Don Winslow

Listen to "Don Winslow The Force" on Spreaker. What makes this book stand out is Winslow’s own connection to the story he tells within the pages of THE FOCE. He explains, “Sometimes I think I’ve been preparing to write this book my whole life.  I’ve known—and know—cops, most of them clean, some of them dirty. For this book, I went out on the streets with NYC cops (who will go unnamed). I went to bars with them, sat in their houses, talked to their families, their wives, ex-wives, their girlfriends. I sat with cops from very high ranks down to probationary patrolmen. And women. I’ve sat down with white cops, black cops, brown cops.  That research informs this novel. I wanted to know what cops do, but, more importantly, I wanted to know how cops think and feel. I’m interested in their actions, but more interested in how what they do and see affects them. I sat with tough, veteran cops with tears streaming down their faces as they told me their stories. This is the book I’ve wanted to write my whole life.”                 THE FORCE is an indictment on corruption in the police force and how that is a trickledown effect from the real criminals—politicians pulling the strings at the highest levels of city government in the Big Apple.  There is a strong non-fiction conversation that can be had around THE FORCE, especially around race and how special detectives, DEA, etc. interact with the communities that they police.   And given the extensive research that Winslow did with New York City police officers on the beat currently, Winslow can speak to real-life issues.                 A searing portrait of a city on the edge and of a heroic but deeply flawed man who stands at the edge of its abyss, THE FORCE is a masterpiece of urban realism. Full of shocking twists leavened by flashes of dark humor, this is a morally complex and riveting dissection of modern American society and the controversial issues confronting us today.   ABOUT THE BOOK: All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop. The ‘King of Manhattan North’, this highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant is the real leader of ‘Da Force’, an elite special unit given carte blanche to fight gangs, drugs and guns. Malone has served on the front lines for the eighteen years he’s spent on the Job, witnessing the injured, the dead, the victims, the perps. He’s done whatever it took to serve and protect in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean—including Malone himself. After making the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history, Malone and his close-knit crew have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash. Now he’s being squeezed by the Feds and must walk the thin line between betraying his brothers and partners, the Job, his family, and the woman he loves, all while trying to survive as the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all.                 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  New York Times bestselling author Don Winslow has written 20 novels, including The Kings of Cool, Savages, The Winter of Frankie Machine and the highly-acclaimed epics The Power of the Dog and The Cartel. The son of “a sailor who loved books and a librarian who loved a sailor”, Winslow grew up with a love of stories and storytelling in a small Rhode Island coastal town.  In addition to his novels, Winslow has published numerous short stories in anthologies and magazines such as Esquire, the LA Times Magazine and Playboy.  His columns have appeared in the Huffington Post, CNN Online and other outlets. Winslow is the recipient of the Raymond Chandler Award (Italy), the LA Times Book Prize, the Ian Fleming Silver Dagger (UK), The RBA Literary Prize (Spain) and many other prestigious awards. He lives in California with his wife of thirty-one years.