True crime memoires are always fascinating, for much the same reason why true crime is fascinating, because very few of those who consume it are likely to live a life where we are coming face-to-face with the worst of the world on a daily basis. It is something we can dip in and out of, and put to a side when it becomes too much.

Not so for Doyle Burke who in Death as a Living details his time as a homicide detective in the Dayton Ohio Police Department. If you are looking for the next great literary piece of true crime in the tradition of Capote, then this will not be the book for you, and that is exactly as it should be. True Crime while often tending towards the most shocking, spooky or gruesome does reflect life, thankfully an extreme of life many of us won’t experience, but life none-the-less. Burke, who comes across as a down to earth man of the people makes this memoire all the stronger by retaining his authentic voice, which is the books ultimate strength, rather than trying for literary kudos.

For those, who like me, are writing crime fiction this kind of authenticity and realism is priceless, and Burke’s tales of the streets of Dayton are filled with pathos and humanity. There is at least one crime, towards the end, that I feel I need to warn readers about, given how shocking it is – but again Burke’s both feet on the ground professionalism means that he does not over egg this pudding as others may be tempted to do, and his matter of fact reporting goes some way to alleviate what could be a highly traumatic read for many.

his is not to say that other crimes covered in Death as a Living, are not also tragic, there are many and Burke’s over view of decades of murder leaves one with a clear picture of the often time random nature or sheer bad luck that brought many people to their ends.

Burke also touches on community relations and Black Lives Matter (a movement he states he supports) in his writing. I think some people may find his opinion of diversity training grating, especially given the current record of police in America. With no other context, and assuming that Burke is giving us a true representation of what was said it appeared the training was giving advice that could well have the effect of increasing division, not creating more appreciation and understanding for differing lived experience. Coupled with the fact that Burke reports good relationships with the black community of Dayton, I am reluctant to come to other conclusions unless evidence emerges to the contrary.

This however does not mean that Burke’s view is definitive, and all that needs to be said on race and policing, he is after all writing his memoire, which is by definition a flawed version events, because they are only seen through the lens of one person who is emotionally involved in them. It can be highly useful to experience the point of view of others, and as Burke fits nicely into the hegemony it is unlikely that he is the right person to delve into all the subtleties and nuances of what policing and race means in the contemporary United States, backed as it is by a fraught and disturbing history.

It is this that brings us to one of the questions at the heart of contemporary writing, and especially in memoire – how much responsibility does the writer have when it comes to these difficult topics, not just race, but also religion, misogyny, disability and other identities which have often been handled without sensitivity or insight in the past, and at worst have perpetuated harm and stirred up hatred. If writing reflects life, should it only reflect the good? If we refuse to address the negative does that mean it goes unnoticed and therefore is strengthened? Is the writer responsible for how people may interpret or misinterpret her work? How high is the pedestal we put writers, and this art form on? Should there be a pedestal to begin with? Art moves and ebbs and flows much like life does so these question needs a lot more space and time to be explored than this blog is able to give in one post, but they are questions that are important for both writers, readers and the wider publishing industry to interrogate and navigate together.

Burke however is not a writer, well, not until very recently. He has not lived the writers life, spent the time developing craft, and wrestling with the contemporary questions around around the what, who and how of narrative and it’s place in wider culture. He has however lived an extraordinary life, one which I know I would not have the mental or emotional strength to dare to undertake, which is why I remain comfortably writing about it instead. In a culture which currently idolises the superhero and all their impossibilities, seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, the limited, the flawed, the ever-so-basically-human feels possibly like a quiet act of defiance.

An excellent look into the world of a homicide detective. The author was a 30 year veteran with the Dayton (OH) Police Department. His story is a no-holds barred journey into the depths of murder investigation. The writing is so good that you can practically smell and taste the blood, and easily visualize the scenes he presents. He also describes the toll that the profession takes on a person. As a retired law enforcement officer myself, I could relate to much of what he wrote, but am very thankful that I did not have near the exposure to death that he had. I especially liked his take on racial relations, and believe that it could serve as a national model for all police departments. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reading copy of this book. It's a good one.

Doyle Burke has seen his fair share of death. Actually, more than his fair share.  First with the homicide team at the Dayton, Ohio police department, he found bodies, encountered murderers, and went through a lot. Later, he'd work for the county coroner's office.  He knows how officers look at a scene, what a detective will do to solve the face, and how forensic science and instinct can help solve a crime.  

Death as a Living includes tons of anecdotes and feels like having a conversation with a friend about the weird stuff they've seen at their job.  He talks about how stress can really mess someone up, and how sometimes you have to investigate the murder of your own fellow officers. There are some uncomfortable areas discussing race and policing where Burke talks about his interactions with his friends and those he's investigated.

