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The Power of the Dog Audiobook
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(4.00) - 2,196 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
The Power of the Dog is an explosive, intelligent historic thriller that takes the reader deep into the dark underbelly of the "Mexican Trampoline," – the trafficking of cocaine from Colombia to Honduras to Mexico to the United States. It is a shockingly violent page turner, featuring kings and pawns, violence and deception. At the same time, it is a serious and well researched historical novel, and a powerful indictment of the war on drugs, with its clandestine operations, hidden agendas, and shady politics.
Father Parada is an influential and devout Catholic priest. Adán and Raul Barrera are heirs to a massive drug empire. Nora Hayden is a world-weary young call girl. Callan is a ruthless contract killer from Manhattan. Obsessive protagonist Art Montana is a DEA agent and former CIA agent and boxer. Despite their disparate lives, all are trapped in the world of the Mexican drug Federación, and struggling to escape The Power of the Dog.
From Tijuana, Mexico to New York City's Hell's Kitchen and the jungles of Latin America, the complex story follows thirty years of the DEA's war on drugs at a breakneck pace. Well-drawn characters, an epic vendetta, and exceptional attention to historic detail help to establish The Power of the Dog as a thinking man's narco-thriller.
Acclaimed author and former private detective Don Winslow's celebrated novels include The Neal Carey, the Boone Daniels series, and Savages, which was voted one of the ten best books of 2010 by The New York Times.
"Epic crime saga spanning 30 years that recounts the quest of driven DEA Agent Art Keller to bring down the powerful Mexican Drug Cartel headed by Aden Bererra. Thunderously violent with copious lashings of graphic sex, Don Winslow's blood-drenched novel is James Ellroy-esque in it's examination of America's sordid psyche but stops just short of the latter's all-out nihilism. An absolute scorcher of a read."
— Krishna (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
This explosive novel of the drug trade takes you deep inside a world riddled with corruption, betrayal, and bloody revenge.
Art Montana is an obsessive DEA agent. The Barrera brothers are heirs to a drug empire. Nora Hayden is a jaded teenager who becomes a high-class hooker. Father Parada is a powerful and incorruptible Catholic priest. Callan is an Irish kid from Hell’s Kitchen who grows up to be a merciless hit man. And they are all trapped in the world of the Mexican drug Federación. From the streets of New York City to Mexico City and Tijuana to the jungles of Central America, this is the war on drugs like you’ve never seen it.
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Quotes
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“The Power of the Dog throws shadows a mile long. Fearless, humane, aesthetically fervent, it’s also passionate, unapologetic, gorgeously written, and unquestionably authentic.”
— Dennis Lehane -
“A pit bull of a book. Once unleashed, this thriller…charges and attacks without mercy, shredding anyone in its path.”
— Washington Post -
“An express train of a thriller that cannot be put down…One of this year’s finest novels.”
— Baltimore Sun -
“Ambitious, dense and gritty…Well-drawn characters and plenty of double-crossing make this a thinking person’s narco-thriller.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Porter captures the story’s intensity, deftly using inflection and pauses.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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A 2006 Macavity Award Finalist for Best Mystery Novel
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A 2006 Barry Award Finalist for Best Novel
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A 2006 Dilys Award Finalist
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A 2005 Hammett Prize Finalist
The Power of the Dog Listener Reviews
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" the greatest crine trilogy ever first in series. fantastic "
— agough1, 3/10/2024 -
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Darren Maxwell, 8/16/2021
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" zrinka's recommendation - a great book. "
— Rahatli, 2/16/2014 -
" Art Keller, Adan and Raul Barrera, Nora Hayden, Juan Parada are all characters that are going to stay with me for a very long time. "
— Justin, 2/10/2014 -
" L'un des bouquins les plus rageux qui soient. "
— Nicolas, 1/24/2014 -
" An amazing account of Americas drug war from the Reagan era to now. Engaging characters and realistic dialog! "
— Stacy, 1/22/2014 -
