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City on Fire Audiobook Summary

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel Trilogy (The Power of the Dog, The Cartel, and The Border), The Force, and Broken comes the first novel in an epic new trilogy.

“Superb. City on Fire is exhilarating.” – Stephen King

“Epic, ambitious, majestic, City on Fire is The Godfather for our generation.” – Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain

Two criminal empires together control all of New England.

Until a beautiful woman comes between the Irish and the Italians, launching a war that will see them kill each other, destroy an alliance, and set a city on fire.

Danny Ryan yearns for a more “legit” life and a place in the sun. But as the bloody conflict stacks body on body and brother turns against brother, Danny has to rise above himself. To save the friends he loves like family and the family he has sworn to protect, he becomes a leader, a ruthless strategist, and a master of a treacherous game in which the winners live and the losers die.

From the gritty streets of Providence to the glittering screens of Hollywood to the golden casinos of Las Vegas, two rival crime families ignite a war that will leave only one standing. The winner will forge a dynasty.

Exploring the classic themes of loyalty, betrayal, and honor, City on Fire is a contemporary masterpiece in the tradition of The Godfather, Casino, and Goodfellas–a thrilling saga from Don Winslow, “America’s greatest living crime writer” (Jon Land, Providence Journal).

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City on Fire Audiobook Narrator

Ari Fliakos is the narrator of City on Fire audiobook that was written by Don Winslow

Don Winslow is the author of twenty-three acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including six New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border and City on Fire). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone and a screenplay by Shane Salerno, Winslow and Stone. Winslow’s epic Cartel trilogy has been adapted for TV and will appear as a weekly series on FX in 2023. The Force is soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Studios starring Matt Damon with James Mangold directing from a Scott Frank screenplay. Additional Winslow books are currently in development at Netflix, Warner Brothers, Sony and Working Title and he has recently written a series of acclaimed short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris.

About the Author(s) of City on Fire

Don Winslow is the author of City on Fire

City on Fire Full Details

Narrator Ari Fliakos
Length 8 hours 54 minutes
Author Don Winslow
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date April 26, 2022
ISBN 9780062851222

Subjects

The publisher of the City on Fire is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural

Additional info

The publisher of the City on Fire is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062851222.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Barbara

November 22, 2022

Don Winslow’s “City On Fire” is akin to the movie “Goodfellas” only in Rhode Island, Providence to be exact. You get all the vernacular, some words quite offensive in this PC world, but it makes it more authentic.This takes place in the 1980’s, when there was a truce between the Italian and Irish mobs, or gangs to be more PC. After an Irish gangster makes an offensive move towards a girlfriend (a girl named Pam) of an Italian gang member, it all goes to hell. Now we have a gang war over which mob controls Rhode Island. New York and Boston want it all. The Irish want to maintain or add to their control. The Mob aka Mafia has more members than the Irish gang which makes for a high body count on the Irish. When the IRA is mentioned to garner ammunition, tensions mount. The two bosses need to make amends. Control over organized crime between New York and Boston brings about a war.Classic organized crime themes, such as loyalty, betrayal, honor, racism, and misogyny run throughout the story. Author Don Winslow employees the third person narration for the events of the story. Truly, it has the “feel” of watching “The Irishman” or “Goodfellas”. I listened to the audio version, narrated by Ari Fliakos who did an outstanding job. Again, through his voice I “saw” the story. Fliakos is the perfect narrator for this story.This is the first installment on a trilogy. Will the Irish forge a dynasty, or will the body count end the dream?My husband and I listened to the story on a cross-country driving trip. It amused and satisfied both of our entertainment needs.

