156 HOMICIDES: A YEAR OF MURDER IN MILWAUKEE

How does murder shape an American city?  156 Homicides is composed of 365 short chapters, each set during a different day of the year, each one narrated by one or more people who have been affected by violence.  The over four hundred different narrators come from every conceivable background, and include police officers, grieving loved ones, prosecutors, defense lawyers, trauma surgeons, witnesses, clergymen, gang members, journalists, professors, politicians, criminals, bloggers, children, business owners, and even the perpetrators and victims. The tone of the stories ranges from farcical capers led by inept criminals, to heartbreaking stories of families devastated by the losses of loved ones.  Every corner of the city is a setting at some point, from graffiti-scarred alleys to churches filled with mourners, from the universities to the parks, from Lake Michigan to the city’s downtown, from the poorest and most crime-ridden neighborhoods to the nineteenth-century mansions built by Milwaukee’s first millionaires.  No corner of the city is left untouched by the effects of crime.

156 Homicides includes slice-of-life tales, police procedurals, cozy mysteries, private eye narratives, noir, suspenseful adventures with twist endings, opinionated musings, and family dramas.  This epic mosaic novel depicts both the worst and the best aspects of society, but it’s not just about crime.  156 Homicides is a story about people, adversity, and ultimately, hope.