The Power of the Dog Book

The title "The Power of the Dog" comes from the Psalms: Save my soul from the sword my love from the power of the dog. And Don Winslow's masterpiece is not only a page-turning thriller but also a rich and compelling novel about a very mixed group of characters each in his or her own way seeking some sort of salvation or redemption. The plot is essentially simple: how the US government and some of its quasi-autonomous agencies (CIA FBI DEA) all for their own reasons encouraged sponsored and actively financed and helped the development of the drug cartels and their trade in Mexico. Groups of characters are - a young Chicano boy from the Barrio who makes good and becomes a Senator (and who is the target of an assassination plot that tops and tails the book); a morally troubled DEA boss who tries to do good but who is driven by events and by a desire both for salvation and revenge to sleep with the devil; and the various gang leaders some of them psychopathic others urbane civilised and deadly; a high-class prostitute; and a charismatic Catholic priest who is dedicated to the improvement of the lives of his people.Out of this simple material Winslow has built a novel that works on so many levels and offers so many satisfactions it defies belief. Praise for Don Winslow: 'Don Winslow is the kind of cult writer who is so good you almost want to keep him to yourself as if letting everyone in on the secret will somehow dilute the pleasure. So gulp down this book tell all your friends and remember - you heard it here first!' - Ian Rankin. 'The Death and Life of Bobby Z. It has whiplash speed deliciously sleazoid characters and a major altitude problem. What a blast!' - Carl Hiaasen.

'Breathtaking' JEREMY CLARKSON'Winslow's masterpiece (so far) ... should have a place on every crime freak's bookshelf. Superb' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY_______________________A brilliant page-turning thriller of power and revenge on the front lines of the drug war.Drug lord Miguel Angel Barrera is head of the Mexican drug federación, responsible for millions of dollars worth of cocaine traffic into the US and the torture and murder of those who stand in its way. His nephew, Adan Barrera, is his worthy successor.Art Keller is a US government operative, so determined to obtain revenge for a murdered colleague that his pursuit of the cartel veers dangerously towards an obsession outside the law. In a brutal world filled with striking characters, from a high class prostitute to an Irish hitman and a charismatic Catholic priest, everyone is in search of some kind of salvation - or damnation...Don Winslow's masterpiece is not only a page-turning thriller but also a rich and compelling novel in the league of James Ellroy or Don DeLillo._______________________The Cartel, the blockbuster sequel to The Power of the Dog, is also available.