by Don Winslow ★★★☆☆
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.