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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
There’s a reason I typically don’t read novels in this genre. They’re a dime a dozen and this one’s no different. Other than the use of my family name and where they used to live, which is how I got to reading this in the first place, this was meh.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My second Don Winslow, same formula as California Fire and Life which was my first, even some same character stereotypes but you know what, I don't mind that as it's equally such a rip roaring read.
Don Winslow is, for me, one of the very best thriller writers working today. His trilogy on the Mexico-USA drug trade is one of the best series of books I've read; exciting, luminous characters, and compassionate political, social, and cultural insight. This first book in the Danny Ryan trilogy hasn't shifted my opinion of him from that high place. It's set in the 1980's, and focuses on a war between two organised crime families in Rhode Island. It's not quite Winslow's best - for me it falls slightly short by its use of genre tropes, and in particular in the way key female characters are treated, or rather the purpose they have in the narrative. But it's propulsive, often emotionally intelligent, and as in everything I've read by Winslow there are sections so brilliantly written that I doubt I'll ever forget them.
Really didn’t want it to end. Was hoping it was a trilogy.
Providence, Rhode Island in the late 80s. Italian mob vs. Irish mob. Lots of killing and double-crossing and more killing.
I don’t tend to like mafia/organized crime stories in general - just a bunch of psychotic men doing stupid, violent things to each other and talking about family and loyalty and snore. But I’m glad I gave this one a shot because it was fast-paced and intense, and I ended up kind of caring about what happened to some of the psychotic, violent men in the end.
It took me a little while to get into the story, and I had to flip back frequently and remind myself who was who. A family tree/org chart would have been helpful (which I know sounds ridiculous, but whatever.)
Also, the women characters were pretty flat overall - the slutty woman who ruined everything, the other slutty woman who got rich but abandoned her family, the suffering wife, the sister.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and I’m curious to see what happens next (and maybe the women will do something interesting)?
Recommended for existing Don Winslow fans and anyone who likes a bloodbath.
* thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow & Custom House for the eARC. Expected pub date: April 26, 2022.
I don’t tend to like mafia/organized crime stories in general - just a bunch of psychotic men doing stupid, violent things to each other and talking about family and loyalty and snore. But I’m glad I gave this one a shot because it was fast-paced and intense, and I ended up kind of caring about what happened to some of the psychotic, violent men in the end.
It took me a little while to get into the story, and I had to flip back frequently and remind myself who was who. A family tree/org chart would have been helpful (which I know sounds ridiculous, but whatever.)
Also, the women characters were pretty flat overall - the slutty woman who ruined everything, the other slutty woman who got rich but abandoned her family, the suffering wife, the sister.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and I’m curious to see what happens next (and maybe the women will do something interesting)?
Recommended for existing Don Winslow fans and anyone who likes a bloodbath.
* thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow & Custom House for the eARC. Expected pub date: April 26, 2022.
I did not like this book. The premise was super thin and there was not a single character with anything redeemable.
A strange mafia thriller that was good, but not great