Detroit Deathwatch

The Executioner #19

by Don Pendleton

The Executioner brings his unique brand of warfare to the home of American muscle Ever since he began his one-man war against the Mafia, Mack Bolan has dreaded the day he would take on Detroit. The driving engine of the American economy, Detroit is run by the most stable mob outfit in the country. In other cities the Executioner has played different factions of organized crime against one another, letting them do his bloody work for him. But Detroit is a dictatorship of crime, and the only way to bring it down will be to slip in beneath the radar.   While preparing to infiltrate, Bolan encounters Toby Ranger, a beautiful undercover operative who has done him favors in the past. One of her “Ranger Girls” is missing, kidnapped by the grisliest villain in organized crime. When Bolan’s war against the city turns personal, Detroit is going to pay. Detroit Deathwatch is the 19th book in the Executioner series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Genres: Adventure, Thriller, Fiction, Action, Suspense

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1974

About the author

Don Pendleton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, December 12, 1927 and died October 23, 1995 in Arizona.

He wrote mystery, action/adventure, science-fiction, crime fiction, suspense, short stories, nonfiction, and was a comic scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, essayist, and metaphysical scholar. He published more than 125 books in his long career, and his books have been published in more than 25 foreign languages with close to two hundred million copies in print throughout the world.

After producing a number of science-fiction and mystery novels, Don launched in 1969 the phenomenal Mack Bolan: The Executioner, which quickly emerged as the original, definitive Action/Adventure series. His successful paperback books inspired a new particularly American literary genre during the early 1970's, and Don became known as "the father of action/adventure."

"Although The Executioner Series is far and away my most significant contribution to world literature, I still do not perceive myself as 'belonging' to any particular literary niche. I am simply a storyteller, an entertainer who hopes to enthrall with visions of the reader's own incipient greatness."

Don Pendleton's original Executioner Series are now in ebooks, published by Open Road Media. 37 of the original novels.

Wikipedia: Don Pendleton

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bolan dives into action in Detroit right from the beginning and it’s a whirlwind of blood and death up to the brutal conclusion. Some familiar faces reappear during Mack’s death watch, Leo and Toby both help add to Bolan’s character development as well as propel the story along. If you’re looking for a typical Executioner run and gun then this will not disappoint.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent men's adventure series from the 60s, 70's and 80's. The first 38 books are outstanding but then the series is taken over by a bunch of new writers writing under the name of the original creator and they take the series into a new direction I did not care for. The first 38 books are very recommended

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarge is looking for a missing Ranger girl after she disappeared, working undercover on the Detroit mob.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hopes that with Bolan coming back to America after his trip to Sicily, things would get better, but unfortunately, not so much.

As always, these books are from from terrible. Personally, I love how unapologetically “manly” they are and how un-PC they continue to be. I also love that Bolan gives not a single flying crap in the matter of slaughtering as many mafia as he can, regardless of their culpability in the events of each book. And of course I love that they’re short, fast, and to the point. Honestly, though, I’m ready for things to progress to a differnt plot.

19 books in and we are still getting Mafia-based stories and Bolan’s bloodlust still hasn’t been satiated. I know right around book 40 things start to change so I guess I gotta power through another 20 until then…

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay, it was nothing groundbreaking like some of the others in the series have been.

The end was a bit gruesome. I was a little annoyed with the fact that the Turkey Doctor was excused in the New Jersey issue. He got his dish in this one, but it was certainly bitter for us the reader. That might not make sense right now, but if you've been following this series, you'll understand by the end of this book.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

Another good entry in the series , the ending gets a bit horrific and pushes the boundaries of the series I thought.
However it is an entertaining pulpy action read.
Work schedule for last week and this, is a bit non Stop so wanted some easy reads. Last read was a short story collection, now this and next one is a Rivers of London novella. Then probably some more pulpy action novels.

