Bangers

by Gary Phillips

On The Streets Of L.A. Us against them. That's the law of the cop world. In L.A.'s toughest 'hoods, you gotta bang with the best of the roughnecks. And the best are the five members of TRASH, an elite team of street cops unafraid to go up against the city's worst gangbangers, even if it means bending the rules, planting a piece, or looking the other way for a fellow cop.

The Most Dangerous Person Can Be A Cop. . .

The crime-infested Venice Heights section is a place Detective Sergeant Rafael "Saint" Santian understands. It's where he grew up, and part of him never left. But the situation is getting out of control. One of the most lethal gangs is making moves, while a politically ambitious assistant D.A. is looking to snare Saint and his men. Meanwhile hidden hands are lighting a torch that will bring up the heat, turning cop against cop as the line gets blurred between gangsta and law enforcer in a city where everyone's riding on the edge. . . Praise For Gary Phillips

"Gary Phillips writes with raw power. . .you're about to take a wild ride." --Jan Burke, Edgar Award-winning author on High Hand

"Phillips. . .serves up a fast-moving plot." -- Publishers Weekly on High Hand

Gary Phillips was raised in South Central L.A. and is the author of High Hand and Shooter's Point, both Martha Chainey mysteries from Dafina (Kensington Books); four Ivan Monk novels; some stand-alones, including The Perpetrators; various short stories, and comic books.

Unknown Binding

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

GARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gratuitous violence and sex. I like Phillips’s writing style but this plot felt contrived.

[Darrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a disappointment...Ramparts division dirty cop entanglements in fields romantic and gangsterfied...nicely observed but left me feeling flat

[Moon Song · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay read...couldn't really get into it.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of violence and graphic sex - too much for me. I did finish and the story was pretty good. Basically the theme is money, drugs, and power can corrupt anyone.

[Alfred Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its was ok