicide cases which were dealt with in 2001 by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. Mr. Delsohn spent a year in that office, but it appears that he spent it almost exclusively with Chief Deputy John O'Mara and a select number of homicide prosecutors. He deals only with a few cases, some of which were highly notorious. These cases are presently journalistically, and are readable, but entirely from the perspective of the prosecution.
The book reflects the traditional ethos of line prosecutors. It talks little about achieving justice in general. The cases considered are so outrageous that maximum punishments (generally life-without-parole) are about the only reasonable sentences. But a dozen cases do not make up very much of the workload of a prosecutor's office. Sacramento files 40-50,000 cases per year: petty thefts; drunk drivings; drug offenses; domestic violence; bar fights; etc. Justice in these cases are often far less clear. These cases and considerations are not anywhere in the book. Nor do the dozen or so prosecutors in the book represent all prosecutors.
The book is a decent read, assuming one wants a true crimes book. It is also a good read for those who are in the area and have some knowledge of the crimes, the locales, and the players. But the book is not more than that and gives little insight into the over-all functioning of a prosecutor's office or into prosecution in general. Customer Rating: Summary: How does this guy have a day gig? Comment: The only reason I was able to suffer my way through this book is because it was our book club's monthly selection. It appears to be written by a seventh grader who is smitten with the D.A.'s office, not an award-winning (adult) journalist. I can't believe his editors let this through -- we're they sleeping?? Customer Rating: Summary: The author should write but not read his books. Comment: I grabbed this audio book for a recent trip and soon tossed it aside because the author read his own book. He rushes through the text and does not enunciate clearly. I doubt that I'll ever try the print version because what I did hear was more about the criminal & the crime than the workings of the DA's office. It's possible that this changes later in the book but I didn't get far enough to tell. The author should seriously consider hiring a professional reader like Scott Brick if he decides to offer any more audio books. Customer Rating: Summary: The Prosecutors Comment: An absolutely outstanding writer! This is a book you can't put down, but don't want to finish reading because you don't want the pleasure to end. The writer captures your interest from the very beginning and weaves his story through multiple cases, which are all in the legal process at the same time, but he does not lose the reader. His descriptions of tragic cases never reek of sensationalism, nor are they gory, yet the writer's style gets the message of mayhem across and exudes concern for victims' families without being schmaltzy. This is an incredible insider's view of all the players in local Sacramento law. What an eye opener. A peepers delight. What an incredible year of investigation this man lived! What a flawless re-creation of those experiences! From time to time the reader has to remind themself that this is not fiction, this is reality, this occurred. What he writes is historical. Facts.
While this is his first effort, this book leaves the reader yearning for his next novel. Please don't make us wait too long.
Customer Rating: Summary: Classic Journalism Revived Comment: Gary Delsohn proves himself as an outstanding journalist in the classic sense with this book. He captures the essense of the cases but more importantly, the thoughts and feelings of the women and men who tirelessly work to uphold justice in our communities. This is an excellent book that puts a very human face on the large and seemingly inhumane criminal justice system.
Depicting American justice at its best and worst, The Prosecutors lifts the lid off today’s legal system with details that are more shocking and graphic than any television show or bestselling novel. Allowed unprecedented access to spend a year inside an urban prosecutor’s office, Gary Delsohn provides a riveting, behind-the-scenes look at how America’s increasingly overburdened judicial system really functions. Seen through the eyes of the main characters in this true-life drama—John O’Mara, a tough, jaded homicide chief and Jan Scully, an accomplished, former sex crimes prosecutor who is now D.A.—The Prosecutors shows us these dedicated public servants at work. The cases they encounter within the year are as shocking as they are indelible.
