City of Dreams (#1594)

 City of Dreams is the second book of a trilogy by a MRB favorite author, Don Winslow. I read and favorably reviewed the first book, City on Fire, in March this year (2023). By the way, City on Fire is about to appear as a movie – can’t wait.) At the end of book one, Danny Ryan had stolen millions from the mob and then escaped Providence, Rhode Island in hopes of getting out of the gangland business and leading a law abiding life. His wife had just died of cancer and he wanted to fulfill his promise to his wife that he would take care of their 18-month old son. Danny chose to lie low, and he advised his team to do likewise. But then he heard of someone’s plan to do a movie about the gang war he had fled from in Providence and he ended up helping to finance the movie and falling in love with the beautiful star. His plan for anonymity quickly evaporated. While his mob activity in Providence had been in the minor leagues, suddenly Danny is forced to contend with big time mobsters. This book is even better than the first, and now I have to wait for the third novel, City in Ruins, which is not yet available.

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.

The Force

The Force is the 7^th Don Winslow book reviewed in the blog, and in this one, he’s changed venues from Southern California to New York City. Winslow’s character and plot development have only gotten better, and if it’s possible, even more gripping. Detective First Grade Dennis John Malone was a veteran sergeant of NYPD’s most elite unit, The Manhattan North Special Task Force. He had graduated from the police academy with all the necessary idealism, but then he faced the real world of police action and the erosion that happened to his idealism. This is a story about corruption, guns, drugs, and sex. After decades on “Da Force” when Denny finally got arrested and placed in the MCC (Metropolitan Correction Center), he thought to himself, “At least, at last, tell yourself the truth. You know exactly how you got here. Step by motherfucking step.” This novel is about Denny’s steps of degradation, the environment in which that occurred, and the myriad of people who were most impacted by his decisions. This is not a book with good guys – just bad guys. Great writing – if you start this book, be prepared to put the rest of your life on hold until you’ve turned the last page.

The Gentleman's Hour by Don Winslow

Winslow had come up in some back and forth amongst the M @ MRB. Having read only 1 of his books (Savages - sort of ending its big screen run through the theaters), I picked out this 2009 title.

Boone Daniels, High Tide, Johnny Banzai, Hang Twelve, Cheerful, Dave the Love God.

Pacific Beach surfers in San Diego. The first out each day.

The Dawn Patrol.

Once The Dawn Patrol heads in, the late arrivals wander in. More middle age, richer, own their own businesses. They can sleep in. This next shift populates The Gentleman's Hour.

Boone is a legendary surfer. Crews up and down the San Dog know Boone. Drives a beat up cargo van because "any vehicle that can't carry a surfboard is a sculpture." But EVERYONE knows Kelly Kuhio, aka K2. Hawaiian, one of the first and certainly one of the greats. K2 wasn't just "a freaking legend, he was a freaking legend." Unpretentious surf guru to anyone who rides the long boards. K2 and The Dawn Patrol hang together, especially at the Sundowner where they have standing orders for anything from breakfast to beer. They used to be waited on by Sunny, but she's moved on to the pro circuit. Now they are served by Not Sunny.

A patron of The Gentleman's Hour approaches Boone about tailing his wife. Thinks she cheating on him. Boone, a former cop, earns his keep as a PI (after each daily session with The Dawn Patrol . . . priorities, you know). Boone needs the money (what PI doesn't?) and agrees.

The Rockpile Crew is a group of surf wannabes from just north of La Jolla (which is either Spanish for 'the jewel' or Native American for 'the hole'. You decide). The Rockpile is the cove they slither in and out of. They've been bar hopping around PB looking for trouble and get into a scuffle at the Sundowner, which happens to have a volunteer group of bouncers . . . The Dawn Patrol. After getting unceremoniously ushered out, the Rockpile scum wait. The first one out is K2 who gets jumped and one Corey Blasingame lands a 'superman punch' to K2 knocking him down and his head cracks the edge of a concrete step.

The freaking legend is dead. Not just the surfing community is screaming for justice. The entire beach community and everyone who lives west of the 5 is ready to explode. Blasingame deserves the needle is the cry.

Corey comes from money. His dad is a big time SD real estate developer and hires big time legal defense, the team of which includes Boone's latest hopeful, Petra. They want Boone to look into Corey's history, friends, school, job, anything that might help with his defense. This irks Johnny Banzai to no end - Johnny's a SDPD detective who caught the K2 case and got Corey's confession. Boone's involvement with the defense team seriously tests their friendship.

The 2 cases intersect with Mexican drug cartels, a shadowy gym of MMA/white supremacists, JB's partner, a sinkhole, and a web of real estate deals, payoffs, and buyouts involving a huge chunk of San Dog's licensing departments and city council.

Being an east coast (and midwest) type who spent a year in El Lay, books about the west coast are fascinating (partly why I like Connelly and Crais so much). And while I won't put Winslow up in the rarified air those two live, I will say that Winslow is a tres entertaining story teller. His looping back and forth between the surf, MMA, and cop cultures is seamless has the ring of authenticity of one who has not just observed it, but probably lived it (the liner bio says Winslow was once a private investigator and "consultant" - whatever that means).  I can't surf - never really tried - but you can bet I'll look back on on Boone and his Dawn Patrol crew in the not too distant future.

But first, Jack Reacher is A Wanted Man and he needs my help.

