鈥淐ity of Dreams,鈥� by Don Winslow (William Morrow)
鈥淐ity of Dreams鈥� is the middle book in a planned trilogy that began when a stunning woman emerged from the surf at a Rhode Island beach in last year鈥檚 鈥淐ity on Fire鈥� and sparked a war between the state鈥檚 Irish and Italian crime families.
Now, as the latest installment opens, Danny Ryan leads what鈥檚 left of the defeated Irish mob on an epic, cross-country journey in search of a new home and a measure of safety from the Italian gangsters, the Rhode Island State Police, FBI agents and a growing number of other pursuers dead set on putting them in the ground.
鈥淩yan鈥檚 not sure where they are going,鈥� author Don Winslow writes, 鈥渏ust that they have to get the hell out of Rhode Island.鈥�
If the story reminds readers of Homer鈥檚 鈥淭he Iliad鈥� and Virgil鈥檚 鈥淎eneid,鈥� in which jealousy over a beauty named Helen sparked a war between the Greeks and the Trojans, it should. Winslow peppers his yarn with allusions and quotes from the epic Greek poems, casting Ryan in the role of a modern-day warrior at odds with his fate.
After a series of close calls, the fugitives settle in California, some of them risking their lives by ignoring Danny鈥檚 order to 鈥渓ay low.鈥� Eventually, however, Danny violates the order himself. Through a series of circumstances, he ends up investing in a Hollywood movie based on his own life, falling in love with its female lead, making a new enemy of the Los Angeles crime family and putting himself and his crew of expats in mortal danger.
By the end of the new novel, Danny and the few friends he has left are on the run again, setting the stage for the trilogy鈥檚 upcoming conclusion, 鈥淐ity in Ruins.鈥�
With 23 novels to his credit, Winslow has earned a reputation as one of the finest crime novelists writing in English. Earlier novels, including 鈥淭he Death and Life of Bobby Z鈥� and 鈥淐alifornia Power and Light,鈥� were beautifully written and inventively plotted, but with each subsequent book, the author鈥檚 ambition has grown, leading to much longer, critically acclaimed novels including a powerful trilogy about the war on drugs: 鈥淭he Power of the Dog鈥� (2005), 鈥淭he Cartel鈥� (2015), and 鈥淭he Border" (2019).
With the Danny Ryan trilogy, Winslow seems destined to claim a place beside Mario Puzzo鈥檚 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� on the Mount Rushmore of American crime fiction. ___
winner of the Mystery Writers of America鈥檚 Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including 鈥淭he Dread Line.鈥�
Bruce Desilva, The Associated Press
