"Storytelling mastery and a fitting finale" - review of CITY IN RUINS

CITY IN RUINS by Don Winslow (HarperCollins, 2024)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

Sometimes you have to become what you hate to protect what you love. Danny Ryan is rich. Beyond his wildest dreams rich.

The former dock worker, Irish mob soldier and fugitive from the law is now a respected businessman – a Las Vegas casino mogul and billionaire silent partner in a group that owns two lavish hotels. Finally, Danny has it all: a beautiful house, a child he adores, a woman he might even fall in love with.

Life is good. But then Danny reaches too far. When he tries to buy an old hotel on a prime piece of real estate with plans to build his dream resort, he triggers a war against Las Vegas power brokers, a powerful FBI agent bent on revenge and a rival casino owner with dark connections of his own.

Danny thought he had buried his past, but now it reaches up to him from the grave to pull him down. Old enemies surface, and when they come for Danny they vow to take everything – not only his empire, not just his life, but all that he holds dear, including his son.

One of the modern greats of crime writing has bowed out in style, as City in Ruins again showcases the storytelling mastery and talents of Don Winslow. His latest not only caps his terrific ‘City’ trilogy about Irish American tragic hero Danny Ryan, but his writing career, as Winslow turns his talents to real-life political battles in the USA. 

Following the events of City on Fire, where Danny Ryan barely survived a New England turf war between Irish and Italian crime families, and City of Dreams, where his attempts to go legit in Hollywood brought further pain and loss, City of Ruins starts with him entwined in the casino industry in Las Vegas. 

He’s settled and happy, raising his son, but Ryan's ambitions bring his past into play, and once again threaten all he loves.

Inspired by Virgil’s poem about a soldier who fled the fall of Troy and became ancestor to the Romans, there’s certainly something timeless, epic, and sweeping about Ryan’s odyssey through turbulent times, cut-throat industries, and deadly feuds. 

City in Ruins is as ambitious as its hero; superior crime writing full of tension and depth. An outstanding novel in of itself, it offers even more to readers who’ve devoured the first two books.

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.