Because of the wide range of social topics raised by the 87th Precinct books, as well as their timeliness, they should provide excellent sources for group discussion. And they could easily be included in a more general examination of crime fiction or mystery writing, or more specifically in a comparison of various "police procedurals," especially if compared with many of the European series.

1. How is the city depicted in Fuzz and what does that depiction tell us about contemporary urban American life?

2. In what ways does the humor in the novel work in the narrative? Think not only about comic relief from the grimness of the plot but also in broader terms about the general function of humor in literature.

3. What do you make of the Deaf Man? In what ways does he enrich the narrative, or complicate it?

4. Notice how the various overlapping stories compliment...