1534. City On Fire by Don Winslow

Don Winslow’s novels have already been reviewed seven times in the  blog, so you know that we are fans. City on Fire is his newest novel, the first of a promised trilogy. This is a mob book, not about the big boys in NYC, Chicago, or Vegas, but in Providence, Rhode Island. It’s not like major league baseball, but more like the minor leagues. Still, Winslow tells the story of crime families who are at war with one another over the usual territorial rights they struggle with. It’s a story of loyalty and betrayal, of love and hate. It’s a story about the internal struggles within each crime family as they jockey for power within and outside the family. Perhaps this is the minor leagues of the mob, but that does not diminish the real life and death struggles faced by the characters that Winslow writes about. Thrown into the mix is the story of a stunningly beautiful woman from Barstow who escapes a hopeless family situation by fleeing to Las Vegas where she is out to find security for herself, and then she stumbles into the mess in Providence. If you’re into reading about crime families, then this novel is a must.