Recommended reading - The Black Marble, by Joseph Wambaugh (1978):

The Black Marble

By Joseph Wambaugh.

Published by Delacorte Press.

Published 1978.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 044000523X

ISBN-13: 978-0440005230

Description:

He is a damned good cop – a burned-out homicide detective wrapped around a Smith & Wesson .38 and a vodka bottle.

She is his partner – twice divorced, nursing a grudge against men, obsessed by the awful temptation of love.

“Terrifying … romantic … beautifully constructed.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Wambaugh sidesteps all the clichés … He has the ability to portray women as flesh-and-blood, thinking human beings.” – The Sun (Baltimore).

“First-rate … Fast, colorful, and gripping … as touching as it is breathlessly entertaining.” – Cosmopolitan.

“Superb . . . his best book!” – St. Louis Post-Dispatch.