Published June 20th by William Morrow
Our ends know our beginnings, but the reverse isn’t true …All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop. He is the “King of Manhattan North,” a highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant and the real leader of “Da Force.” Malone and his crew are the smartest, the toughest, the quickest, the bravest, and the baddest–an elite special unit given carte blanche to fight gangs, drugs, and guns. Every day and every night for the eighteen years he’s spent on the “Job,” Malone has served on the front lines, witnessing the hurt, the dead, the victims, the perps. He’s done whatever it takes to serve and protect 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.
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Is it possible that July has brought me my top read of 2017? It’s very likely unless something else truly phenomenal comes along between now and Dec 31 to knock this blockbuster off it’s perch on the tippy top of my top reads shelf. There’s definitely a reason this was published in June because this is the perfect summer read to take to the beach, pool or patio. A crime thriller is the perfect summer read you may be asking? Oh yes, just ask Time, Amazon, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Newsday, Miami-Herald and more since they all named The Force a must read this summer. Just don’t forget to slather on your sunscreen because once you start reading this addicting saga of a police thriller you’ll forget everything else!
The blurb above tells you all you need to know about Sgt. Denny Malone, “King” of The Manhattan North Special Task Force. He’ll be the first to also tell you (repeatedly so) that he’s a hero cop. You see, Denny narrates the story, first in the prologue where he tells us he’s in a federal jail cell and then throughout the rest of the novel (he details what led to him being in federal jail) as we get an inside, front row, in your face perspective of Denny’s often harsh, racist observations and illegal actions along with his searing rationalizations of why he’s turned dirty. There are no narrative tricks or multiple points of view in the telling of this story. Winslow grabs you immediately with acute observations, single line sentences, short paragraphs and dialogue that snaps, crackles and pops so fast your head will spin and your eyes will barely be able to keep up. THIS is how you tell a story and that’s what makes this book so utterly fantastic! Let me pause here and say the writing is by no means always perfect. There were times I was caught off guard by weird grammatical sentence structures but guess what…I didn’t care…not at all because the storytelling that Winslow weaves is can’t-put-it-down-brilliant.
I feel like I may have moved into gushing territory so let me try to sum up the gist of the story with one word….corruption. EVERYONE in this book is corrupt in one way or another and let me tell you…the police, the ADA’s, the mayor, the defense lawyers, the criminals, the junkies, the wives, the church, even Internal Affairs…all dirty. Boy does this make for some fascinating, suspense filled reading as you’re never quite sure who’s going to turn on who at any given point. You know from the prologue that things go wrong for Denny at some point but there’s a whole lot of double crossing, killing, lying and cheating to get him there. I should add a side note here: if you’re offended by graphic violence and language this isn’t the book for you. I wanted to share some of the writing style with you and it took me awhile to find sections without the “f” word. Here’s a great example of Denny and his thinking as he’s meeting with a prosecutor to prep for his testimony in the trial of a violent drug dealer….
‘Just tell the truth and get the conviction” Hinman said.
“Which?” Malone asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean”, Malone said, “I can tell the truth or I can get the conviction. Which do you want?”
“Both,” Hitman said.
“You can’t have both.”
Because if he told the truth, they’d lose the case because Malone had no warrant and no probable cause to enter the apartment …the dealer would walk. Because the real truth that they both know is that without cops “testilying,” the DA’s office would hardly get any convictions at all. This doesn’t bother Malone.
Truth, justice and the American way.
The American way is, truth and justice maybe say hello in the hallway, send each other a Christmas card, but that’s about the extent of their relationship.
Accurate? We’ll never know but Don Winslow spent years researching this book, interviewing hundreds of cops, rookies and veterans alike, so this kind of makes you say hmmm doesn’t it? There’s so much that’s relevant and timely in this sprawling novel that you’ll find yourself often shaking your head but there’s one thing you won’t be able to do and that’s stop reading. Winslow expertly managed to keep me in the dark about how this cinematic thriller would turn out and right up until the final few paragraphs I thought it might end the way I hoped. Surprise was on me. As I said Monday, if you like movies like The Town, The Firm, and The Untouchables and the tv show The Sopranos you’ll LOVE this book. Now I’m off to continue casting the movie (March 1, 2019!) in my head… Henry Cavill sure looks like a good Denny Malone.
Many thanks to William Morrow for my copy via a Goodreads Giveaway
Wow! Brilliant review Linda. This book sounds AMAZING!!!
