This is the first of a trilogy by Don Winslow, an explicit contemporary literary take on The Illiad, Helen of Troy and the Trojan War, exploring the timeless themes of family, love, honour, loyalty and betrayal amongst the Irish and Italian mobsters who have until now co-existed peacefully in Providence, Rhode Island. Focusing on Danny Ryan, it is set in the late 1980s, it begins at Pasco Ferri's clambake, where Danny observes an extraordinarily beautiful woman, Pam, emerging from the sea, thinking that a woman this beautiful is going to be trouble, he is not wrong, he just has no idea just how much death, trouble and strife will follow. Danny is the son of the previous of the Irish mob boss, Martin, whose bitter descent into drink led to John Murphy taking over. Danny's best friend is Pat, John's son, and he is married to Terrie, the daughter.

It is Pat's brother, Liam's fateful breaking of the rules over Pam, the girlfriend of the Italian made man, Paulie, at the clambake that will trigger a vicious war that will bring the Italian side under Peter Moretti and the Irish, led by Pat, to their knees. Whilst Danny serves as a enforcer and debt collector, he is not part of Murphy's inner circle but this is all set to change as he finds himself having to take charge amidst the rising tide of the dead, including sniper killings and car bombs. He crafts strategies, having to be ruthless as a leader, in a fight where if he makes the wrong decision, death is certain. He knows they are outnumbered and outgunned, and not left untouched himself as he fights to live, and on a hard road to recovery funded by the unwanted return of his mother, Madeleine, who abandoned him to a difficult childhood with his father. The pressures on him increase as he tries to take care of a pregnant Terrie who finds herself facing life threatening health issues, and a metaphorical Trojan Horse looks destined to wipe out the Irish for good.

Winslow writes an utterly riveting and compulsive novel related from the various wide ranging perspectives of the characters that inhabit the book. The storytelling is gripping from start to finish, the blood soaked war between the Irish and Italian mafia depicted with intricate details, capturing the grief and sorrow at the harrowing deaths, with insights into the emotional impact and heartbreak experienced by families and friends. For Danny, he has to handle the horrors of what life can naturally throw at a person with Terrie's health issues, as he dreams of leaving, getting away from it all with his family, which is to seem little more than a pipe dream. This is a superb read that has me highly anticipating the next book in the trilogy. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Three and a half star rounded up to four. My first Don Winslow read and an enjoyable one overall.

The story of the battle between two crime gangs in Rhode Island, the Irish and the Italians, and how one woman sparked off a war between both factions who had, up until then, a truce and divided the city up amongst themselves.

This one is fast paced with a huge cast of characters, so big in fact it was hard to keep track of them all. I did think the characters and their development suffered somewhat by the relentless pace of the story. A lot of it did feel overly familiar, mostly from gangster films of the past but there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

The first part of a trilogy apparently, I would like to see more character development in the upcoming books as I felt that this was a major weak point in City On Fire.

Having said that I enjoyed this one overall and will keep an eye out for thee sequels in the future.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Providence, Rhode Island, 1986: The Irish and Italian mobs have been coexisting in peace, with territories and businesses split up, without letting the outsiders from bigger cities interfere, for quite some time. Naturally, there are issues that lie beneath the surface, but the general amiability holds, to a large extent due to the influence of Pasco Ferri, the soon-to-be-retired mob boss who commands respect from both parties. But the veneer of peace cracks one August evening in a family gathering at Ferri’s place attended by both the mobs—the Morettis and the Murphys—when the playboy-ish Liam Murphy misbehaves with the new superhot girlfriend of Paul Moretti. Danny Ryan, son of the Irish top dog of yesteryears and a lieutenant of the Murphys, witnesses the crack fast developing into an all-out war, and must fight it out in order to ensure his own survival, and that of the people whom he cares about. In addition to the mayhem and misfortune brought about by the gang war, fate deals Ryan multiple misfortunes that put his strength—physical and mental—to test.

City on Fire, the first in the new crime thriller trilogy by Don Winslow is another absorbing mob thriller by the master of the sub-genre. His characters are interesting, layered and lifelike, with all the strengths and vulnerabilities that make them human. The way he narrates it, the manner in which the violence escalates rapidly from a petty, nothing incident to a war that consumes numerous lives feels entirely believable. The sharp dialogues, the crisp descriptions and the brisk plot will keep the reader glued to the pages until the end which, being the first in a trilogy, leaves the field wide open. There are a few characters that, though having little to do in this book, I hope will play bigger, more important roles in the coming volumes.

I enjoyed City on Fire a lot and would like to devour its sequels as soon as possible! My heartfelt thanks to Don Winslow and HarperCollins Publishers for the e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 - Quite simply Outstanding

A huge fan of The Cartel Trilogy and many other Don Winslow stand-alone books, I was extremely excited to get early hands on this new read and first In a trilogy featuring the Irish and Italian mobs.

Set on the 80s in Providence, a quiet area, away from the real made men of New York and Tough , unforgiving Irish Mob in Boston , a quiet war brews between factions at an acceptable truce,

But as old moves to new, things change and tempers flare in this stunning gangster tale from the king of this genre,

Violent, emotional, angry and just super Storytelling, this is an epic story that spans a generation in transition.

I can wax lyrical. But I won’t, all i can say is this is the best read of the year, and it won’t be bettered.

Truly brilliant

This is a rapid-paced, compelling story with masterful execution. The constant action means there is never a dull moment

This book is so much more than a story of gang warfare. When Danny, the main character in the book, sees a beautiful woman emerge from the sea he knows it means trouble. Little does he know how much trouble. Like Helen of Troy her beauty and ,some men’s inability to resist it, is deadly. I loved this book. Beautifully written and Danny is such a sympathetic lead.

Don Winslow is a fantastic author, his cartel Trilogy (The Power of the Dog (Don Winslow book 1)
The Cartel & The Border) was an astonishing achievement amongst the best I have ever read, the skill the scale, cast of characters and timelines dealt with was brilliant.

City on Fire was one of the most eagerly anticipated books of 2021 and has become one of the most eagerly anticipated books of 2022.

A quote from Homer's Iliad commences the beginning of this trilogy set in the 80s in Providence, Rhode Island, The main character is Danny Ryan part of the Irish contingent who along with the Murphys end up going to war with the Morretti family and the Italians. There is a vibrancy, brutality and brevity to this narrative that makes this first instalment fly past and Winslow's skill at pulling the plot this way and that is wonderful to behold. Decisions are made, people die and danger lurks around every corner not to mention that as this is not set in a major conurbation (eg Boston, Chicago, New York) other powers loom in the background that may come into play before too long.

An excellent story which leaves me hoping the nest instalment does not take too long to arrive.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an impartial review.

If I could give this six stars then I most certainly would. Don Winslow hits the bullseye yet again with the first of a planned trilogy on the Mafia/Irish gang wars f the 80s and 90s.

I won't divulge the plot as many others have intimated what occurs but quite simply Winslow along with Micheal Connelly and Dennis Lehane writes better than pretty much any thriller writer I can think of.

He cuts to the quick, his prose is lean yet so descriptive and the characters are brilliantly drawn and depicted. As always our hero is deeply flawed but so credible and likeable as well.

The action is non stop and suitably violent and the sense of time and place palpable.

Just read it. it is wonderful.

Wow. Don Winslow smashes it again. A stunning look at family and betrayal of blood ties and lies. A warts and all glimpse into 80’s Rhode Island as the Irish and Italians slug it out for scraps. A hugely enjoyable, not to mention violent look at warring families and how their actions, no matter how small, have massive repercussions. Even for the innocent.