"The Force" is a tome about Dennis Malone, a powerful New York City police detective. He's arrogant, contemptuous, corrupt, smart and violent. He steals a lot of cash and heroin from a drug bust.

“We literally had to rent a VCR along with two or three movies we could get on VHS from Blockbuster,” Malone reminds us, pointing out how much changed. “Now just about anything I’ve ever ...