HarperCollins The Force

If you haven't read Winslow before, I envy the reading treasure you've just stumbled on.And THE FORCE, a stand alone, is a perfect way to introduce yourself.Power of the Dog and it's sequel The Cartel are masterful, epic pieces. They pull us through the deep, dark, blood filled trenches of the dope wars, of which Winslow is very knowledgeable of. With The Force, Winslow pulls us again through the deep, dark, blood filled trenches of New York City where the corruption flows down from the highest corridors of power.Winslow writes Winslow novels, much like Ellroy writes his own. His prose is snarky, stylish, creative, experimental with cinematic visualisation. He's also adept at condensing complicated plots that most authors would have stretched over a series into a 500 page beast. It also brought to mind throughout outstanding movies such as Prince of the City, French Connection and Serpico and the documentary Precinct Seven Five. Apparently the script is in the hands of the legendary David Mamet and to be directed by James Mangold who recently made the fantastic Logan movie. Exciting stuff!I finished the book with the high relief of a perfect fix. Like the Catholics wait for Jesus I've been hoping and praying for a corrupt-cop novel version of the TV show The Shield for a loooong time. Are the main characters lovable nice guys? No, but I couldn't wait to get back to them whenever I put the book down. They are very complicated, realistically drawn out characters where Winslow doesn't justify or vilify their behaviours, he just lets them live and breathe on the page. Treats us readers like the adults we either are or should be without spoon feeding.I rarely use the term Shakespearean, but it really is in terms of story, character and tragedy. We are shown the police culture, the faults in the systems, their interaction with the communities good and tragic, the corruption that plagues them. You become invested in those who populate his writing, you want them to get through the various trials and tribulations. Whether they do or not is for you to find out.Winslow, like he did with his other novels, has interviewed and made connections to many real individuals who operate on both sides of the law to better season his works with authenticity. And it tells. It's powerful stuff. The first few page are densely filled with the names of police officers who have lost their lives on these dangerous streets. It opens up the doors to a world we otherwise have no access to.The lingo, cop-speak, insider information is juicy and extremely moreish, leaving me wanting to know more of their experiences such as testilying, how 9/11 saved the mob, the upside of the EMT not taking a Hippocratic oath, rules for note-taking on the job, planning crimes so they cross as many precinct boundaries as possible to increase the likelihood of a snafu, tribes within the police force, how to handle CIs... on and on it goes and it's all fascinating.If you are like myself and have had a career in law enforcement, prisons, armed forces, then you'll know how story telling in all of its forms from various experiences throughout careers is non stop and always colourful. It's the same here with The Force where you feel Winslow, in his almost conversational style of writing, has bumped elbows with you at the bar and he's got a doozy of a story for you.The humour is dark and laugh out loud at times. The violence is not gratuitous, but strongly stated and well written. The city itself is a living breathing entity within this book. I've never been to New York, but the interesting locations and stores and bars etc. I couldn't get enough, evoking powerful images in my mind.If you're not used to reading gritty, hard-boiled, noir crime novels then consider these before entering. I sincerely hope you do though, you'd be missing out on a stone cold classic in crime writing and an exceptional novel by any standard.

Well this one certainly pulls no punches. Essentially, it's a story that revolves around a team of NYPD cops. The key character is Detective First Grade Dennis John Malone - known to one and all as Denny. He is head of the Manhattan North Special Task force. Many people know Denny as someone who is an hero because he once 'took one for the team' when he got shot in the leg and received his Medal of Valor (for what he considers to be stupidity on his behalf). He's a 6ft 2in guy with attitude, proudly sports sleeves of tattoos up both arms and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of hip-hop lyrics. Many folk are aware that Denny's father was also a hero cop. What many don't know is that Denny often plays by his own rules - and in doing so is open to corruption.....Don Winslow really gets beneath the skin of Denny. I particularly liked the way the author has Denny saying things to the other characters in the story but then informs us, the readers, what he is really thinking. Detective Malone is one bad apple in a barrel almost full of them - which may be why I still couldn’t help but find myself rooting for him throughout this sometimes shocking portrayal of the New York criminal justice system.Please don’t get the impression that this novel is all doom and gloom though. Despite the nastiness and brutality contained within, this is a tale that does have within it a fair degree of humour. For instance, there are some cracking one-liners delivered between Denny and his partners on the task force and they do have some fun together when off duty. One stand-out moment for me was when Denny, Russo, Monty and Levin have a night out on the town. At the end of the evening they are all drunk and sitting in Russo's car, cruising along the NYC streets, with the stereo blasting and the windows down, singing along at the tops of their voices to a N.W.A. rap song and chanting: "F*** tha police, F*** tha police, F*** tha police" - and totally startling all the folk strolling along on the sidewalk. Priceless!If you like reading edgy, meaty, macho American cop thrillers then this might be just up your street. With storylines and scenarios that brought to my mind dramas like The Departed, The Wire, The Shield and The Sopranos, this was a super read and one I can highly recommend.

The main character in this hard hitting cop novel by Don Winslow, is Detective Sergeant Denny Malone. He is a celebrity New York policeman, who leads an elite unit, fighting organized crime gangs and anything to do with drug dealing and shootings in North Manhattan, New York. However, Danny Malone and his close working colleagues Monty and Russo are all corrupt, and Danny Malone finds himself caught on a wiretap by the FBI and facing time in prison unless he co-operates with them to bring others to justice. Lee Child described this book as ‘probably the best cop novel ever written,’ I don’t know if I quite agree with that statement but it is certainly one of the best crime novels I’ve ever read and in my view, the best book Don Winslow has ever written. The story is hard hitting and moves along at a fast pace. All the characters are believable and come to life. This is a book that pulls no punches and the storyline does not appear to be based on any central morality. Despite this you get a real sense of how a good policeman who only wanted to protect the public can gradually end up drowning in corruption. This is a book with a lot of depth and can be read on a number of levels, but above all it is highly entertaining.

This is a brilliant read. The characters leap from the pages, into your personal space and into your head and stay there, long after the last page is read. I found myself wondering how it would end and hoping it was plausible and just tied up with a pretty bow, like some fairy tale. I needn’t have worried. I won’t put any spoilers in but I didn’t see it coming and yet it just seemed right.This WILL be a film, it can’t NOT be. I just hope, like The Godfather, that they do it justice. My best book of 2017 by a country mile and one I will not forget. I would, in hindsight, like to have read it at a more leisurely pace but it just wasn’t possible.I can’t recommend this book highly enough - READ IT!

The topography and demographic of NY gangs and respective drug activity was fine, as was the interaction with the old-school Italian mob scene. Like wise, the Italian/Irish Staten Island stereotype was nicely fulfilled. However, the diversity connection with a couple of the main protagonists was a bit forced and the main characters themselves have seen much harder and capable predecessors dominate New York with more capability. Harsh, but I haven't finished this book yet - it's not making me turn pages that quickly.