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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Murder and street violence depicted with unflinching realism; crime scenes described in detail
Language
A lot
Heavy profanity consistent with the streets and police precinct setting
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
A lot
Crack cocaine dealing and use are central; depicted extensively and honestly
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Explores psychological entrapment, moral compromise, guilt, and the weight of complicity
What this book is about
Richard Price's crime masterpiece follows Strike, a young crack dealer working the housing projects of New Jersey, and Rocco Klein, the homicide detective investigating a murder Strike's brother may have committed. A deeply researched, compassionate portrait of how the drug trade traps young men, and how the justice system processes — and often perpetuates — that trap.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Detailed drug trade and crack cocaine use
Graphic violence and murder
Systemic racial and economic injustice themes
Reader Verification
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