Book excerpt: The life of a homicide cop is death with many causes: death for love, death for hate, death for revenge, death for money or death for no reason at all. The homicide cops worst nightmare is death by a serial killer with a plan. This gritty and fast moving story of a search for such a killer is a realistic portrayal of homicide investigation written by a former homicide detective who has been there. I was a homicide investigator during the time frame of this novel and I am impressed with the detail and account of both the technical and routine phases of murder investigations as we did them back in the day. Gerald R. Beavers Former Chief of Police, Asheville, North Carolina and Topeka, Kansas A fresh homicide on the street. Grab your pen and notebook and get to the scene. Beat the bushes. Talk to the street cops who show up. Talk to the street people whose trust you have developed over the years bartenders, prostitutes, crooks, store owners. The drums are beating in the neighborhood. People are talking. Get the right information and you solve the case. No DNA; no C. S. I.; no cell phones; no online information sources. No psychological profi les other than the knowledge and memory of sharp cops. No scientifi c interrogation techniques other than experience and knowledge of human nature. We found the killers and we put them away. This is the way it was in the late 1960s and Ed Mercer captures the tableau perfectly. The Dead Stroll is a nostalgia trip for those of us who walked the walk and talked the talk in those days and a historical document for those cops currently working homicides an authentic depiction of how it was. The scenes of riot and turmoil in the streets, the pressures of external and internal politics, the cops wit and crisp dialogue are all vivid and real. Dont miss this great read which is told in a way that only be written by a guy who has been there. Harry T. OReilly Detective Sergeant (retired) NYPD, Former supervisor, Manhattan South Homicide and Special Victims Unit