Hollywood Division

In Hollywood Division, Wambaugh presents a realistic portrait of the hardships of a major metropolis and the hectic routine of a police station. With sharp dialogue and rich irony and dark humor, the plot brings together cops at their wit's end and increasingly dangerous criminals. But, most importantly, it shows how life has changed for the Los Angeles police force over the past twenty years. At once a celebration of street cops and an elegy to the force's veterans. A robbery at a jewelry store in Hollywood sparks a complex investigation. Sergeant Oracle and his team of officers piece together the various pieces of the crime. Spending their days in patrol cars—and their nights in the underbelly of a sleepless city—the group of officers faces the other side of the glamorous city: a minefield where the mundane is dangerous and the dangerous is mundane. As they navigate drug dens and seedy corners, a series of events leads them to the most surprising case of their lives and reminds them that nothing is horrific or extreme in Los Angeles. In this highly anticipated return to the Los Angeles Police Department, Joseph Wambaugh uses his deep knowledge of police life—and his sharp sense of humor—to guide the reader through the streets of Hollywood, a hostile city where no one is safe, especially the police.