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Wow, Renee, what a fantastic review – your love of this book really came through and has made me so excited to read it!!
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Thanks Janel! I was really obsessed with this book this weekend, just ask my husband and son who I ignored for over 24 hours😂 I think this is one you’ll like!
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You definitely caught my attention with that review, I’ll hunt down a copy!
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Oh my God Renee not Linda! Can you tell it’s been one of those weeks?? Sorry xxx
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Thanks Abbie, haha no worries, I just saw this comment first anyway:)
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You liked it then? 🙂 It does sound pretty amazing and definitely cinematic. Great review!
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Thank you Anne! I liked it just a little:) I love when a book reads like you’re watching a movie and this one did from start to finish.
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Excellent review! Shame the kindle edition is so expensive. I’ll have to wait and see what happens price wise.
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Thanks Cathy, I did notice the kindle edition is at the highest price they can set. William Morrow tends to do that which is unfortunate, they could sell way more at a lower ebook price.
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They could! I can never understand setting such a high kindle price for that reason alone.
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Excellent review! Definitely adding to my TBR list! Oh, I received Goodbye, Vitamin yesterday 😊 I just need to get to a place where I can start it, lol.
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Thank you Stephanie, let me know what you think of Goodbye, Vitamin when you’re done. Hopefully you can squeeze it in this summer:)
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You’re welcome! I’m definitely moving it up on my list. I’m planning to get through the ARC books I’m behind on from being sick, etc, so I can get them reviewed then I plan on reading Goodbye, Vitamin and several others high on my TBR list 😊
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Well, I wasn’t sure about this one but not I have to add it to my TBR!! Amazing review!!
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Thanks Sam! I liked this just a little😂
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You were very subtle lol
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Wow! High praise for this one!! I’ve never heard of this book, but it sounds like a must read. Great review Renee!
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Thanks Tina, if you at all like crime thrillers this is a must read!!
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Ok you’ve convinced me! I wonder if it’s on Netgalley?
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Wow this does sound good, plus if I read it now I can have the image of Henry Cavill in my head as I do so 🙂
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Haha, I wish I would’ve thought of googling actors BEFORE I read this that would’ve been even better.
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Well I’m glad you’ve done the work for me on this one 😛
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What a great review! I’m really intrigued by this one…
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Thanks Jo, it’s a crime filled thrill ride that’s for sure!
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Wow, what a brilliant and enthusiastic review!!! This sounds like THE BOOK! I totally see this turned into a movie! No one can resist to such praise for a book! I’m adding this to my wishlist!!
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Thanks Meggy! It is my fav so far this year, if they cast it right it will be a fantastic movie! I’m glad you’re adding it to your list:)
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
check out this review of the book, The Force, by Don Winslow, as posted on the It’s Book Talk blog
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Thanks for the reblog and link back Don!
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My pleasure.
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❤ Your excitement is contagious. Imagine that I don't like it lol I'll tell you all about it as soon as I finish with my current one!!
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I’ll be crushed if you don’t like it haha! I’m so nervous *wringing hands*
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Your comments about this book definitely have me intrigued especially since you mention that its already one of your favorites. It sounds brilliant.
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It’s so good Diana! If you’re in the mood for a true crime SAGA this it it!!
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Excellent review! You’ve definitely convinced me I need a copy of The Force ASAP, especially since I liked his writing style in Kings Of Cool.
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I haven’t read any of his other books but I just started The Cartel last night and I’m loving it so far…how have I not read Don Winslow? *Kicking myself:)*
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And I’m kicking myself for not reading more of his books now, since it’s been a long time since my first experience with his work… Definitely need to work on that. 😉
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[…] and give the shiny new releases a short break. Since I’m on a Don Winslow kick after loving The Force, I jumped right into The Cartel and I have to say I’m loving this saga pitting a DEA agent […]
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[…] was so excited to read this book that I bought it as soon as Renee told me that I would surely love it as much as she did. And despite its length (+500 pages), I read […]
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Thanks for the link and mention!!
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[…] The Force By Don Winslow ( A mammoth door stop of a book that I read in a day and a half because it’s just that good! This had everything I loved and will be on my top 10 of 2017 for sure, 5 stars) […]
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[…] The Force was the book I initially thought would take my top spot of the year! I consider this book the best in drama, dialogue, scandal, betrayal, lies, corruption…all things juicy and morally corrupt […]
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