Overhaul

June 28, 2022

Si os gusta el suspense, el crimen, la acción y la adrenalina, definitivamente deberías leer este libro. Vamos que ya tardáis.Dan Winslow vuelve a la carga. Y no falla. Épico, ambicioso, corrupto y cruel.Tenía ciertas expectativas considerando mi anterior lectura de este autor. Con un lenguaje explícito y violento, tocando varios temas delicados. Y esto es sólo una pequeña porción de lo que hace de esta lectura tan adictiva como interesante.1986, Providence, Rhode Island y los sindicatos del crimen irlandés Murphy e italiano Moretti tienen un acuerdo para compartir el botín del crimen organizado de la ciudad. Los italianos tienen juegos de azar, drogas y chanchullos de protección, mientras que los irlandeses tienen los muelles, los sindicatos y los usureros. Parte del alcohol y cigarrillos que los Murphy liberan de los muelles incluso terminan en los clubes protegidos de Moretti para que todos obtengan una parte. El arreglo fue negociado por los cabezas de familia, Jacky Moretti y John Murphy, pero ahora la próxima generación, los hijos Pat y Liam Murphy y Peter y Paul Moretti, están mostrando sus músculos y queriendo más. Todo lo que se necesita es una chispa para iniciar una guerra de pandillas que romperá la paz y quemará todo a su paso.La chispa de la guerra es una mujer, a quien Winslow compara con la de Helena de Troya y su papel en la guerra de Troya. En el momento en que la vio, Danny Ryan, un miembro del clan Murphy, supo que iba a causar problemas.Y vaya, vaya, la que se les vino encima.. 👀Winslow es un narrador magistral y cuenta una adictiva historia a través de un ritmo apasionante con un gran elenco de personajes interesantes, todos y cada uno de ellos, hasta los secundarios. La premisa de la Ilíada moderna, en mi opinión, ha sido satisfactoria y muy bien ejecutada. En el curso de la trama, de hecho, veremos ciertas referencias. Pero olvídate de las comparaciones literarias con la Ilíada. Porque Winslow nos ofrece la mejor puñetera guerra de mafias que habrás leído en mucho tiempo.El autor logra hacernos vivir y sentir parte de sus vidas, incluso con el historial de algunos de ellos es inevitable, eso dice mucho del trabajo que hay detras y la experiencia del autor.A partir de la segunda parte, cada capítulo es una sorpresa constante y habrá muuucha más acción, tensión e intriga. El estilo de escritura es perfecto para esta historia porque es muy directo y crudo, sin rodeos, te escupe en la cara sin previas palabras.Como único "pero" es que habiendo leído otro suyo hace poco, aunque esta sea otra historia con otros personajes, no deja de ser más de lo "mismo".Con muchas ganas de los siguientes, aunque en mi humilde opinión se puede leer bien pues es algo "cerrado". Nada de relleno en un libro de 400 páginas que devoras con avidez. Personajes e historia con carga emocional de 10. Narrado de delicia. Resultado, un enganche básicamente inevitable.Y no sé que hacéis todavía aquí.. ✍️

