Bangers — Gary Phillips

On the streets of L.A., the most dangerous person can be a cop.

Us against them. That's the law of the cop world. Out on the mean streets of L.A., the only defense is to be more ruthless than your opponent. You gotta bang with the best of the roughnecks. And the best are the five members of TRASH, an elite team of street cops unafraid to go headup with the city's worst gangbangers. If it means bending the rules, planting a piece, looking the other way for a fellow cop--hey, then that's what it takes to get the job done.

The crime-infested Venice Heights section is something Detective Sergeant Rafael "Saint" Santian understands. It's where he grew up, and part of him never left. It's his turf, and he likes to keep it running smooth, by his own code. But the situation is getting out of control. The Crazy Nines, one of the largest gangs in the city, is making moves, while politically ambitious Assistant D.A. Constance McGuire is looking to snare Saint and his men. And hidden hands are lighting a torch that will bring up the heat, turning cop against cop in the pressure cooker, as the line gets blurred between gangsta and law enforcer.

In this cautionary tale of power, corruption, and murder, acclaimed crime novelist Gary Phillips takes us into the multi-faceted sprawl of Los Angeles--from the strivers and the grifters, from the streets to the suites--and reveals that at the intersection of the underworld and the straight one, even the best are guilty of something.