The Force

By: Don Winslow

Narrated by: Dion Graham

‘Probably the best cop novel ever written’ Lee Child

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Cartel – winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Best Thriller of the Year – comes The Force, a cinematic epic as explosive, powerful, and unforgettable as The Wire.

Everyone can be bought. At the right price…

Detective sergeant Denny Malone leads an elite unit to fight gangs, drugs and guns in New York. For eighteen years he’s been on the front lines, doing whatever it takes to survive in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean.

What only a few know is that Denny Malone himself is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash. Now he’s caught in a trap and being squeezed by the FBI, and he must walk a thin line of betrayal, while the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all.

Don Winslow’s latest novel is a haunting story of greed and violence, inequality and race, and a searing portrait of a city on the edge of an abyss. Full of shocking twists, this is a morally complex and riveting dissection of the controversial issues confronting society today.

‘There won’t be a better cop novel this year than The Force by Don Winslow. Not next year, or the year after that, either’ Linwood Barclay

‘Intensely human in its tragic details, positively Shakespearian in its epic sweep – probably the best cop novel ever written’ Lee Child

‘Mesmerizing, a triumph. Think The Godfather, only with cops. It’s that good’ Stephen King

‘Nobody understands the disaster of corruption better than Don Winslow. The Force exposes the dawning horror of how it eats into the best intentions’ Val McDermid, No.1 bestselling author of Out of Bounds

‘Hard-hitting … one of the great works of fiction about the police … superbly chronicled’ The Times

Critic reviews

Praise for The Force:

‘This stands out by a mile … fresher, faster, funnier and truer … bursting with life, lousy with death, it is because it tells the truth, in all its ugliness, that this novel is so exhilarating’ Daily Telegraph

‘Hard-hitting … one of the great works of fiction about the police … superbly chronicled’ The Times

‘There won’t be a better cop novel this year than The Force by Don Winslow. Not next year, or the year after that, either’ Linwood Barclay

‘Stephen King, James Ellroy and Lee Child see Don Winslow as one of their number, and he confirms his right to belong in this elite with The Force … a panoramic picture of a criminal justice system permeated by corruption, cronyism and lies’ Sunday Times, Thriller of the Month

‘Sprawling and visceral’ Financial Times, Crime Books of the Year

‘Breathtaking. Think of TV series The Sopranos … told in majestic prose … this is without question among the finest ever police novels’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year

‘A brutal, gut-punching story’ Independent, Books of the Year

‘Almost Shakespearean’ Spectator, Books of the Year

‘Shocking and shockingly convincing … sinewy, flexible, raw and full of wit. This novel is as entertaining as the best crime fiction must be, but it is also moving’ TLS

‘Don Winslow’s magnificent novels have positioned him as the next big-hitter of crime writing … Gripping’ Metro

‘Intensely human in its tragic details, positively Shakespearian in its epic sweep – probably the best cop novel ever written’ Lee Child

‘Mesmerizing, a triumph. Think The Godfather, only with cops. It’s that good’ Stephen King

‘Nobody understands the disaster of corruption better than Don Winslow. The Force exposes the dawning horror of how it eats into the best intentions’ Val McDermid, No.1 bestselling author of Out of Bounds

‘A stunner of a cop novel with dialogue, gritty New York setting and moral pincers all in the service of a devastating plot’ New York Times, Crime Books of the Year

Gritty tale of NYPD bad boys

Our main character is an egotistical dirty cop whose long and arduous slide into hell is documented in true Winslow detail. He is only able to escape by climbing over the backs of others sliding faster than him into the abyss. The suspense is all there as well as the violence and graphic language. None of the characters are very admirable especially for me who happens to have respect for the NYPD, but like Art Keller (The Cartel) there is a very believable grain of truth that runs through them. Recommended listen for those who like there grit served with a large portion of raw realism.

Powerful masterpiece

Searing and savage, heartbreaking and shocking in equal measure. The opening chapters lure you in as forcefully as the smack so central to the story and the energy doesn't stop until the sad, final end. Superbly narrated with a cast of characters that reflect the complex mix of the great City, without becoming cliches. I thought nothing could top the tearful tragic love story of Mexico told through The Cartel, but this brilliant work is perhaps a greater masterpiece, a fine and fiery indictment of the world we live in. Best book I've read in ages.

Not as goods as the Cartel

Not the most exciting book I've "red". But it is well narrated. Well, I listene to end of the book.

Not so good

I really liked the Gentlemen's Hour and Cool Breeze because of the fresh if caustic style and non-pc story lines and characters. Then I listened to and enjoyed the first and second of the Dog series, but couldn’t get more than an hour or so into The Border before boredom and impatience overcame my interest. The same scenes repeated over and over and the relationships subplots that are just irritating and lame. All men violent and cruel but abiding by some frankly inconceivable code of honor and all the women either whores or stunningly hot and self important paragons of virtue. I guess DW got onto a good thing and is now just repeating the formula like everyone else. The Force is just more of the same and the last DW download for me. Too bad. At least the first two books were great and recommended but avoid addiction.

Denny Malone is a badass...

... but I expected this book to be much better having read the rave reviews. The Force chronicles the rise and fall of New York elite cop Denny Malone, tackling themes like corruption and the urban drug trade, but it does so without breaking any new ground. It's decent entertainment all the way through, but I must admit I was thoroughly underwhelmed.

The narrator does a good job of all the different accents and voices, but only really enforces the cliches and stereotypes (though only the author is really to blame for this).

Listen to this audio book if you are looking for a solid take on the dirty cop theme. If you are looking for something fresh, something other than cliches from a hundred books, movies and tv shows, look elsewhere.

Don Winslow is hailed as a master in the genre, but if that is indeed the case, his lesser collegues must write some awful books. I give it three stars only because it kept me interested enough to keep me listening to the end.