Don Winslow, who has all but locked down the title of top crime writer working today, has a new standalone novel out today called The Force.
Likewise, Ben Coes, one of the top political thriller novelists on the planet, releases the seventh novel in his Dewey Andreas series, Trap the Devil, also in stores today.
Neither book is to be missed!
Below is everything you need to know about each of these highly-anticipated new novels, and where you can watch both authors (in person or online) as they make their rounds today.
The Force (William Morrow, 496 pages)
Fun Fact: Receiving 10/10 possible points, Winslow’s latest work scored the highest ranking we’ve ever handed out in the history of The Real Book Spy.
Plot Details: 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 unrestricted authority to wage war on 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—including Malone himself.
What only a few know is that Denny Malone is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds, and he must walk the thin line between betraying his brothers and partners, the Job, his family, and the woman he loves, trying to survive, body and soul, while the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all.
From our review: “Don Winslow’s latest masterpiece is a gritty, raw look into the life of a New York City cop, and all the conflict–some by chance, some by choice–that comes with it…The Shield meets The Departed in Don Winslow’s The Force, one of the best cop dramas ever written.” (Read the rest of the review here.)
Where to catch Don Winslow today: Winslow will be doing a Facebook Live event with Tom Wickersham, store manager of the Mysterious Bookshop, at 4:30 pm ET. Tune in here.
Trap the Devil (St. Martin’s Press, 496 pages)
Fun Fact: While newcomers can certainly enjoy this book without reading Coes’ six previous novels, longtime fans are in for a surprise–as Coes packs a stunning series-twisting reveal into the plot of his new thriller.
Plot Details: A group of some of the most powerful people in the government, the military, and the private sector has begun a brutal plan to quietly take over the reins of the U.S. government. They’ve begun to remove the people who stand in their way―and replace them with their own sympathizers and puppets. They’ve already taken out the Speaker of the House―whose death was made to look like an accidental drowning―and the president and vice president are next. Once they have their own people in place, they plan to start a bloody, brutal war on an unimaginable scale.
On restricted duty while he recovers from injuries incurred on a previous mission, Dewey Andreas is sent to Paris by CIA Director Hector Calibrisi. The Secretary of State is going there for secret talks, and Dewey is to be an extra layer of security above the State Department team. But what should be an easy mission couldn’t go more wrong. The cabal has sent in a hit man to take out the Secretary of State and lay the blame for this murder at the feet of Dewey himself.
With the Secretary of State dead, shot by Dewey’s weapon, Dewey is on the run and out in the cold, desperately trying to unravel the plot before the conspirators succeed in killing millions of innocents.
From our review: “While action and deftly-plotted scenarios have been his calling card in the past, the character development and emotion written into Trap the Devil elevates Ben Coes to the very top of the thriller genre, where he sits alongside the likes of Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, and the late Vince Flynn.” (Read the rest of the review here.)
Where to catch Ben Coes today: Ben, along with fellow thriller writer Mike Maden (whose new novel Tom Clancy Point of Contact came out on June 13th), will be in-store at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thankfully, The Poisoned Pen offers access to free livestream, allowing fans to tune in from anywhere. The event begins at 10:00 pm ET, and can be accessed here.