James

May 31, 2022

This is another sprawling epic novel from Don Winslow, author of some of my favorite books including The Winter of Frankie Machine, The Power of the Dog, and The Force. To say that this book is not quite on a par with those does it no disservice; it's a really great read, the first in Winslow's new and final trilogy.The book opens at a beach in Rhode Island in the summer of 1986. For many years the city of Providence has been controlled by an alliance of Irish and Italian mobsters who have divided between their two gangs the spoils of the city's criminal enterprises. The original arrangement between the two gangs was forged by an older generation, but now the sons of those men are coming into their own and taking increasing responsibilities upon themselves.The bonds between the two groups, the Morettis and the Murphys, are strong enough that they hold an annual summer clambake at the beach, and that's where the trouble begins when an extraordinarily beautiful woman walks out of the sea, attracting the attention of every man--and woman--at the party.The woman, Pam, turns out to be the girlfriend of Paulie Moretti, the son of the leader of the Italian gang, and when a drunken Liam Murphy, son of the leader of the Irish gang, makes a crude pass at her, all hell breaks loose. Before long the carefully-brokered agreement between the two gangs is in tatters and a major gang war has erupted.At the center of the story is Danny Ryan. Ryan's father was the original leader of the Irish group but he long ago retreated into the bottle and his personal miseries, leaving John Murphy to lead the group. Danny is married to John Murphy's daughter, Terri. He logically would have followed his father's footsteps into the leadership of the gang, but now he functions in a minor role while Murphy's sons assume increasingly important positions.Truth to tell, Danny Ryan never relished the idea of being in the gang to begin with. In his heart of hearts, he would have preferred a much simpler life unencumbered by all the responsibilities of a life in organized crime. But the war that now breaks out between the Irish and the Italians takes a very heavy toll on both sides, both in money and in blood, and before it's over, it will put young Danny Ryan to a very stern test.This is a great novel about organized crime, not in one of the nation's larger cities, but in a small backwater like Providence. The cast of characters is sprawling, but most of them are deftly drawn and the inner workings of the gangs' operations, not to mention the rapidly escalating feud between them, had me turning the pages about as fast as I could. Don Winslow has announced his retirement and said in an appearance a couple of weeks ago that the next two volumes in this trilogy are already complete. As much as I've loved his work, I really hate to see him go. But if he must, this is an excellent first step on the way out the door.

Kemper

June 20, 2022

What we’ve got here is a good ole fashioned mob war.It’s 1986 in Rhode Island, and Danny Ryan is essentially a middle manager for the Murphy crime family despite being married to the boss’s daughter. Danny’s father also once ran his own outfit and was a key figure in establishing a peace that’s held for years between the Italian and Irish mob in the area. When the spoiled son of the Irish leader hits on the wrong woman, it’s seen as a grave insult that the kid manages to make worse and soon it’s all out war between the fwo factions. Danny becomes a key figure in the whole mess as he first tries to make peace and when that doesn’t work, takes an increasing role in the leadership of Murphys. Along the way we also find out the history of the mother who abandoned him who returns in an effort to try and make things right, and he continues to try and earn his rightful seat at the table.Like most Don Winslow books, this is a helluva page turner with a conversational style that makes you feel like some old Mafia guy is telling you the tale at a bar one night. Since it’s the first part of a new trilogy, you don’t get a lot of resolution although some things are settled. It’s sort of like watching the first season of a TV show that is setting up a lot of character and plots to circle back to later.Good stuff for any Winslow and/or crime fans, and I can’t wait to read the next part.

Michael

March 12, 2022

It's time to go to the mattresses."City of Fire" stays true to its crime family roots and delivers what it advertises. With a nod to the Illiad's Helen of Troy, a gang war is sparked when a beautiful "goddess" walks out of the sea and all hell breaks loose between the Irish and Italians controlling Providence, Rhode Island… Dogtown. Danny Ryan first appears as a forgotten member of the Irish mob, an afterthought pretty much in place because his old man used to run things. As things get hotter and the casualties mount, he reluctantly finds himself asserting more control and leadership. While the outline seems like pretty standard gangster fare, the story never stops taking interesting twists and turns. Just when you think one side has quashed the other, everything flips. Don Winslow is a master and knows how to keep the action going.While an exciting ride, this is not for everyone. There is some racist and homophobic content-- this is the criminal underworld, after all. Also, once Pam walks out of the sea there is not much more any female really contributes, other than playing spouses or victims. "City of Fire '' is apparently the first part of a trilogy and hopefully we will see the women play more integral roles. Overall, this is great storytelling and I will be looking forward to where things go from here. I mean, you had to see Godfather II as well, right? Thank you to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for an offer I could not refuse; providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jeremy