Seems i have started garbaugust 2023 a bit early

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done installment in the Bolan series. Typical in a way he chooses a city and takes it on but in this one he runs into a lady Fed who helped him before. He finds out that another lady cop got caught undercover in the mob and she is looking for her. So now its more then hit and run, he has a more important mission. It's well written and has a nasty surprise towards the end.

Highly recommended for fans of Men's Adventure. Don Pendleton was the master of this genre for sure.

[Brad Theado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action

[Davidus1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. I liked the storyline in Detroit!

[Davidus1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is excellent. A must read if you are into this type of book.

[Joel B Champagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

So, Mr Bolin has a heart. I just wish that Georgette had been alive instead of a Turkey. It may have made for as more interesting finale.

[Curtis]

I didn't cry, okay? But I'm not afraid to admit I got a LOT closer to crying than I ever would have expected from reading a Mack Bolan book. The bulk of the story is driven by Bolan's quest to find Georgette Chableu, an ally from Vegas Vendetta (book 9). When he does, she's a barely living piece of meat at the end of an almost six-week torture session. That was sad. But when he looks into her single remaining eye and realizes what he has to do, I felt genuine pathos. And then later, after he's clear of the mafia stronghold, Bolan collapses and weeps. That's when I felt the distinctive tightness in my throat.

(As an aside, Georgette's grisly outcome feels especially exploitative in retrospect given that it has no lasting effect on Bolan -- I'm already half through the next book at the time I'm writing this review and he hasn't mentioned it or reflected upon it once. It strikes me as strange that Pendleton would put the character and reader through such a downer scene with no payoff. It's a perfect opportunity to explore a more haunted Bolan, to have him question his crusade, or even just to send him into a rage -- something to shake up this character. Feels a bit disjointed and makes me even more curious about how these books were churned out and what kind of planning (if any) Pendleton did with the series.)

Other things I found interesting:

-The scene on the cover does not actually take place in the book. This is the first time I can say that about the series. Sometimes the covers take liberties but as far as I can recall, they mostly match up with some event in the story. Specifically, there's no fight in an auto factory, and the woman fighting alongside him in the book is blond.

-Speaking of his blond ally, it was fun to see Toby Ranger pop-up again (also from Vegas Vendetta). This seems to be a recurring plot device, to bring in a character from Bolan's past, which I'm totally fine with. At this point in the series, it's hard to care very much about the new cops and crooks that are introduced in each book only to be forgotten by the next one.

-I enjoyed the scene where Bolan just brazenly infiltrates the police command center. The whole hiding-in-plain-sight tactic he uses makes for some really fun scenes. It's an aspect to these stories that keeps them from just being a series of action set pieces.

-Like many of Pendleton's Bolan stories, this one ends abruptly but not in a dissatisfying way, surprisingly. With just 14 pages left, Bolan begins his final assault to find and rescue the missing Georgette. I said to my girlfriend, "How is he going to take down the entire stronghold in just a few pages?" She answered sarcastically, "He'll just walk in, blow the whole place up, and walk out of there." And that's exactly what he did! But the emotional aspect of finding and then losing Georgette kind of made it work.

In the final analysis, I'd say this was a pretty darn readable entry in the series.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the male equivalent of Harlequin romances. It both has the air of fantasy and reifying the current order. Policemen, and they are generally men, are ineffectual and law abiding or they are corrupt. The law abiders turn a blind eye when someone breaks the law in order to do the right thing rather than the lawful thing.

The hero is both lonely, brutal, and has deep respect for protecting the innocent. They also fall in love with dangerous women who are also in a similar line of work. It is dangerous to love.

The bad guys are the worst and deserve everything the get. The hero does the bad things so that other people don't have to risk their soul.

It both plays into tropes of the bad parts of enforced masculinity while highlighting the caretaker elements.

This one was set in Toronto for a good part of the time. I'm not sure I recognize Pendleton's Toronto but this was written when Yonge Street was wilder so what do I know, except there isn't a shit ton of seedy places to serve the port as sailors.

