Deadly Force

by Carsten Stroud

Carsten Stroud brings a reads-like-a-novel style of journalism to this nonfiction book on the U.S. Marshals' fugitive apprehension unit. In Deadly Force he follows marshal Luke Zitto in his vendetta-like pursuit of two men whose brutal careers in crime turn out to be unexpectedly linked. In going after the "Yellow Man," a hatchet-wielding murderer with ties to organized crime, Zitto will at last find himself in a position to also nail the man who raped a U.S. marshal, a close friend of Frank. But the hurdles he faces in taking down these men lead him to a terrible at least one of them is being secretly protected by the U.S. government.



Stroud's gripping prose turns this tale of urban warriors and predators into a classic of law enforcement.


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

340 pages, Hardcover

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.