Death For A Living is a book on the memoirs of an Ohio homicide detective looking back on his 30 year career.

True crime is my favourite genre so I did expect to enjoy this book, I know it’s not the nicest of subjects but you can’t deny how interesting it is. However I was not expecting exactly how obsessed I would be with the book! I couldn’t put it down! Well I mean I had to whilst I was at work but as soon as it was break time........straight to the book!!

Sometimes you find true crime books written purely with fact based material which can become a little boring and monotonous but this book seemed to be be the exact right combination of facts and feelings. How he describes the cases and how they solved them, the victims and their families and in some cases the follow up stories was spot on.

The book caught and kept my attention throughout, personally I hope the author will bring out a volume 2 to this book and write about more cases. A very well deserved 5 stars awarded

With thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book

I love this TYPE of book because the sciences of detection really fascinate me. I can't say I loved this particular book. It has too much personal, as in career, content. I frankly don't care about the author's history. I only want to read about the cases: What they are/were, what happened, what LE did to solve them. Too much personal stuff in here and that's really boring.

I'm a former deputy DA. I can't stand watching most TV shows and movies that involve criminal law and police work because in general, they don't accurately depict reality. Same for a lot of so-called "true crime" books and legal thrillers - I can't get through more than a few pages before I roll my eyes and toss the book aside. That being said, I read Death as a Living cover-to-cover (virtually) and enjoyed every word of it.

Doyle Burke has crafted a riveting memoir of his career as a homicide detective in Ohio. If you're looking for salacious and gory details about all the horrible things humans do to each other, you may be disappointed because Burke doesn't sensationalize the crimes he investigated. Instead, he puts the violence and horror into context, providing the history and background of the place and people and offers up his thoughts on society and crime. Yes, there are definitely certain scenes that may be upsetting to some readers (i.e. violence/death involving children). Unfortunately, that cannot be avoided due to the nature of the subject matter. Burke, however, gives only as much as is necessary to understand the scene and visualize what it was like for him to carry out his duties in one of the most stressful and difficult fields of work. And carry it out he does, with respect, honor, and a touch of humor. I appreciated his calm voice throughout, and was genuinely sad when the book came to an end.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in reading about the reality of working as a homicide detective, though I'm sure the job has changed quite a bit since Burke retired (and probably not for the better). This book is also about the human side of being a cop: the physical, mental, and emotional toll on the officers and their families. I hope Burke will write more books in the future.

A fairly standard homicide detective memoir. Some interesting(and disturbing) cases, and I appreciate that Burke focuses on his positive relationships with families of the victims and makes that a through line of the memoir. I think the book was semi-sensitive to the current tensions regarding police today, but I also think it was a bit dismissive of some of the broader concerns about police brutality and black lives matter, and the structural aspects of racism. I get that this wasn't the point of the book, but it's such an important aspect of how we view the criminal justice system that I think most books of this type need to shift in nature. Burke was also a little bit more enthusiastic about the death penalty than I am personally comfortable. All in all, this book was okay- if you're running low on true crime adjacent memoirs, this will scratch an itch, but it wouldn't be my first recommendation

I normally avoid true crime (former jail RN and former ER nurse in the days before coppers had departmental support staff) but this one was written by a Homicide Detective who was on The Job. This is a collection of memorials to the murdered in Dayton as viewed by a dedicated copper. Excellently done without journalistic fanfare.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Inkshares via NetGalley. Thank you.

As a huge fan of true crime, I thought this was a wonderful book. I thought the narrative from the detective was very interesting.

This is a great read and i would recommend you read this! This was a really fun read which I read so so quickly. I was kindly gifted an e-book in return a honest review.

Death as a Living, is an convincing and personal account of true crime from Doyle Burke, a detective with the Ohio Police Department (and later with the county corners office). It’s part memoir, part police procedural, and park true crime anthology.. It depicts the inside world of homicide and death investigation, the triumph and tragedy, the marks than stain a soul forever.

As he looked back on his career, the early experiences helped him better understand victims and witnesses - how they felt, and the impact on their lives. As a homicide detective in order to survive the stress and the horrors that one see’s, no officer, no matter how seasoned they are, no matter how many years in service, can ever get used to it.

This is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in first account homicide detective work.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. #DeathasaLiving

This book deserves 5 stars, even though the author and I have different opinions on a couple of things. This is everything I want in a true crime book. It's well written, giving the most attention to the cases and the victims in particular. The way it's narrated makes you want to devour it in one sitting (unfortunately, I couldn't do that). The author highlights the job of the police department and the detectives, as was expected, but he isn't a self-centered and opinionated white man, which means a lot to me.
Really great book if you like true crime!

Honest recount of various cases, told by a real homicide detective. His stories cover the gamut of what one might expect to encounter in his line of work, and he is frank about the ups and downs of his career. I would recommend this as reading for anyone who has interest in joining a police academy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to former Detective Burke for writing this novel.

