What do you think?
Rate this book
Dead-bang
When Detective Jerry Beck sets out to track down a cop-killer, he comes face-to-face with an army of vicious white supremists whose warped view of what is rightfully theirs makes them willing to die for it
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 2, 2017
Grimy, violent, dirty 80's...smog, sweat and blood. This is the film tie-in based on the screenplay, so I don't know just how much of this "based on a true story" story is true, but it's an easy, entertaining read. And given it's the movie adaptation, I found it near impossible to not read the character of Jerry Beck as Don Johnson. But that's not a bad thing, that's an awesome thing...
May 14, 2026
A novelisation of the 1989 film directed by John Frankenheimer, this follows LA Sheriffs Department Detective Jerry Beck (based on a real life officer) who tracks the killer of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy and uncovers a plot involving hate literature, white supremacist militias and arms trafficking.
Novelised from Robert Foster’s screenplay by Ed Naha (who, fact fans, edited the first issue of Fangoria magazine, which automatically makes his all right in my eyes!), I picked this up on a whim having never seen the (apparently now very obscure) film, though I was aware of it. Naha does well with the material, giving Beck enough depth for us to care about him even though a) most things seem to be his fault and b) he makes a lot of mistakes. Utilising the time period (Christmas) well, giving us a back-story (divorce and kids) to inform the present and showing our hero cop, near the end, in the throes of cold turkey from drinking, this runs at a good pace and doesn’t waste time between set pieces (I wonder if the film is as brisk). My mental image of certain characters – Kressler, the FBI agent – weren’t anything like the actor – William Forsythe, in that case – but I do quite fancy seeing the film now. On the flip side, it’s quite depressing to read a 37-year-old book and realise that the politics now are such that you could easily see this happening in the present day. As novelisations go, this was well worth a read and kept my attention, so I’d recommend it.
Novelised from Robert Foster’s screenplay by Ed Naha (who, fact fans, edited the first issue of Fangoria magazine, which automatically makes his all right in my eyes!), I picked this up on a whim having never seen the (apparently now very obscure) film, though I was aware of it. Naha does well with the material, giving Beck enough depth for us to care about him even though a) most things seem to be his fault and b) he makes a lot of mistakes. Utilising the time period (Christmas) well, giving us a back-story (divorce and kids) to inform the present and showing our hero cop, near the end, in the throes of cold turkey from drinking, this runs at a good pace and doesn’t waste time between set pieces (I wonder if the film is as brisk). My mental image of certain characters – Kressler, the FBI agent – weren’t anything like the actor – William Forsythe, in that case – but I do quite fancy seeing the film now. On the flip side, it’s quite depressing to read a 37-year-old book and realise that the politics now are such that you could easily see this happening in the present day. As novelisations go, this was well worth a read and kept my attention, so I’d recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews