I recently discovered Don Winslow based on Amazon.com's automated recommendations, and I am really enjoying his work. I've read two of his novels so far.
The Power of the Dog: This extremely long novel follows fictional characters around the true events of the US war on drugs in Mexico and South America, starting in the 1970s and running through the late 1990s. There is a lot of great character development, and all of the characters are intertwined through chance meetings and lifelong vendettas. It's a fascinating look at just how intertwined the war on drugs was with the war on communism. This novel is all the more relevant now because of the incredible violence taking place along our southern border right now.
The Winter of Frankie Machine: This novel follows a retired southern California mob hitman named Frankie Machianno. Retired hitman novels are a dime a dozen, but Winslow turns Machianno into a fascinating and believable character. He's targeted for reasons he doesn't understand, more than 20 years after he got out of the hitman gang. Frankie must dodge the up and coming young mobsters who want to make a name for themselves by taking out a legend, all the while delving into his own past to figure out just what they want him dead for. A highly entertaining book that I could hardly put down.
If you enjoy that, you might also like James Ellroy.
Originally Posted By sparkyCG:
Like you, I found them both well written and highly entertaining.
The Death & Life of Bobby Z was great, also.
FWIW Because you liked "Power of the Dog" ... you might want to try "CROSSERS" by Philip Caputo
Stay safe
My Amazon.com order finally came in, and Death and Life of Bobby Z was so short I finished it in a single day. Terrific, terrific novel. Tim Kearney/Bobby Z was an amazing character, and Kit reminded me almost exactly of my nephew. I loved it.
I also ordered 'Satori', and I'll be diving into that one next.
I finished California Fire and Life recently. Another great one by Winslow. This one is about an arson investigator trying to take down a Russian mobster who killed his wife and made it look like an accidental fire. Winslow is a former arson investigator himself, so he lends an incredible amount of authentic detail to the story, taking the reader step by step through an investigation, as well as supplying an incredible amount of background on how fires destroy buildings, and how the signs of arson are visible to an experienced investigator. The climactic ending was great, and there are a lot of fascinating characters in this one. I've read four of his books now, and Death and Life of Bobby Z is my favorite, but they are all great.
