Power of the Dog (Cartel Trilogy) - Don Winslow

Written by Don Winslow
Read by Ray Porter
Format: M4B

Updated: July 2026
Listen Yet: Yes - Excellent Books

Series: Power of the Dog
Author Name: Don Winslow
Genre: Crime Thriller, Drug War, Noir, Suspense

Overall series description: Don Winslow’s Power of the Dog series, also known as the Cartel Trilogy, follows DEA agent Art Keller through decades of the Mexican-American drug war, cartel violence, corruption, revenge, and the personal cost of trying to fight an unwinnable war.

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1. The Power of the Dog (2005)
Art Keller begins his long war against the Mexican drug cartels, especially the Barrera family, as the drug trade grows more powerful and brutal. The story spans years of corruption, betrayal, violence, law enforcement, politics, and organized crime.
Audiobook narrator: Ray Porter.

2. The Cartel (2015)
Art Keller is pulled back into the fight after Adán Barrera escapes prison and reignites a brutal cartel war. The book follows revenge, shifting alliances, government corruption, and the horrific violence of the Mexican drug trade.
Audiobook narrator: Ray Porter.

3. The Border (2019)
Keller’s fight reaches the highest levels of power as cartel money, politics, and corruption cross deeper into the United States. The story closes the trilogy with a broad look at the drug war’s consequences on both sides of the border.
Audiobook narrator: Ray Porter.

The series style is dark, violent, intense, and heavily researched, with a sprawling crime-epic feel that mixes cartel warfare, DEA operations, political corruption, revenge, and moral exhaustion.

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