Thanks to HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great, satisfying end to the trilogy this was. If this is in fact Winslow’s swan song, it’s a hell of a way to cap his career.

After two books where I felt that Danny was denied a catharsis, he takes off the kid gloves. Licata’s death was fittingly gruesome for a monstrous psycho.

I really loved the symmetry of beginning and ending the trilogy at Pasco’s beach house. Winslow’s prose tends to be very meat and potatoes and scene settings aren’t really described in detail, but those scenes on the beach are very evocative.

Looking forward to digging into Winslow’s bibliography further after this!

Don Winslow is one of the greatest thriller writers of all time. This is the last book we will write as he is retiring and it was an absolute Masterpiece! This is the third book in his trilogy and it is was such an enjoyable read from start to finish. Gritty, suspenseful and full of detail, this may go down as his best novel ever. I will miss reading Don's books and I will have to go back through his earlier works that I have not read. Do yourself a favor and read this trilogy, you will not be disappointed!

I love this series because it introduced me to Don Winslow and his amazing books. Seems fitting that CITY IN RUINS is supposed to be Winslow's last book. I am grateful that I still have a lot of his backlist to catch up on.

RUINS is third in the Danny Ryan trilogy. This is one time where you really have to read the first two books for the third to make sense. Everything comes full circle and the sheer amount of names and story continuity will be too confusing without the first two. Plus, they are excellent.

By now, Danny is in Las Vegas, overseeing his growing empire, and facing a Government investigation into the gambling industry. Worried about how this will affect his Vegas legacy, Danny acts on a variety of fronts, including buying a hotel on the Vegas strip right out from a competitor. This sets off a chain of events that darken back to Danny's brutal and violent days in the Irish mob.

This wasn't my favorite of the three books; it seemed to lack some of the depth and emotional complexity of the others, but it's still quite good. Danny's Vegas journey brings him across many of his (former) Irish mob counterparts--meaning we see and hear from many familiar faces from the earlier books. There's a decent side plot involving a missing mobster from an earlier book (which I didn't care too much about).

The best part, as always, is Danny. He's such a rich character with so many sides. Ryan does a strong job of portraying his struggle to stay on the right side, away from his violent past, while wanting to stay on top of the gambling world. It's Danny's personality, his inner thoughts, and the Greek tragedy parallels in this series that keep me coming back.

I was really nervous coming into this one, as the second book in this series was not what I hoped and also because this is (allegedly) the last Don Winslow book EVER.

So I’m both thrilled and relieved to report that Danny Ryan (and maybe Winslow’s career as a novelist) with him definitely went out with a flourish. This was a terrific conclusion to the series, much closer in quality and theme to book one of the series than book three.

I was surprised to see this one set almost exclusively in Las Vegas (especially if we’re following the Aeneid parallels for the series). That all adds up in the end, but it made the early going of this book feel more like the middle of a series than the end. Winslow has always been great at pacing, and that of course resolves any potential issues with setting / Aeneid parallels, and I ended up preferring how Winslow decided to handle all this better than the way I thought he was going to handle it.

Danny is now cemented as one of my all-time favorite Winslow heroes, and I loved both his story arc and the way he conducted himself as a good guy who sometimes has to do bad things.

Though I thought the story went off the rails plot-wise in the second book, on the whole it’s a wonderful saga and I loved how Winslow wrapped it all up.

City in Ruins was an excellent read. I could feel the research that went into the history of Las Vegas, the mafia origins, and the connections to families back east. This is my first time reading a Don Winslow book. Oh the irony. The story, the characters, and the location kept a rocking fast pace while not shortchanging anything. Now I must go read the other books. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers of this book.

City in Ruins is a dramatic end to not just the Danny Ryan trilogy, but of Don Winslow’s legendary writing career. With a storyline full of monstrous men, mayhem, and moral quandaries, readers will witness the downfall and devastation without being able to look away.

Like all great tales of mythology, eventually a reckoning must be met. Danny Ryan, former Irish mob enforcer, managed to build a (mostly) legitimate gaming empire in Sin City. Ryan’s creative approaches and imaginative themes have catapulted him to the peak of power in a business arena that is as cutthroat as any gladiator pit of the ancient world. When Danny decides to use his nefarious past connections to try and swipe a particular piece of Las Vegas real estate, one that could tilt the balance of power in the city, his world begins to crumble. For fear for his family, friends, and fortune, Danny must decide which man he is at his core; the mogul or the murderer.

