Deadly Force: in the Streets With the U.S. Marshals

by Carsten Stroud

From the Tom Waits lyrics at the beginning, to the final lines when the manhunter stands over the handcuffed form of his prey, thinking, "Bring on the next contestant," Deadly Force delivers the heart-pounding speed of an action movie. The story takes place in three bursts--11 hours in January '95 in New York City, a flashback to 2 days in May '94 in Washington, D.C., then 9 days more in January '95 to wrap up the chase. But the hero, U.S. Marshal Luke Zitto, doesn't just "get his man": through the voice of the author, Carsten Stroud, he spouts off about suits and bulls and furballs, tells one wild story after another, and illustrates, through his own misbegotten career, what he calls a "corrosive flood of institutional paranoia throughout the federal justice establishment." Despite the sexy flash of its language, it's a solid, convincing book. You'll learn a lot here about the history of the U. S. Marshals and about the turf wars between the FBI, CIA, and several other three-letter agencies. The highly dramatic style, though, makes it hard to tell how much is factual. Maybe that's not a drawback, if Marshal Zitto's paranoia is justified. --Fiona Webster

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Carsten Stroud is the author of the New York Times bestseller Close Pursuit, and the award-winning Sniper's Moon, both set in the New York City Police Department. He lives and writes in Thunder Beach, Ontario, Canada.

Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award Best First Novel (1991): Sniper's Moon
* Arthur Ellis Award Best Novel (1993): Lizardskin

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Mr. Stroud's novels. So it pains me to say that this one didn't work as well. There are some good moments in the story and Stroud did his usual work on character, atmosphere ect. However it didn't seem to gel this time around.

The villain was just too much of everything - like a movie villain. He was too strong, too evil, too clever ect. On the other hand the protaganist was too stoic and dogged and laconic.

There were long pauses in the story for the charcters to pontificate and to much editorializing about the state of politics in the U.S. (circa 1995), America's youth, Janet Reno the U.S. Justice Department and so on.

So what had worked in Stroud's previous novels this time created a story that was slow, over-padded and uninvolving. I didn't hate it which is why I gave it two stars, but I can't say I was real wowed by it either. I read it all the way through whne I purchased in 1997. Since then I've tried two other times, but ended up putting down before I even got half-way through.

It just isn't one of his better works.

[Ysidro · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the story had potential, the author seemed to go overboard with his descriptions. Author seems to be trying too hard.