For some reason I thought this book was about being solely a medical investigator (the person who performs autopsies). It is not! Detective Doyle Burke is a former homicide detective from Dayton, Ohio. Several of his career stories chilled me to the bone and made me quite sick, but I suppose that’s to be expected as being a homicide investigator is not for the feint of heart.

Death as a Living was interesting and decently well-written. My main criticisms is the timeline doesn’t seem to linear and I didn’t understand why it wasn’t; and I wish more had been written about racism and the domestic violence that all too often comes at the hand of police officers towards their partners, and more on the topic of police brutality which isn’t warranted. I can’t even imagine being an officer, and I’m not saying I could do a better job, but there have been far too many instances especially in 2020 and 2021 that make police brutality and officer-involved shootings a prominent topic of discussion and I wish Burke had covered them more and more equally. However, this was s good peek behind the curtain of homicide squads in average American city.

This was a fascinating book that covers much of police work that nobody gets to see, and most frequently what they don't want to see or hear about.

A gritty true crime book written by a homicide detective from Dayton, Ohio. Burke shares some of his most gruesome and shocking cases from his career. And he has some doozies in this book. Part police procedural and part biography, but all real crimes. He says, "Vicks is designed to open up your nostrils" referring to most officers use of it on their noses hoping to take away the smell of decomposition. "In reality, all it did was give you a minty fresh smell of death." He stuck to his cigars. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, authors Doyle Burke & Lou Grieco, and the publisher.

Totally fascinating book. Detailed many interesting cases in depth from the point of view of a homicide detective. I was engrossed from start to finish. The humanity and empathy of Doyle Burke comes across, even when dealing with the most horrendous cases. The best kind of detective.

First I wish to thank NetGalley for a chance to read an early release of this book for a true and honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Ok...so I really liked the book...as an avid reader of true crime it fulfilled that aspect...

Retired detective Doyle Burke ...working with the Dayton, Ohio, police force...recounts several cases from minor to horrid...honestly....horrid...one specifically is not for the faint of heart. That being said it was missing something....when I read a true crime book I'm just not looking for a recounting of the police report...granted this goes deeper than that...but I struggled to find that overriding goal...the point being made...I did see the recurring message that the local officials are working diligently with the local minority communities ...and from what is said ...it appears that is true and making progress...but I am pretty positive ...every single law enforcement agency across the country would be saying the same thing...Mr. Burke gives many examples of this but I guess I wanted a little deeper dive into that...I feel that is the number one issue with our police force today....nationwide...Maybe interviews with those leaders...include them in the book itself...Mr. Burke talks about riots in the 60's where the city was burned ...and specifically states that this hasn't happened since...but that alone does not prove anything...

All in all ...for true crime it was a good book ...but for those looking for the promise of reaching out...a more detailed movement...it falls a little short...

This is brilliant, harrowing, honest, and fascinating account of some of the cases most remembered by a long serving policeman in the USA.
I have a keen interest in books about crime/criminal psychology/policing and the law, and this is one of the best books I have read recently on the subject.
Absolutely gripping and compelling stuff.
Easily worthy of 5 stars, I hope the author shares more of his stories with us soon.

I love reading Mystery and Crime Novels, and sometimes True Crime, too, if it's smartly written.

When reading a novel, you usually think that everything might be a little over the top. In case of the action and the characters, that might very well be true (it's called dramatization), but when you think that gruesome murder scene in your last novel was a little far fetched - well, Doyle Burke will teach you different.

He's a real homicide detective, sharing stories from his career spanning more than two decades. And he's not holding back, whether it being gruesome details or the banalities of the triggers that caused these scenes. (I think the banalities make some of this crimes even harder to cope with.)

That being said: You should be aware that some truly gruesome tales await you here. After having read this, you will understand why so many detectives in novels or on the screen seem to have a drinking problem (or something similar). Because really - I've felt the need for a stiff drink while reading this more than once.

And words to the wise: It's not always the homicides that are worst. There is a story here about a girl called Alice and an elevator accident. It's not the most violent story herein, but it stayed with me long after reading it.

But Doyle also gives us some history lessons, especially of Dayton in the 1960s. It mixes everything up quite nice.

Also interesting is the fact that Doyle worked the 1992 Christmas Killings, an infamous killing spree that lasted 3 days. You'll be shocked to learn the banal truth behind it.

After all is said and done, this was a fascinating read. I suspect Doyle made up some quirky remarks by him after the fact (because they just sound too cool), but he's a compelling storyteller. And you will gain an insight into humanity's darkest parts as well as into the banality sometimes surrounding someone's demise.

Read during daylight, lest some images haunt you in your dreams.