City on Fire is a tremendously captivating crime thriller that goes back to the days of Irish and Italian mobs in the 80s when the tempers were high and blood was in the air. Don Winslow kicks off his latest thriller with a beautifully described fleeting moment of peace and tranquility for the characters before a spark lights the fuse for a bloody war between the two crime syndicates in a desperate tug of war for power. Once you turn the first page, all bets are off.
Danny Ryan yearns for a better life than being a longshoreman and muscle for the Irish crime syndicate in Providence, Rhode Island. His grounded thoughts for self-actualization and freedom relate to the desire in every man and woman to reach out for something beyond what they settle for in absence of better opportunities. His seemingly mundane destiny takes a big detour when a woman upsets the thinly held peace between the Irish and the Italians, leading to a small scale tit-for-tat matched altercations that quickly escalate into an out-of-control conflict once the first body drops. There is simply no time to rest once bullets start flying and hits are sanctioned on both sides of the syndicate along with double crosses and corrupt police officials, the fusion of all elements creating a highly unstable and unpredictable powder keg of explosive events.
City on Fire’s macabre narrative owes its gut-wrenching brutality to the highly grounded and realistic characters who go through horrible situations. Don Winslow writes his stories and characters in shades of gray where battle rages between evil and lesser evil. Powerful and natural dialogues accompany believably selfish drives befitting imperfect characters, giving the story a distinctive non-fiction flavor. It appeals to fans of crime thrillers with corrupt souls and dark events as much as it appeals to anyone who simply picks up the book with no idea of what to expect; Don Winslow writes for the readers regardless of what genre one prefers. A magnificently horrifying thriller that ingeniously sets up a brand-new crime saga with scope and grit unparalleled by any other series except Don Winslow’s The Cartel trilogy.
Follow Kashif on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase City On Fire
BUY A SIGNED FIRST EDITION FROM VJ BOOKS
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
