Lonely makes a heart ruthless: CITY IN RUINS.

City in Ruins by Don Winslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fitting end (and goodbye) to a wonderful series and author

I love this series because it introduced me to Don Winslow and his amazing books. Seems fitting that CITY IN RUINS is supposed to be Winslow's last book. I am grateful that I still have a lot of his backlist to catch up on.

RUINS is third in the Danny Ryan trilogy. This is one time where you really have to read the first two books for the third to make sense. Everything comes full circle and the sheer amount of names and story continuity will be too confusing without the first two. Plus, they are excellent.

By now, Danny is in Las Vegas, overseeing his growing empire, and facing a Government investigation into the gambling industry. Worried about how this will affect his Vegas legacy, Danny acts on a variety of fronts, including buying a hotel on the Vegas strip right out from a competitor. This sets off a chain of events that darken back to Danny's brutal and violent days in the Irish mob.

This wasn't my favorite of the three books; it seemed to lack some of the depth and emotional complexity of the others, but it's still quite good. Danny's Vegas journey brings him across many of his (former) Irish mob counterparts--meaning we see and hear from many familiar faces from the earlier books. There's a decent side plot involving a missing mobster from an earlier book (which I didn't care too much about).

The best part, as always, is Danny. He's such a rich character with so many sides. Ryan does a strong job of portraying his struggle to stay on the right side, away from his violent past, while wanting to stay on top of the gambling world. It's Danny's personality, his inner thoughts, and the Greek tragedy parallels in this series that keep me coming back. This is a nuanced, detailed, and fitting end to a wonderful series. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and William Morrow in return for an unbiased review.

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Hell, there's hell everywhere I go: THE POWER OF THE DOG.

The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In book one of the Power of the Dog series, we meet Art Keller, a focused DEA agent fighting the war on drugs in the United States and Mexico. He goes up against Adan Barrera and his brother, who become kingpins in the war. As part of Art's journey, he comes across Nora, a beautiful prostitute; Father Parada, an honorable priest; and Callan, an Irish kid from New York who becomes a hired killer.

THE POWER OF THE DOG is typical Winslow: long, sometimes confusing, and wonderfully written. It's sweeping and terrifying for its realism--based very much on real life, it covers years of the drug war, jumping from the U.S. to Mexico and back again. Despite its length, it's so easy to get caught up in the drama, especially as Winslow tells the story in his usual format. Said format is short snippets featuring a few of our key players over a stretch of time, meaning we hear from Art, Nora, Adan, Father Parada, Callan, and more. So many different people in so many different phases of their lives. The way their lives come together is expertly done.

DOG is sometimes a bit confusing, with a lot of names, dates, and places to keep track of. But it's amazingly compelling and so well-researched. It's a dark and fascinating read. 4 stars.

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I have been so long alone: CITY OF DREAMS.

City of Dreams by Don Winslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the second book of Don Winslow's Danny Ryan series, we find Danny Ryan on the run, escaping everything that went down in Providence between the Irish and Italian mob families. He and his loyal crew make for the sunny shores of California--with Danny's elderly father, Marty, and young son, Ian, in tow. Before they know it, they are drawn into the world of Hollywood, and Danny finds himself in love with a famous actress playing a role in a movie based on his Dogtown experiences.

I fell in love with Don Winslow's books last year and adored the first book in this series, CITY ON FIRE. The second one was not quite what I was expecting, but it was certainly an interesting and fascinating read. While FIRE delved deep into the nuances of the mob world and Danny's ties to Dogtown, this novel meanders a bit, spending a lot of time in Hollywood and Las Vegas, as Danny attempts to start a new life, but cannot quite break free from his past. Central to this is the fact that two of his crew, Sean and Kevin, aka "the Altar Boys" stumble upon the fact that there is a movie being made based on the Italian and Irish mob families of Rhode Island--there's even someone playing Danny! As Sean and Kevin become move involved on set, eventually Danny must be as well, and soon he's dating an actress and splashed all over the papers. Not exactly the reclusive Danny Ryan we are used to!

This is a typical Winslow tome filled with a ton of characters--we still hear from a bunch of folks in Rhode Island--but the main focus is, of course, Danny and his new start. There's less focus on the intricacies of the mob world, but plenty of violence and gritty crime. We also learn a lot about the movie business and get more glimpses into the life of Danny's estranged mother. I felt the story bounced around a lot--both character-wise and plot-wise--but I stayed enthralled. Winslow is such a great storyteller, bringing to life his detailed worlds so well. Plus, watching Danny struggle with his conscience (how much does he want, or not want, to remain a part of the world he left behind) and grapple with exactly what he would do to hold his family (both real and crew) together is fascinating and extremely well-done. At his heart, he's a father, a son, and the leader of his crew.

There's excerpt at the end of DREAMS from the third book, and I cannot wait to read it. I also need to continue catching up on my Don Winslow backlist! 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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