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The Killing Fields of East New York is a deep dive into the unraveling of a troubled neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a wide-ranging look at how a once thriving area deteriorated. The author uses the murder of a 17 year old girl as a thread that ties the book together as she lays out a pattern of corruption, violent crime and mortgage fraud as the common themes that caused the ultimate downfall of East New York. Culled from a variety of sources, this is an interesting look at a systematic breakdown of social norms that most of us take for granted, and how a perfect storm of criminality and neglect, from the government, to financial institutions to the police all played a role in the neighborhood’s demise. The book does have a scattered feel to it, as the author jumps back and forth from one subject to another, as well as time frames, and that’s a bit disconcerting to the reader, as just as you’re getting immersed in one thread, the book jumps to another topic. Overall, a good look at a shameful series of events. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.