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  • LAbyrinth

  • The True Story of City of Lies, the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. and the Implication of the Los Angeles Police Department
  • Written by: Randall Sullivan
  • Narrated by: Kevin Free
  • Length: 10 hrs
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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LAbyrinth

Written by: Randall Sullivan
Narrated by: Kevin Free
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Publisher's Summary

Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, eventually to discover that the officer killed was tied to Marion “Suge” Knight’s notorious gangsta rap label, Death Row Records. During his investigation, Poole came to realize that a growing cadre of black officers were allied not only with Death Row, but with the murderous Bloods street gang. And incredibly, Poole began to uncover evidence that at least some of these “gangsta cops” may have been involved in the murders of rap superstars Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. 

Igniting a firestorm of controversy in the music industry and the Los Angeles media, the hardcover publication of LAbyrinth helped to prompt two lawsuits against the LAPD (one brought by the widow and mother of Notorious B.I.G., the other brought by Poole himself) that may finally bring this story completely out of the shadows.

©2002 Randall Sullivan (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

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Easy 5 Stars!

The story itself is written very well combined with perfect narration. The plot progresses in a way easy to follow and the narrator handles even the quotes with ease. I will probably listen again soon.

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  • T Spencer
  • 2019-12-25

Racist And Inaccurate Trash

I was excited to get this audio book. I'm a big fan of hip hop and wanted to hear the perspective of an investigator who investigated the death of Notorious BIG. Instead I got a book about how black police officers were too dumb to pass a police exam and only got promoted because of their race. And how white police officers were the victims of false claims of racism. The author also claims white liberals are only critical of police because they don't know how violent black people are. The author returns to this point several times.

He writes extensively about the righteousness and well intentions of white police in Los Angels while never mentioning any of the proven cases of police brutality and race based harrassment by white officers. The only criticism he ever gives law enforcement is on black officers. He specifically singles them out as corrupt.

If you can get past all the offensive racist stuff and make it to the parts where he discusses the investigation of the murders of Biggie and Tupac then you'll see many inaccuracies. Suge Knight was never a drug dealer and didn't claim membership into a gang until he left college. He even misquoted Maxine Waters suggesting she defended his criminal activities, which she never did.

If you want to learn more about the murders of two of hip hop's biggest stars Biggie and Tupac, this is not the book for you. I suggest you try one of the other accounts. This book is full of racist nonsense about black men like me. If officers see me in the way this author and the investigator he followed surely does, I can see why they suspect every black male is a criminal.

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8 people found this helpful

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  • Rainsman
  • 2022-03-20

A Deep, Dark Dive With Many Twists and Turns

A very intriguing story about events we will never know the truth about completely. Couldn't stop listening! Listened to it 3 times!

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Mel
  • 2021-07-04

Wow

Eye opening for sure! Well written and definitely provided insight into several intertwined events. And I'm excited, I just discovered there is a follow-up book by the same author.... Because this book totally left me wanting to know more!

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1 person found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-09-13

You’re nobody till somebody

Solves this. Rest In Peace big and pac. Murder Rap is better and more accurate

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1 person found this helpful

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  • AJ torres
  • 2023-04-19

Intriguing and convoluted

The author does an outstanding job of detailing both the city and the Los Angeles Police Department during one of its most turbulent decades.

According to this book, films like Training Day and Dark Blue are an accurate portrayal of how the city’s political climate was during the 90s. Corruption ran from bottom to top in the LAPD.

All in all, I found the story intriguing from the beginning, but it got pretty convoluted by the end.

Soft recommend for me

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  • Paul Deveny
  • 2023-02-07

Amazing story

I listened to it non stop at work, I was very impressed with this book. Worth it.

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  • Doug Ruswick
  • 2022-07-20

PEREZ

God, that Perez is a Dirty Mother Fucker! Hope Hell catches up with POS Perez!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • DTA707
  • 2022-01-04

Interesting but mistaken theory

By all accounts Russell pool was a great cop before this. It's sad that he threw away his career and pension for a crackpot theory like this. That being said the book is interesting fiction

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  • Anthony Gill
  • 2021-10-13

AMAZING

this book matches up with everything I have studied I'm regards to death row records pac and biggie....
this book is an absolute must have for anyone who has ever been curious about tupac, and biggie , and Deathrow records. this is just simply amazing ...


..I re listen to this book all the time and always find something new.... 5 Stars.

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  • Jack R.
  • 2021-09-05

Very well researched!!!

This book goes into sooooo much of the background surrounding these two cases and the dirty cops that were involved whether directly or indirectly and how corrupt our justice system really is specially at the time in Los Angeles in the 1990s and probably still to this day the narrator did a very good job in that’s why I would have to read this book with all 5stars definitely a must read!!!!

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