City in Ruins

A master storyteller bids a fitting farewell not only to an epic trilogy, but his writing career.

And with that, one of the greatest crime writers of his generation, or any, has left the building. Whether public figures or private, and across a variety of fields, not many get to leave a longstanding career on a real high, doing their very best work, or close to it.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are now plying their trade in the Saudi and US football leagues, rather than competing at the very highest levels. Michael Jordan and Tom Brady, the GOATs in many eyes of their sports, could have retired as champions but returned for more, playing out final seasons as (somewhat) diminished versions of themselves. Not so Don Winslow, who like Cristiano, Messi, Michael, and Tom has been one of the very best in his field for decades, even if it took time for him to move from critically acclaimed to international bestseller.

With City in Ruins, Winslow showcases the storytelling talents that put him among the all-time crime and thriller writing greats. It’s a book that not only brilliantly closes out his superb ‘City’ trilogy about Irish American tragic hero Danny Ryan, but also the American storyteller’s novel-writing career, as he turns his attention fully to real-life political battles.

Following the events of City on Fire, where 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 in Ruins starts with Ryan entwined in the casino industry in Las Vegas. He’s relatively settled and happy, raising his son and with a new girlfriend who’s good for him, but his ambitions bring his past into play, and once again threaten all he loves.

Using his leverage to gazump a friendly rival, Ryan opens a Pandora’ Box of consequences for himself, his business partners, and his old crew. Hard feelings have been simmering in several quarters, including an FBI agent with a personal vendetta after her (corrupt) lover became entwined with Ryan and his crew and was killed during the events of City on Fire.  

Winslow has said he was inspired by Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, and there’s certainly something timeless, epic, and sweeping about Ryan’s odyssey through turbulent times, cut-throat industries, and some deadly feuds. A fitting finale, City in Ruins is ambitious, superior crime writing full of narrative drive and depth, where Winslow masterfully weaves together many storylines from the trilogy alongside the lives and deaths of various characters.

This is a terrific tale in of itself, but readers would be advised to read all three books in order, to get the full impact of Winslow’s powerful saga and its denouement.