Busted

A reporter at the Philadelphia Daily News, Wendy Ruderman has worked at several media outlets, including the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY-TV and WHYY-FM, the Trenton Times, the Associated Press, and the Bergen Record. Barbara Laker has worked for several newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dallas Times Herald, and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. She began working at the Philadelphia Daily News in 1993 and has since been a general assignment reporter, an assistant city editor, and an investigative reporter.

"Equal parts serious journalism and sisterly sass, Busted is a personable and fast-reading ride...a shoe-leather journalistic procedural set against the ticking clock of the failing newspaper industry." -- New York Times Book Review "The chick, noir version of All the President's Men with a little Rocky... and a little almost anything with Rosalind Russell or Barbara Stanwyck." -- Washington Post "A riveting tale of two brave reporters who love what they do and are totally committed...engaging, down to earth and at times, very funny." -- USA Today "Busted is a very good book about very bad people, a great read about great injustice...Busted is proof that journalism still lives, still matters." -- Newsweek "The new book Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love is the chick, noir version of All the President's Men." -- Washington Post "I admire Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, who are not only Pulitzer-Prize winning journalists, but fearless and fascinating women. Busted reads like a turbo-charged thriller, all the more compelling because it's true. Pick up a copy, and you won't be able to put it down." -- Lisa Scottoline "A story that not only pounds at the door to come inside, but stands as a much-needed reminder that newspapers are and always have been and, as far as I know, always will be the bedrock of the art of journalism." -- Pete Dexter, journalist and author of National Book Award-winner Paris Trout "Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love is the scorching, devastating, and action-packed story of two journalists' journey into the dark heart of a major city...Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker are true heroes... I love this book." -- Edna Buchanan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author "Busted is a thoroughly engaging...trip into Philadelphia's underworld, where cops prey on those they are pledged to protect... Rich with character and incident, it's a complete original, and a love letter to newspapers in their hour of dire need." -- Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down "Busted is a taut, gritty story of drug dealers and corrupt cops written with passion, fury and what Philadelphians refer to as attitude (pronounced 'atty-tood'). Ruderman and Laker have a lot of that, which is why they're two of the best reporters in the country." -- George Anastasia, author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster "Busted reads like a gritty crime novel, but it is a paean to journalistic professionalism." -- Michael Smerconish, columnist, MSNBC contributor, and host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM "A fast-paced, well-written true crime book." -- Washington Times "Busted is a welcome addition to the literature of journalism procedurals." -- Philadelphia Inquirer "Fans of The Front Page and All the President's Men will be transfixed by this astounding tale of police corruption." -- New York Post "Prevailing against threats, intimidation, and the impending bankruptcy of their newspaper, Ruderman and Laker delivered a powerful series on police corruption, ultimately earning the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. This is a gritty, true-life thriller about the intersection of policing, drug dealing, and news reporting" -- Booklist (starred review) "This true crime book offers an impressive, crisply told account of the reporting of a police corruption scandal that yielded a Pulitzer Prize... The book is a tough, lively lesson in how doing the right thing, the right way, may not be enough." -- Publishers Weekly "Ruderman and Laker provide a welcome addition to the shelves of books about the mechanics and logistics of journalistic exposes ... [t]he narrative offers an insightful view of high-risk, high-reward investigative journalism." -- Kirkus Reviews "Prevailing against threats, intimidation, and the impending bankruptcy of their newspaper, [Ruderman and Laker]...tell a story of a city the tourists seldom see." -- Booklist Online "As investigative reporters for the Philadelphia Daily News, this writing duo won a Pulitzer Prize for their series on police corruption in Philadelphia. The story starts with Benny Martinez, a drug informant... It ends by exposing the dirty dealings of an elite narcotics squad." -- Houston Chronicle, "10 Books Worth Reading in 2014" "Part study in investigative journalism, it also delivers a commentary on the state of print journalism today, and justice." -- Daily News "Busted is a Philadelphia classic... It's an easy, breezy read but that's not to say it's insubstantial." -- Philadelphia Magazine "[A] gritty, honest, often surprisingly funny book." -- Philadelphia Weekly "Readers of true crime and students of sociology will especially enjoy this highly engaging read about the modern realities that plague many American cities." -- Library Journal