Danny Ryan is now firmly ensconced in Las Vegas, living with his son, Ian. He has worked to keep a low profile, leaving his mob-related life on the East Coast behind. He is the driving force behind the Tara Group, a casino empire, and now has more money (obtained legally) than he could ever imagine. But with a background like Danny has, the past has a way of catching up. When he decides to expand his casino empire, he finds there are still people looking to get even for his past. The mobsters from the East Coast have never forgotten Danny leaving after a massive drug deal gone wrong, still blaming him and wanting revenge. Add to that an FBI agent who thinks Danny killed one of her associates. Even Vern Winegard, a generally reasonable man and the main competitor of Danny’s in Vegas, manages to become involved with those from Danny’s past. Danny must reach into his past, calling on friends who have also “gone straight” to fend off those who would like to see him gone.

This is the third and final book in Winslow’s Danny Ryan series - in fact, it is the last book to be published by the author as he has decided to retire. I discovered this author/series just a year ago through an on-line recommendation and have now read all three in the series (all rated 4 stars). Each of the books was fast-paced, action and tension packed, and just plain fun to read. The overall ending was probably as expected, neatly tying up the various story threads and characters of all three books. My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

I have never read a Don Winslow book. I knew he was a respected and longtime author, so I thought I’d give him a shot. I also intended to read the other books of this series before City in Ruins, but it didn’t happen. I had high hopes for the novel, but they were not met. Maybe it’s because I didn’t read the others; I don’t know, but City in Ruins by Don Winslow fell flat. And you know what? That’s okay. What’s wonderful about books is you don’t have to like all of them. We all have different tastes.

Don Winslow did a great job of portraying organized crime. Danny Ryan has all the money he could’ve ever hoped for. And he’s made it the right way. He’s left his past behind him, and now he can focus on his child and his dream hotel. But everything goes wrong, and his ugly history breaks into his present. And, in turn, shatters his future. Organized crime is just that—organized. But “organized” may not always be from the top down. Sometimes, the minions can have their own ideas of what to do.

I like flowing paragraphs. Words running seamlessly together like water in a river. That, however, isn’t Don Winslow’s writing style. City in Ruins by Don Winslow features short, choppy sentences that the author strings together. Instead of a flowing river, the novel’s like a string—broken up and tied together again with knots. Once I immersed myself in the book, I managed the staccato nature fine, but it was really hard for me to get into.

Don Winslow is a very successful author, and I can see why. I think I’ll read the other two books in the Danny Ryan series so I can better understand Ryan’s past, but they’ll be closer to the bottom of my “TBR” pile.

What a great trilogy. Danny Ryan is one of Don Winslow’s greatest characters and the choice of Austin Butler to play him in the TV series is a home run.. highly recommend..

All good things must end, and so it is with Don Winslow’s trilogy about Providence, RI gangster Danny Ryan. The saga that began with “City on Fire” and continued with “City of Dreams” now concludes with “City in Ruins.” But “City in Ruins” doesn’t just mark the end of Danny Ryan’s saga. It’s also the end of Winslow’s writing career (he claims) as he pursues other interests. “City in Ruins” is a terrific story that transcends the usual gangster genre and serves as a fitting farewell to both Danny Ryan and Don Winslow.

The first two novels in the Ryan trilogy followed the protagonist from his Providence roots to Hollywood. In “City in Ruins,” set in 1997, Ryan is a successful Las Vegas businessman, seemingly putting his gangster days behind him. His company owns two highly successful casinos and is bidding on a third. But, as Michael Corleone notes in “The Godfather Part III,” “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.” Ryan’s business rival, Vern Winegard, doesn’t take kindly to Ryan’s efforts to buy that third casino, which Winegard also covets. Both Ryan and Winegard have some mob connections in their background, so the confrontation between the two men threatens to move from boardrooms to Vegas back streets.

