Obsession overrides every choice, every good intention, every thought for Washington, D.C., homicide detective Alexander “Alex” Blum in “Sweet Thing,” David Swinson’s outstandingly gritty sixth novel.

PI Frank Marr, the narrator of this highly original noir from Swinson (A Detailed Man), has a big problem: he’s a cocaine addict. When the former Washington, D.C., police detective breaks into a house ...

Of all talents commonly attributed to burglars, including stealth, efficiency and good timing, D.C. police said George E. Hudson had just one -- guts. On Jan. 2, just after 9:45 p.m., a resident in ...