Don Winslow is an award-winning and international best-selling author of over 20 crime novels.
Having worked as a private investigator in Times Square, Winslow has real-world knowledge of many of the world’s underbellies. His novels explore crime and corruption everywhere from New York, to Southern California, to Mexico.
In this post, we’ve rounded up 10 of Winslow’s best works that are sure to keep lovers of crime fiction turning pages until late at night.
10 Best Don Winslow Books According to Goodreads
Here are the 10 best Don Winslow books based on Goodreads ratings:
1. The Power of the Dog
An obsessive DEA agent, two heirs to a drug empire, a jaded teenage hooker, a merciless hitman, and an incorruptible priest all find themselves trapped in the world of the Mexican drug Federación.
From the streets of New York, Mexico City, and Tijuana, to the jungles of Central America, this novel presents the DEA’s War on Drugs like never before.
2. The Cartel
In this sequel to The Power of the Dog, which takes place 10 years later, kingpin Adán Barrera sits in a California federal prison.
Ex-DEA agent Art Keller spends his days in a monastery, having lost everything to his bloody 30-year feud with the drug lord.
When Barrera escapes, Keller suddenly finds himself with a $2 million bounty on his head. Since no one else appears capable of taking Barrera down, the two men are locked in a savage struggle that will stretch from the mountains of Sinaloa to halls of power in Washington, ensnaring countless others in its wake.
3. The Force
As a highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant, all Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop. Every day and every night for the last 18 years, he’s witnessed the hurt, the dead, the victims, and the perps. He’s done whatever he could to serve and protect, but in a city built by ambition and corruption, no one is clean—not even Malone himself.
Few people know that Malone and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the city’s biggest heroin bust. Now caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds, Malone must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in order to survive, all while the city’s racial tensions rush toward a war that could destroy everything.
4. Savages
Ben is a part-time environmentalist and philanthropist who also runs a marijuana operation in Laguna Beach with his ex-mercenary buddy, Chon.
In the past, whenever their turf was challenged, Chon took care of the threat. But now the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, and it’s clear that a “no” is unacceptable.
When Ben and Chon refuse, the cartel kidnaps Ophelia, the boys’ “playmate” and confidante. O’s abduction catalyzes a set of dizzying negotiations and gripping plot twists.
5. The Border
The third book in the Power of the Dog series, The Border catches up with Art Keller, whose obsession with defeating the powerful godfather of the Sinaloa Cartel has cost him the people he loves and even taken a piece of his soul.
Now in the highest ranks of the DEA, Keller realizes that in destroying one monster, he has created 30 more who are wreaking more chaos and suffering than ever in his beloved Mexico.
As Keller tries to stop the deadly flow of the heroin epidemic fueled by Barrera’s final legacy, he finds himself surrounded by enemies—men who want to kill him, politicians who want to destroy him, and a new administration that’s in bed with the very traffickers Keller fights to bring down.
At war with the cartels and now his own government, Art’s final lesson in this long and brutal war is that there are no borders.
6. The Winter of Frankie Machine
Frankie Machianno is a hard-working entrepreneur, part-time surf bum, and full-time dad. But in his waterfront community, few know that he was once a hit man—a brutally efficient killer known as “Frankie Machine.”
Now someone from Frankie’s past wants him dead, and after a botched attempt on his life, Frankie sets out to find his potential killers.
But the list of suspects is long, and Frankie’s search is made even more complicated with mob on his heels and the cops on his trail. Frankie must hatch a plan to protect his family, save his own life, and escape the mob forever.
7. The Kings of Cool
The Kings of Cool is a prequel to Savages. Here, Winslow reveals how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are.
From 1960s Southern California to the recent past, the trio who battles with drug dealers and crooked cops comes to realize that their future is inextricably linked to their parents’ history.
A series of twists sets the two generations on a collision course, leading up to a showdown that forces Ben, Chon, and O to choose between their real families and their loyalty to each other.
8. The Dawn Patrol
Each morning, Boone Daniels catches waves with the other members of “The Dawn Patrol”—four men and one woman who are almost as single-minded about surfing as he is. Although, they all have “real” jobs, whereas Boone works as a PI just enough to keep himself afloat.
But his most recent gig, investigating an insurance scam, has unexpectedly led him to a ghost from his past.
The job may cause him to miss the biggest swell of his surfing career, but it will give him a wilder ride that any wave he’s ever faced.
9. Broken
In six intense short novels, Broken explores a world of cunning thieves, low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, drug dealers, and bounty hunters driving through the dark night on the American criminal highway.
Each novella varies in topic and tone, connected by themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt, and redemption.
10. Satori
It’s the fall of 1951. Nicholai Hel has been held in solitary confinement by the Americans for the last three years, but now they’re offering him freedom if he’s willing to travel to Beijing and kill the Soviet Union’s commissioner to China.
It’s almost certainly a suicide mission, but Hel accepts. Now he must fight to survive chaos, violence, and betrayal, all while striving toward his ultimate goal of satori—the possibility of true understanding and harmony with the world.
Don Winslow’s Newest Book: City on Fire
Don Winslow’s latest novel, City on Fire, was published in April 2022. The organized crime novel is already being hailed as “The Godfather for our generation,” a thrilling saga in the tradition of Casino and Goodfellas.
The novel follows a brutal war between two criminal empires that control New England, and the beautiful woman who pits the Irish against the Italians.
If you’re a fan of Don Winslow and crime fiction, you may also enjoy books by David Baldacci or Michael Connelly, or you can check out TCK Publishing’s riveting legal thriller, Contempt by Michael Cordell.
Do you have a favorite Don Winslow book? Share it with us in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 11 of the Best Books by David Baldacci
- 10 Best Michael Connelly Books That Dig Into L.A. Crime
- 10 Best Patricia Cornwell Books from the Kay Scarpetta Series
- 16 Fictional Detectives We All Love
As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