Anyway, I used to love these books for the candy elements. The sex is hinted at and the violence is cartoonish with a ton of details about the weapons. I never saw myself in the main characters and only remotely felt weird about their decisions. I would never consider myself that righteous and don't really understand the black and white in the real world. This is just fantasy and masturbation for men. Really serves the same purpose as those romance novels.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid vintage Mack Nolan. Pendleton has really hit his stride in the teens. I didn't read these in their initial run back in the 70s but on a whim began reading them in order. I've completed all of the original works by the creator, Don Pendleton, who pretty much invented the genre. This is tied very loosely to the previous volume and re-introduces characters from earlier in the series. Both elements are typical of the early years of the series but reading earlier volumes is not really necessary. Excellent men's adventure trash fiction and evocative of an era.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely A Classic Of Adventure Fiction!!!

This is definitely one of the greatest books in Don Pendleton 's Executioner series. If you're looking for an amazing dose of action & adventure then this is just what you're looking for.

[Literati · Rating 3 out of 5]

the weird arc of somewhat humanizing mobsters only for Bolan to quickly dispatch of them is so odd, and an ever present part of these books. However, the crazier they get, the better they are.
With the amount of carnage Bolan causes, it is difficult to believe that it actually helps anyone.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bolan takes on the Detroit mob

Great action. Loved the part where Bolan entered the police station liked he belonged there to find out what they knew about him. Liked how he learned to navigate the jungle between the police and feds and the mob.

[Jon Koebrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vengeance through violence carries the day in this 1970s series. Sometimes it is satisfying to see bad guys get their due and Pendleton was a master at that in the Executioner series. No Pullitzer prizes or national book awards here.

[James Hein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a step up from many earlier ones. The story was a bit longer and better developed.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but typical entry in the series, until the ending at least which is memorably grim.

[Steve Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the original Bolan books. A great read.

[Liam Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never get tired of Mack Bolan and I really enjoyed when he killed Sal The Turkey Doctor for the brutal killing of Georgette Chableau

[ShanDizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let Death watch.The Executioner was saddled and ready.

He had come to Detroit not to die but to make war. “This whole town is a hardsite,” he wrote in his journal on the eve of the Detroit bloodletting. “So let’s take it one heartbeat at a time, on the numbers. If this has to be the final battle, so be it. Let’s just make it worthy of the name.” Executioner Bolan was taking on the economic heartland of the nation, and for a very good reason. That heartland was a “hardsite”—an armed camp, a fortress of Mafia power—and the nation was coming into hard times. Cancer thrives on a weakened body—Bolan knew that. A powerful Mafia concentration at the hub of American industry, at such a time, could have nothing but disastrous consequences for the country as a whole. And he knew that he had to break that death grip … or he had to die trying.

Bolan would not kill a cop. The war wasn’t worth that. The war involved more than simply wiping out rattlesnakes. There existed a deeper plane—a primum mobile, or prime mover—that said that right had to triumph over wrong.
There was no way to cut it and say that it was right to shoot a cop. No personalities involved, no good or bad guy consciousness at stake, that badge of law was a symbol of freedom in a society of equals. This was Bolan’s understanding.

[William Bagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One good book, keeps you on edge most of the time. You stay involved

Waiting for the next turn of events. The author made the this book change by adding a females character as a gun toating mob hunter.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mac Bolan decides it's time to take his war against the mafia to the city of Detroit. It is a well-funded, well armed group of people he's up against. This faction is known for being heavily involved in human trafficking, and Bolan decides it's time to put a stop to that. While infiltrating the organization, he joins forces with an undercover federal agent trying to track the disappearance of a female agent Who had befriended Bolan in the past.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, really not my cup of tea.

[Kaj Samuelsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action! Mack Bolan and Toby Ranger is a deadly combination. The Detroit mob found out how deadly.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

read some time in 1980