" Winslow entitled his penultimate novel "Savages" in which he revisited the Mexican drug cartels that are the focus of "The Power of the Dog"; however, the savagery of "Savages" pales in comparison to the savagery of "The Power of the Dog". This story spans several decades and follows a DEA agent's, Art Keller, obsessive pursuit of the Barrera drug cartel; a pursuit that encompasses the "War on Drugs", the US efforts to keep Communism from gaining a foothold in the Americas, the Irish Mob in NYC and the Italian mafia. From Mexico, to the Southwest US, to NYC, to central America, to Columbia Winslow details the birth, growth and battle for control of the drug trade. The story may be fiction but we see it played out in the newspapers every day. There are no heroes here, only people making choices between levels of evil; does the power of the dog reside in all of us, are we all savages underneath our veneer of civilization? This is Winslow doing what he does best; taking a crime story and exposing the human vulnerabilities that belie our civility and does it in a way that keeps you turning the page. "
— Sdluvingit, 1/16/2014 -
" Well written, hard-core good guy versus bad guys. "
— Bridie, 1/12/2014 -
" Good writing style, but the plot covered over 30 years, so sometimes it was a bit hard to follow. It's like some magic happened, and then it was 3 years later. What happened in the intervening 3 years? "
— Rick, 1/7/2014 -
" Essentially, this is Winslow's serious version of "The Death and Life of Bobby Z." Great authors know their characters inside and out and Winslow is a great one. His primary character here is the drug war itself, described in perfect, unblinking detail. "
— Zakariah, 12/19/2013 -
" Pretty good. Looking forward to reading more works by Winslow. this is my first. Never heard of the guy before the movie Savages came out. "
— Jeff, 12/12/2013 -
" Very entertaining book. Winslow is one of my favorite writers out there right now. "
— Ariston, 12/1/2013 -
" Some sort of cross between "Traffic" and "Scarface". Just awesome. "
— Tom, 11/24/2013 -
" Whew. A raw, gritty expose of the Mexican drug cartel, the Catholic church in Mexico the criminals who traffic dugs and the innocent victims. Not for the feint of heart. "
— Laura, 7/3/2013 -
" Really incredible writing withing a super complex and compelling crime/gang narrative. A classic/must-read for any fan of crime fiction. "
— Miriam, 10/3/2012 -
" This book is a knock-out! "
— Arild, 5/29/2011 -
" Fun read, but whoever compared this to James Ellroy must be out of his mind. "
— Francesco, 4/2/2011 -
" Short on prose and depth of the characters, but an incredible, well researched epic that I'm glad to have read. "
— Larkin, 3/21/2011 -
" Great summer book, a page turner. The combination of fiction with historical events and the raw description of the drug war between the U.S. and the Mexican cartels works very well. "
— Martín, 3/1/2011 -
" Will look for more Don Winslow. "
— Jeff, 2/27/2011 -
" Well written, hard-core good guy versus bad guys. "
— Bridie, 2/15/2011 -
" El millor llibre que he llegit en molts anys... <br/> <br/>El recomano totalment "
— Jordi, 1/14/2011 -
" Il Potere del Cane <br/>Prologo: BAU BAU BAU BAU <br/>Vari Capitoli: BANG! (NOIA) BANG! (NOIA) BANG! (NOIA) <br/>Epilogo: La Morte del Cane <br/>Appendice: Chi ha paragonato questo autore ad Ellroy, non ha capito un cazzo... di cane ovviamente.<br/> "
— ?????Kelanth?????, 1/10/2011 -
" Great, great, great. Why Don Winslow isn't a household name is beyond belief. "
— Tim, 12/27/2010 -
" Great writer, but I was disappoimted in this one. Good story but poorly written with too many details; way too much info on the drug cartels of Mexico and Central & South America. "
— Hawley, 12/11/2010 -
" Excellent. Fast paced. Dark. Compelling. Oh, and brilliant. "
— Max, 12/9/2010
About Don Winslow
Don Winslow is the author of twenty-four acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including six New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, and City on Fire). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone and a screenplay by Shane Salerno, Winslow, and Stone. Winslow’s epic Cartel trilogy has been adapted for TV and will appear as a weekly series on FX in 2023. The Force is soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Studios starring Matt Damon with James Mangold directing from a Scott Frank screenplay. Additional Winslow books are currently in development at Netflix, Warner Brothers, Sony, and Working Title and he has recently written a series of acclaimed short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris.
About Ray Porter
Ray Porter has garnered two Audie nominations as well as several Earphones Awards and enthusiastic reviews for his sparkling narration of audiobooks. A fifteen-year veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he has also appeared in numerous films and television shows.