Anyone expecting a standard mob novel may be surprised by “City in Ruins.” The book has a decent amount of violence in the last quarter, but before that, it reads more like a corporate drama such as James Clavell’s “Noble House.” Readers see how Ryan and Winegard became highly successful using entirely different business models. And when some of Ryan’s old enemies try to get him in hot water with the State Gaming Commission, he must figure a way to stop their inquiry. These corporate strategies and machinations, accomplished without a single punch thrown or shot fired, are as interesting as the book’s later violent segments.

Those who haven’t read the two earlier books in the trilogy won’t have difficulty following the storyline of “City in Ruins.” The author gives readers enough backstory to fill them in on the key players without bogging the story down with needless information dumps. However, those who have read the earlier books will get a special treat here. Although most of the action in “City in Ruins” takes place in Las Vegas, two subplots set primarily in Providence provide readers with closure regarding characters from the earlier books. One subplot I found exceptionally entertaining involves a high-stakes murder trial in which a mobster’s son has been caught apparently dead to rights for the murder of his mother and her lover. That is until a wily defense attorney takes his case. The author devotes only a few chapters to the trial, but they’re as good as what you’ll find in most current legal thrillers.

Don Winslow’s style is conducive to an all-night read. Indeed, I stayed up until almost 4:00 a.m. to finish the last half of “City in Ruins.” He writes short, punchy sentences and sketches his characters succinctly. He also displays a sharp wit, such as when describing Danny Ryan’s thoughts about the Boston Red Sox: “There are three religions in Rhode Island. Irish Catholicism, Italian Catholicism, and the Boston Red Sox… Being Catholic and a Sox fan both have to do with faith and suffering. A lot of suffering.”

The more I read, the more Ryan reminded me of a mirror version of Michael Corleone. However, while Michael Corleone falls deeper into a moral abyss as the “Godfather” series continues, Ryan increasingly finds his moral compass. All the while, fate and his old enemies conspire to put obstacles in Ryan’s way. The author indicated he was inspired by Greek epics like “The Iliad,” “The Odyssey,” and “The Aeneid.” “City in Ruins” shares many plot and thematic elements with those Greek epics. In particular, one Providence-set subplot concludes in a manner quite similar to one of the epics.

I will now do something experts strongly advise book reviewers not to do. I’m going to reveal the ending of this book. Not the ending of the “City in Ruins” trilogy, which would be a cardinal sin. Instead, I’ll mention the author’s “Acknowledgments.” Usually, this section resembles an Oscar acceptance speech, a dry recitation of those who helped the author. But in this case, Don Winslow isn’t just ending a book or a trilogy. He’s lowering the curtain on a brilliant writing career. He thanks and provides bits of insight about almost everyone who helped him throughout that career. It’s well worth five minutes of a reader’s time to review those acknowledgments.

I’m among many readers who hope that Don Winslow will reconsider his decision to retire from thriller writing. After all, Arthur Conan Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back from the dead. But if “City in Ruins” is indeed Winslow’s last bow, he has gone out on a high note. “City in Ruins” transcends the thriller and mob genres. It’s an excellent piece of literature and a fitting farewell to Danny Ryan and, perhaps, Don Winslow.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

Danny Ryan's story comes to its conclusion in the third entry in Don Winslow's trilogy about Rhode Island's Irish mob. Also coming to is conclusion is Winslow's career as a prolific writer of crime fiction, as he turns his full time attention to producing political videos.

After the tragic conclusion of the Irish-Italian mob war in Providence chronicled in City on Fire, Danny and his crew fled to Southern California and got into the movie business in City of Dreams.

In City in Ruins, Danny and his son Ian have settled in Las Vegas several years later where he is determined to transform the casino business with ever more ambitious construction projects. After he falls back on a dubious mob tactic to land a property, his past comes back to tragically haunt him.

Although this reader was totally wrapped up in Danny's story and didn't need to be taken anywhere else, Winslow nevertheless takes us back to Providence to follow the trial of Peter Moretti Jr. for the murder of his mother and her lover, and the return if Chris Palumbo from his self-imposed exile in rural Nebraska.

Brisk pace, sharp dialogue, distinct characters, with an acute sense of time and place, this is as good as it gets with Don Winslow, which is to say as good as it can possibly get. It will be bittersweet to not get any more from him, but there is still the back catalog to get through and his videos are much more important during this election cycle.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley.com for an advance reading copy in exchange for this honest review.

