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The Border Book Review

Don Winslow’s Power of the Dog


I’ve finished the last book in the Don Winslow The Power of the Dog trilogy, THE BORDER.

I’ve already written about Don’s writing style in my first review and second review of The Power of Dog Series, how he can fit so much into one paragraph that you think there can’t be more to say about that person’s life or the story, that there can’t be much left to happen, and yet, Don always delivers so much more. All of that while getting to the point so fast with economy of words that you can’t look away.

You just keep reading.

I have to say, I’m going to miss all of the characters in that series, even the villains.

I’ve also said before that while you judge the atrocities, you have trouble judging the people. With something so complex, and with so much at stake, you can put yourself in their shoes. That’s simply you in their circumstances, like it or not. I understand that dynamic better.

This book hit home the drug and money issues plaguing our people, and the United State’s involvement in these issues even more and connected the points of the web, weaving that circular spiral anchored off the support beams to the center.

The Border is a fascinating journey into the psychology and monetary economy of the War on Drugs.

I won’t get into the details or even the flow of the story. If you’re reading this, it means that you have read the first two books more than likely. Suffice it to say, Don Winslow does not disappoint. I have a few friends who thought that this was their least favorite book in the series. I however do not feel that way. I thought it was a fine and satisfying ending to a difficult topic and really hammered the nail on the head with how this problem could end by how our hero, Art Keller, handled himself with everything on the line.

The Power of the Dog series, by the way, is coming to FX “with Winslow serving as an executive producer alongside Shane Salerno.

I think everyone should read this series. While fictional, it’s much like a copy of an original painting with slightly different hues and colors. The painting is basically the same. It really changed my perspective on the real problem with the War on Drugs, and how I viewed the plight of the Mexican people who are our neighbors, just across that wall over there.

Read these books. You won’t be disappointed.

Find them on Amazon here:

  1. The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

  2. The Cartel by Don Winslow

  3. The Border by Don Winslow