first time but not the last time - Rated 
Like other reviewers, this is my first Winslow read and I'm intending to catch up on all the others. I'm thanking being on holiday and finding this book by chance. The story is reviewed elsewhere so I'll just add my view that this author should have more publicity. It's a book you can put down but, probably, won't want to do so.
I like the dialogue, the mafia connections seem so entangled that you'd maybe believe he had his own sources! The story's winding and tumultuous, emotional in parts yet so hard hitting elsewhere. If you love crime stories/gangsters/etc/etc this is a cracking good read on every level.
A must read - Rated
This is a cracking book, it has brilliant storyline and the characters are well done, specially the main character "a likable hit man". It starts off on a stroll and then it picks ups & then whoosh! Fast paced with good twists - there is no lull. A fantastic read.
If you like a crime or mafia books then this is one of the best.
Hard work - Rated 
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to write the first review of this book, which isn't exactly `glowing'...
Although Don Winslow had a good idea for a story, I struggled from the very first page. Ex-hit man (Frankie Machine) tries to work out who's trying to kill him and in doing so, goes through just about every job he's ever done in the past 30 years. Almost the entire book is written in flashbacks and I have to be honest, right up until about ¾ of the book in, I was still thinking about giving up. I just couldn't get into it. Far too many characters and I found myself not caring who they were or trying to follow the part that they played. Was forced to skim read here & there, which I detest doing.
In some places (possibly because I'm neither an Italian mafia/gangster nor American), some of the terminology I gave up trying to work out - a sort of equivalent to cockney rhyming slag, I suppose. Great if you know what they're on about but gets frustrating after a while, if not.
Eventually, Don gets it together towards the end of the book and finally tells the story as it happens and I do have to admit, it has a very good ending.
I persevered with this book because of all the great reviews and I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. Although I will read more of Don Winslow's books, this one was a big disappointment to me. Hope the movie turns out better!
Welcome to the machine - Rated
This is a cracking book about a former mob hit man and enforcer who discovers that you are never truly out of that life when his connection to an event way back in his past means several less than celebruious characters are after him and it's not for a polite chat. But the old skills are still there and he is able to survive various attempts on his life while getting to the bottom of what the hell is going on.
Frank Machianno aka Frankie "Machine"( After his metronomic efficiency) is a guy into his sixties, with a hand in numerous business ,s an ex-wife who still has claims on his time , a daughter who has only recently started talking to him again and a lover -an ex dancer- who now runs a high class clothes shop and gives him plenty of space and great sex. His life is near perfect but like Carlito Brigante of "Carlito,s Way" with whom he shares a certain affinity he finds that his past has an inextricable grip on his present and future. And he's going to need all his old expertise to survive.
The novel moves like a surfer catching a wave-apt as Frankie is also a surf bum and is beautifully written by Don Winslow. Lean and spare like it's hugely likable protagonist ( Frank maintains a strict moral code despite his mob past) the prose gains a compelling addictive rhythm . This is possibly the most mesmerizing thriller I've ever read with the exception of "Red Dragon ". The end is a little bit of a cop out -the epilogue feels a little tacked on but as complaints go it's a very very minor one If the forthcoming movie is half as good the source material it will still be essential viewing .
excellent book - Rated
I read a lot of thrillers but this is my first winslow book, and the best book of it's type i've read for a long time. Winslow succeeds in making the main character Frankie "Machine" very sympathetic, despite him being a former hit man, not an easy task. There is a brilliant storyline, with Frankie being forced out of retirement to try to find out who is trying to kill him, while his history is told in a series of flashbacks, showing how he came to be a legendary hitman, and why his past may be coming back to haunt him. The story is fast paced, with plenty of action and some nice twists thrown in as well. Excellent, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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