East Coast Don

The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow

Frank Machianno, Frank the Bait Guy who everyone loves, and Frankie the Machine who everyone fears. This is my fourth Winslow book, and for reading pleasure, it sure comes close to his last, the 13th novel, Savages (the one that Oliver Stone is currently making into a movie). The venue is Southern California, especially San Diego County. Winslow takes his time with the development of Frank’s character as a hardworking guy who is managing four businesses, but takes time out to surf every day during The Gentlemen’s Hour, which happens well after daybreak, when the other surfers have to get out of the water and head for work. He’s 62-years-old, a lover of opera, a great chef, and a man who appreciates women. Frank is just trying to provide for his daughter, Jill, who is headed for UCLA med school, and his ex-wife, Patty, and who is enjoying his time with Donna, a former Vegas show girl who has preserved her figure into her 50s. But, while Winslow took his time with the evolution of Frank, the transition to trouble was sudden. Frank is inexplicably the target of an assassination attempt, and it is then that his history as an assassin with the mob unfolds. But, Frank has been out of the game for years, and he can’t understand why someone would suddenly want him silenced. The book is about the unfolding of the mafia ties from Detroit to Vegas to Los Angeles to San Diego, and the connection of those ties to politicians and federal law enforcement. Once again, Winslow provides a great story, unexpected twists, compelling action. There are some classic lines. With the dialogue, I found myself thinking about DiNiro. At times he can deliver a poorly written line and sell it like bad actors can't. Winslow can do the same with his prose. After Billy Jacks, who loved to sit in strip bars and watch the action, is shot in the face, survives, but is blinded, he changes his stripper habit, as Winslow notes, "Watching strippers couldn't have been that much fun for a blind guy." Or, as the chase is on and Frank is running from the mob: "Daylight finds Frank in San Diego. Counting on the fog and the hour to shield him from view. And the gun at his hip to protect him from harm." And finally quoting a rant by our title character, "So the government wants to beat down organized crime. That's hysterical. The government is organized crime. The only difference between them and us is they're more organized." Taken out of context, the lines might seem contrite, but they work in context. I’m now moving him into my own power rotation of authors, along with Silva, Connelly, Bruen, Child, Flynn, and Thor.

Savages by Don Winslow

This was (just to use a couple action novel clichés) an action-packed, page-turner. It was a recommendation from the formerly-literate scribophobe nephew Chris. I’ve read and reported on Winslow before (The Dawn Patrol and The Power of the Dog), and this is a much better book. Like his other books, this has to do with the drug trade that spans Mexico and the U.S., and all of the characters who are involved. There is a cartel war in Baja and a struggle for control of the U.S. trade in Southern California. This one was very close to home for me, or at least my children, because one of the main protagonists is Ben, the son of two psychotherapists, who has grown up in a very liberal tradition. Ben graduated from Berkeley with a double major in agriculture and marketing. He follows his dream of making the best marijuana on the planet and selling it to a very high-end clientele. But, the real drug boys don’t like the competition. Ben is paired up with a volleyball buddy from Laguna, a former SEAL, who is now using his talents to keep their operation safe. But, the whole matter escalates out of control. They are both doing the same girl, Ophelia, otherwise known as O, which surely stands for orgasm, something she is very talented at achieving. The boys are satisfied with this arrangement and don’t need to fight for that territory. O’s mother is Paqu, passive-aggressive queen of the universe, really, a queen ditz. One of the lines from O as she prepares to go off on a shopping spree in Newport, “I don’t adore myself, so I adorn myself.” As Ben gets up to speed with the deaths that are happening around him and shakes off his previously nonviolent stance, the author writes, “Now Ben. Find your inner Taliban.” The writing is staccato-like, creative, fun. The ending is not what I expected, but it made sense. I read it in two sittings, and will now spend some time looking at Winslow’s website to choose my next book.

The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow

This was my second Don Winslow book, another donation by Boedeker who continues to read voluminously, but report meagerly (much like he handles his paycheck, except when he is in a brewery). This was a very fun and easy read. It is a murder mystery (and more), but it all happens locally for me – in San Diego, but especially in the area of Pacific Beach. It takes place within the surfing culture, so there are some stereotypic dudes, but is a fun look at the culture, the language, etc. But, you never take it too seriously until near the end when you realize there are some very sick crimes that are going on. The protagonist is Boone Daniels (how would that read on a library card?), a good guy dedicated to his own surfing, and doing as little private detective work as possible. Enough said – you’ll enjoy the brief time it takes to read this one, and I’m up for more Winslow.

West Coast Don

The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

This book was given to me by Boedeker, so he’s obviously been reading books and not sharing the info. What’s up with that? The book was well dog-eared. I think he may have been sleeping with it.

Anyhow, I don’t remember anyone reporting on a book by Don Winslow, but he has written a number of books, and he may be a worthy addition to our list of good authors. This is a story mostly about the drug trade in Mexico, but it extends to the U.S., but south to Columbia, as well. The primary action is the insider fighting among different Mexican gangs/cartels, and the interaction between them and the U.S. forces of the FBI and CIA. Given that it is Mexico, the Catholic Church is also woven in and out of the fabric. Also, there is a beautiful hooker that is involved with all of the main characters. The main protagonist is Art Keller who is one bad ass CIA guy, who throughout the book, builds his insider connections with the Mexicans. He is obsessed with getting even with one Mexican, Tio, having set him up to enrich Tio’s own drug empire. The obsession costs him his marriage, and the lives of many. Although Art is the main guy, he does not occupy a lot of the copy – but you know he is always there. There are a lot of characters to keep track of (probably the cause of some of Boedeker’s dog ears), but this is a good read.

WC Don