City In Ruins

This is it.

The road stops here.

So long and thanks for all the fish. Right?

City In Ruins, the third of the Danny Ryan trilogy, threatens to be the last for master crime author Don Winslow. And it’s a good story, too. One that, as spoiler free as possible, ends on a good note. Actually, this all ends on a great note. As does Winslow’s writing career. City In Ruins is the finest of feathers in his cap as Don victoriously heads off over the horizon.

Continuing such lofty farewells City In Ruins concludes Danny Ryan’s journey from the fire of Providence and the dreams of Los Angeles to his ruination in Las Vegas. The heat of the past is still burning at his toes. Instead of the Italians versus Irish skirmishes, Danny now deals with the Vegas old guard, Jewish financial backers, the Detroit mob, and the Nevada Gaming Commission, who might be the most ruthless and (ahem) conservative of the bunch.

Title: City In Ruins (2024)  
Author: Don Winslow  
Publisher: HarperCollins  

Book jacket: Ranging from the gritty back rooms of Providence, RI to the golden casinos of Las Vegas, City in Ruins is an epic crime novel of love and hate, ambition and desperation, vengeance and compassion.

Joe says: With City in Ruins, Don Winslow ends with an incredible career that can be looked at with wonder - and deserves applause.

Winslow does not disappoint. His rat-a-tat dialogue and set-to-a-beat sentence structure goes down quicker than a penthouse elevator. As part of his farewell tour, Winslow sets himself up in the role of benevolent god. He builds Danny up to heroic proportions, only to have the character come crashing down like the waves on a New England beach solely to see what the character does next. The results are mostly unpredictable but always, entirely entertaining.

In Vegas, Danny gains control of a casino and then quickly grabs another. Going for broke, he tries for a third, which is his largest gamble. Vern Winegard, a rival in business and friendship, competes. He fires back. First with money, then slander, ultimately savagery. Unlike Danny, Vern doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. Danny, playing a bit of the role of Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction, is trying to be a better man; seeking to turn away from a lifetime of violence.

Sometimes, though, that turn ends up going 360.

Threaten his teen son, Ian? Or his mother, Madeline? Or the new girlfriend on the side? That certainly raises Danny’s Irish. Erin go bragh quickly becomes Erin go boom.

Winslow tempers the good with the bad. When things get rough, he offers Danny a solution – oftentimes through stories of an elder – but that only lasts until the next tide. In-and-out this story flows and at so many points, you don’t want the ride to end.

Only occasionally does Winslow’s quick hit structure seem too easy. There are times where the reader – okay, where I – would certainly like more exposition. Exactly how does Danny feel after a certain death? What are the deeper ramifications following that legal play? What happens next in Providence? And Vegas? Winslow’s words are so charged that every once in a while dropping back to a static fuzz is needed to recharge. But Winslow, again, the sometimes-benevolent god, is relentless. 

Yet, all things must end. Danny Ryan might see his city in ruins, but Don Winslow ends with an incredible career that can be looked at with wonder – and deserves applause.

Thank you, Don, for your words, your stories, and sharing what was on your heart. Slainte. Arrivederci. Bravo.