Customer Reviews

Deadly Force: In the Streets with the U.S. Marshals

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carsten Stroud grabs you quickly and doesn't let go. This book will take you on a NON-fiction rollercoaster of manhunts, office politics and personal struggle. This book offers insight into the federal law enforcement world that is hard to find, including the battles between agencies. It will show you what it is to be a U.S. Deputy Marshal, and why they are such a proud and strong agency. The action in this book will keep you turning the pages late into the night. This book does however require a strong reader as it can be a little difficult to follow, and also some of the slang terms can be confusing to people not familiar with the world of law enforcement.

But it's not. Fascinating look at the system's hunters. The only drawback is that the author sometimes leads you to action, only to cut away and never fully answers your questions. A good read.

Carsten Stroud has never been a historian or a documentarian, but he admits this. His objective is to capture the sights and sounds of an area, event, profession. His writing style is very dramatic but readable. There is nothing melodramatic or corny about his works. Somehow he always manages to hit the nail on the head. The reader is left thinking, "Yeah, that's right. That's what it's like." or, "Damm that's the truth. That's why I'm a cop or a soldier". So to use the overworked phrase - Stroud's books are very truthful. Deadly Force takes you into not only the world of the Marshals, but the world of the fugitive. And the end result is that you're glad those fellas are out there doing the job. I recommend all of Stroud's books. Deadly Force isn't his best work, but it's still right up there.He lacks Clancey's verbosity which I find to be a relief. It keeps your attention and it has some very suspenseful moments. Some nice attention to details as well, though there are some technical errors I found them to be forgiveable. Good book. Give it a chance.

After a promising start this book gets boring and confusing fast. Every chapter you have to figure out where you are, what year it is and who is in the scene. The reference at the beginning of each chapter is helpful but with the constant jumping around there is no continuity and you get lost too easily. If you can get past the first 3/4 of the book the last 1/4 is fairly good.

Great book. A little hard in the beginning since it jumps back and forth, but starts to make sense as you get deeper. Non law enforcement people might have a slight problem understanding some of the lingo. Overall a great book.

Stroud's true-life story of the Federal Marshals service crackles with energy. The characters, especially Luke Zitto, possess bigger than life qualities and yet retain much believability and more important, their humanity. The story makes you want to turn that next page and keep on reading, despite the hour. A wonderful telling of waht it's like hunting the most dangerous criminals in the country.

While some of the material is fiction, he has in fact got an overall grasp on much of the culture of the USMS. I know because I have been there/done that.

Deadly Force was a great book. It takes you through what a United States Marshal goes through everyday. You get to read about the stakeouts, arrests, raids, etc. It is a good book if you are looking for something a little suspenseful and fun to read.

Deadly Force caters to readers with an interest in the Law Enforcement world. It gets a little complicated, so read away from distractions.Definately for those with a high reading level, 13 and up. I enjoyed Stroud's work and I intend to purchase the book soon.

The scenes stay with you when a great story teller talks: the killer flees down the hall of the suddenly quiet motel and meets his match, the escorting patrolman's car is rock steady at 130, the would-be muggers pick a really wrong target, the mean-minded jail turnkey gets taught a lesson in professionalism, the small-town cop has a better idea for a fed who is willing to listen.

Stroud puts you there and lets you experience the scene as it plays out. One of the best narrators writing today. As good with non-fiction as he is with his fiction. You will want to read more of his work.