This book stands out in this list by being the first example of one of the author’s characteristics: even though Wambaugh lived in a period where cops are portrayed solely as strong and pretty superheroes, he would dare to portray policemen as real people with all their flaws and weaknesses. Second in the order of best selling Joseph Wambaugh books, The Choirboys tells a fictional and haunting story. I mean, it is hard to ruin an interesting real-life story anyways but the author not only manages to retain the story’s intrigue but he also adds on to it with his writing expertise and experience in the field. His questioning of the justice system that I mentioned is backed by logical, convincing arguments and feels really thought out as well.

In the first among his best rated books, Joseph Wambaugh manages to draw one of the best descriptions of PTSD I’ve ever read. After that, he focuses on the event’s effects on the characters. He draws a clear image in your mind for them so you can understand the event better. The author first takes into his hand the lives of the four characters. I will not share the main event of the story with you as I think it would completely ruin the book for you, but I can say it’s a disturbing and heartbreaking one. The author raises critical questions on the effectiveness and purpose of the judicial system by using these four men’s stories and he also takes a dive into their lives and personalities. It is the true crime story of two policemen who were on a routine traffic stop in 1963 and the two robbers who ran into them. I have decided to start off this article with the first in the list of the most popular Joseph Wambaugh books.

The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh