The Danny Ryan Trilogy: Book 2
Publication Date: April 18, 2023
New York Times Bestseller
Following the epic, ambitious, instant New York Times bestseller City on Fire, “The Godfather for our generation” (Adrian McKinty), comes the dramatic second novel in an epic crime trilogy from Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel trilogy (The Power of the Dog, The Cartel and The Border).
Hollywood.
The city where dreams are made.
On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run. The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison. With his little boy, his elderly father and the tattered remnants of his loyal crew of soldiers, he makes the classic American migration to California to start a new life.
A quiet, peaceful existence.
But the Feds track him down and want Danny to do them a favor that could make him a fortune or kill him.
And when Hollywood starts shooting a film based on his former life, Danny demands a piece of the action and begins to rebuild his criminal empire.
Then he falls in love.
With a beautiful movie star who has a dark past of her own.
As their worlds collide in an explosion that could destroy them both, Danny Ryan has to fight for his life in a city where dreams are born.
Or where they go to die.
From the shores of Rhode Island to the deserts of California where bodies disappear, from the power corridors of Washington where the real criminals operate to the fabled movie studios of Hollywood where the real money is made, City of Dreams is a sweeping saga of family, love, revenge, survival and the fierce reality behind the dream.
With the debut of a new series featuring an Irish mob family, author Don Winslow set a high level of expectations for the next installment. As the continuation to City on Fire, City of Dreams more than delivers a top-notch story.
For readers who are just now learning about Danny Ryan or even for those who need a quick refresher, the author provides a recap of events leading up to this story. This technique neatly condenses the 300+ pages of action from the first book to provide a solid foundation for understanding the characters and their motivation. I like this approach because starting a series out of sequence can be challenging. Kudos to the author for skillfully removing that hurdle.
For a character who spent much of the first book in a supporting role, Danny continues to evolve. He leads his team away from Rhode Island, charting a course for safety. The journey west has plenty of hiccups, not only because Danny has his toddler son and sick father along, but there is still a target on their backs.
They end up in Hollywood, where Danny finds love again, but his very public relationship draws the wrong kind of attention. Between old secrets being uncovered and the increased scrutiny by law enforcement, rival gangs, and the Mexican cartel, the mood ratchets up.
The author effectively captures the intensity of being on the run and maintains the momentum from start to finish. This is a top-notch series featuring interesting characters caught up in a fight for their lives.
City of Dreams provides the next chapter for Danny Ryan and his Irish crew, but it certainly isn’t the last. I’m looking forward to the next adventure.
Don Winslow is the author of twenty-five acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including seven New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, City on Fire and City of Dreams). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone from a screenplay by Shane Salerno, Winslow and Stone. Winslow’s epic Cartel trilogy has been adapted for TV and will appear as a weekly series on FX. Additional Winslow books are currently in development at Paramount (The Winter of Frankie Machine), Netflix (Boone Daniels), Warner Brothers (Satori), Sony (City on Fire, City of Dreams, City in Ruins) and Working Title (“Crime 101”) and he has recently written a series of acclaimed and award winning short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. A former investigator, anti-terrorist trainer and trial consultant, Winslow has announced that City in Ruins will be his final novel.