One of my favorite things about the Danny Ryan series is how Don Winslow ends and begins each book seamlessly. I read these three books back to back and it was a fantastic time to be in Danny Ryan's world.

After Danny leaves California, he finds himself back with this mother in Las Vegas. Danny now has more money than he has every dreamed of, and has no idea what to do with it. We've seen how his mother invested in the right places to get to where she is now, and she's passed that on to Danny. Since book 1, Danny has tried to go legit, and it seems like he's finally able to do that. He invests his money into some hotels, as a silent partner in a group of investors. His vision was to buy something old and make it like something the world has never seen. Other people are warning him not to do it because his vision won't work. However, he proves them wrong and his hotels are more successful than anyone ever imagined. He is living a life of dreams - his son is healthy, he has money, his mother has made his legal issues go away, and he's found a new love. There is that old saying, "you can't have your cake and eat it too," but Danny doesn't see it that way. He finds a property that if he buys will make him a majority earner on the strip, the only issue is, his new rival has his eye on it too. We are then taken back into the world of organized crime, because the roots in this town are the very ones that he's tried to get away from his whole life. Shady dealings, looking over his shoulder, and body counts adding up. Danny's dream is now a nightmare, and he is doing everything he can not to resort back to the ways of his past.

This is Don Winslow's final book, and I am so thankful to him, William Morrow, and @NetGalley for this ARC. This book comes out on April 2 - and I highly encourage you to grab the series!

#CityinRuins #NetGalley

Don Winslow is a master of his art when it comes to writing. I this is the third book in the Danny Ryan series. This picks up at with Danny in Las Vegas taking his shot at running a casino. Yet coming from a life of crime, mafia, and murder is a hard past to escape. Danny find himself bumping heads with casino tycoons, politicians, gangsters, and federal agents. This was a great addition to the Ryan series and honestly highly recommend these novels

I have really enjoyed this third book in the trilogy. It has alot of the Sopranos vibes of which I enjoy. Lookin forward for more from the author.

In classic Don Winslow fashion, he delivers Danny Ryan in an unforgettable race against the path while building his future. City in Ruins is a fitting farewell but somber as Winslow’s decorated writing career comes to an end.

Danny Ryan has been through hell and back in his many years in the game, and the ones since he’s tried to leave that life behind have been relatively normal. He’s had three loves in his life and two are gone, the only one that remains is his son Ian. Now that Vegas has become his next fixer upper, Ryan must navigate the skeletons in his closet while rebuilding himself. Attempting to avoid the Nevada Gaming Commission and the heavy hitters from cities like Detroit and Chicago, Ryan has embarked on a new dream, building some of the most extravagant hotels and casinos the Vegas strip has to offer.

He's also been sweet on a little yoga instructor who knows the aura that follows Danny Ryan around, preventing a serious relationship, by hiding it from the public eye. While negotiating with his partners of the beautiful Tara hotel, Ryan teams up with Abe Stern and his billions only to come up against Vern Winegard and his goons. What starts out as the rebuilding of an American dream quickly turns into the same old past Ryan has been avoiding. With the people he loves at risk, and his dream almost up in smoke, will Ryan turn into the monster in the closet or maintain his path and weather the storm?

Winslow has a unique writing ability that will capture your attention and not let go. I fully expected this to take me a week to get through, but after three days it was coming to a close and I wish I had more to soak in. What Winslow has created in Ryan is a long-lost soul who has seen friends and family come and go, while maintaining some humanity deep down inside. Ryan channels his need for a life fully lived throughout City in Ruins and Winslow shows how vulnerable he’s willing to make himself to prevent falling back into the rabbit hole.

Winslow has the keen ability to turn the pages into a feature film with such ease. From The Power of the Dog to the Danny Ryan trilogy, everything he has written grabs a hold of you and doesn’t let go. Emotional and riveting action with impactful characters at every turn, Don Winslow will have you feeling triumphant for the closure for Danny Ryan and his dream.

Finishing this was bitter sweet. This will be the last book from this author; wink wink unless we can coax him back for 1 final one... wink wink.
There is nothing like going out on top and I can say that's exactly how Don Winslow is ending this chapter of his life. I just discovered him when I stumbled unto the first book of this trilogy and let's just say I'm glad I did!

