" This feels like the work of a good writer who was in too much of a hurry. The historical context he provides on city culture in general, and police culture specifically, in turn of the century New York is quite interesting and relevant to Dash's subject matter; the strongest part of the book is Dash's knack for conveying the integral role of corruption in every level of New York City's basic functioning. But these discussions do not feel fully integrated with the basic story Dash is telling, softening their effect. The stephen crane anecdote with which he opens, for example, could have been a really effective way to introduce Charles Becker as a person. One can see Dash approaching that a few times in the discussion, but instead he never quite gets there, so the story feels more like an attention getting anecdote in which Dash includes his subject's run-in with a celebrity just because he can. All in all, a worthwhile read, but more than anything it makes me want to read some of Dash's earlier stuff, to see if he's better when not working on a deadline. "
— Jack, 1/28/2014