We enter the final,chapter in Danny Ryan's life but we know things won't remain peaceful for too long. When he's dreams get so big to the point of him stepping on toes which snowballs into bringing the crew back together; you know its about to be on!!! In a good way of course 😌

While it isn't my favorite of the 3 books, it's still a solid book and I would whole heartedly recommend the whole trilogy!

Solid 4 stars

Thanks to publishers William Morrow for this amazing ARC!!!!
COMING OUT April 2nd !!!!!!!

Danny Ryan has found his place in Las Vegas, running a hotel conglomerate and raising his son. He wants to distance himself from his Providence crime family and his past mistakes (see books 1 and 2 in this series- this is book 3.) But the past always comes back and in the high stakes Vegas resort business, you need friends, money, and muscle.

I liked the first book in this series, liked the second one even more, and this third installment is the culmination of Danny's life. This book was outstanding, and I loved the mob-guy turned good but still needs the mob storyline. I could have done without the epilogue, but otherwise this is an almost perfect crime novel. 4.5 stars for a great series ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

I've been an avid fan of Don Winslow since he first published California Fire and Life and, when he announced that the Danny Ryan trilogy would he the last books he'd write I was both sad about that news and anxious to begin reading them, and they didn't disappoint, concluding as they do with "City in Ruins". "Ruins" story is epic in scale and Shakespearean in its emotional impact, Concluding the tragic journey of Danny Ryan and his family in their pursuit of peace and happiness. Winslow's narrative gifts are on full display here , along with his genius for sharp dialogue, and brilliant plotting. Its safe to say that I ma sorry to see Danny Ryan and family go, but I am grateful that Don Winslow inviting me along for the ride.

Thank you to Net Galley for a chance to read the final saga in the Danny Ryan trilogy! Always love diving back into the Irish Mafia life and in Las Vegas, it felt even better as a read. Everyone will love wrapping up this trilogy and it’s a must read once published!

With City in Ruins, Don Winslow puts a bow on the Danny Ryan trilogy, as well as on his writing career. And it's for a very specific reason: it's so that he can spend all of his time supporting Democrats and fighting Donald Trump. As he said in his retirement announcement, "I want to see real consequences for Trump, his family, and the enablers who share his cynical, soulless, corrupt, and sub-literate worldview."

Why don't you tell us how you really feel, Don?

It's an interesting position to take while still (ostensibly) trying to sell books, in a country that is divided almost 50-50 along party lines. Statements like the quote above (his whole announcement is here, if you want even more of that), are going to antagonize half of your potential buying audience, but it seems Winslow has reached a level of success in his career where it doesn't matter to him. This book, as well as its predecessor City of Dreams, have been completed since 2022, and he's already optioned the rights to the entire trilogy to Sony Pictures. It seems that maximizing its success is apparently not something that Winslow needs, or perhaps more likely he is just so set in his political convictions that he is willing to sacrifice half of his audience in support of those positions.

I give that context for a couple of reasons. First, given how staunchly left Winslow is in his politics, I can say that none of that bleeds into the novel. If anything, he presents a balanced view of the machinations of the American political system. He acknowledges that the money exchanges masquerading as "donations" that influence policy happen equally in both parties -- there is definitely no moral high ground for his beloved Democrats in the novel. Second, I think he wrote a great first novel of the trilogy, City of Fire, but the last two books feel more like he was just racing to be done, perhaps so that he could turn his attention to where his passion clearly lies. City of Dreams was not great -- it felt more rushed and incomplete. I was hopeful it was just a bridge to a conclusion that mirrored the start, and while I think City in Ruins is slightly a better book than City of Dreams, it is so only by a small margin.

Once again, it's a very quick read, and if you finished the first two books I'd imagine you're invested enough to read this to find out how everything ends. Winslow does a respectable job of bringing the trilogy to a close, and the punchy, quick-hitting style is consistent with the preceding novels. However, where the first book had a layered and nuanced plot, this one feels more like Winslow wrote a high-level outline and then lightly filled it in. There's little suspense and almost nothing surprising, but it wraps up the story. I'm thankful that we got to a conclusion before Winslow focused purely on his political mission; unfortunately, his heart didn't seem to be in this or the previous novel, and it shows.