December 26, 2021

City on Fire is Don Winslow's new foray into the Irish/Italian mob scene in Providence, Rhode Island and holy cow is it good. Danny Ryan is the son of the one-time leader of Irish mob and is married to the daughter of the current head of the mob. The Irish and Italians have had a mutual agreement on turf in Providence and have more or less gotten along. That is until egos were hurt and the truce evolves into a gang war were no one is untouchable. This is the first time I've read Winslow and I could not be more impressed. The topic isn't one I normally gravitate towards but it didn't take long to hook me. The storytelling is tight and not one word is wasted. The book starts out slow while Winslow sets the scene and gives the history of Ryan and the two mobs. It might not be the flashiest beginning but is essential. It doesn't take long for things to go haywire and go to places I wasn't expecting. You can actually feel certain characters evolving while others are devolving into monsters. City on Fire is an epic tale and thriller fans do not want to miss it. It could easily be next years best of the best. My sincere thanks to Don Winslow, William Morrow and Custom House, and Edelweiss for the privilege of reading an advance copy of City on Fire.

Javir11

May 15, 2022

7,75/10Descubrí a Don Winslow hace ya muchos años y mis primeras incursiones me dejaron un gran sabor de boca. Sabía crear buenos personajes, tramas notables y a la hora de plasmar el worldbuilding de sus novelas se movía dentro del mundo del hampa como si fuera un gánster/narco más. Pero mi última lectura la cosa cambió, a pesar de que tenía los mismos ingredientes, el libro se me hizo cuesta arriba por la falta de ritmo y eso pesó en mi opinión sobre Winslow de forma negativa.Pues bueno, tras este Ciudad en llamas, vuelvo a creer en él. Lo curioso es que es más de lo mismo que ya nos ha mostrado en sus otras novelas, aunque en este caso se traslada a la costa este de USA y se centra en la mafia irlandesa, pero el cambio de escenario no afecta a su estilo. Mismo tipo de personajes, historia similar y trama repleta de acción. Pero a pesar de ser algo poco novedoso, la historia me ha entretenido mucho y me ha dejado con ganas de más. Creo que el reducir el número de páginas con respecto a otras novelas anteriores le ha venido genial. No hay nada de paja y eso se agradece. Son 350-400 páginas en las que siempre pasa algo y que te engancha casi desde el inicio, una vez empiezas solo quieres saber como continúa. No le veo ningún gran pero a esta lectura, si me hubiera aportado algo nuevo o la trama o los personajes hubieran estado excelentes quizás le hubiera puesto una 5 estrella, pero en ambos casos se quedan en notable alto y por se ha quedado sin quinta estrella.Obvia decir que seguiré con esta saga y espero que Winslow siga escribiendo libros de menos de 500 páginas.

Chris

May 30, 2022

I love/hate Don Wilson's books. Love because he is the best at this kind of stuff. Fast pacing, great characters, immersive story lines, he's got no competition. Hate because for some reason I read his books ten times faster than I read anything else and I hate having to wait until he releases another book. City on Fire is as good as anything he's done and Winslow's written some winners. After a pretty light hearted start with the characters vacationing and shit, things go downhill rapidly. Lots of morally ambiguous people stuck in dead end situations makes for exciting reading. Lots of stuff happens in this book as it spans a couple of years and it's hard to believe this is the first in a proposed trilogy because it has a very satisfying conclusion and seemed like a complete story. Waaaaay looking forward to book two and finding out what goes down.

Mandy

May 13, 2022

I have always wanted to read a Don Winslow book, so when the Tandem Global Readalong for City on Fire was announced I jumped at the chance. My husband is a big fan of this author and assured me that I would be too. Happy to say that he was right and I am wondering why it took me so long to read him. Thankfully we have his others books on the bookshelves at home and I will be reading them soon.Now, I am a terrible buddy reader, I make no secret of that. I really did try to keep pace on this one but I ended up finishing it in 3 nights. Once I started I couldn't stop reading. I was drawn into 1980's Rhode Island and the world of Danny Ryan. This is a character that I got emotionally attached to quite early on. He becomes the unofficial leader and the pressure of this as well as his family makes him a really interesting character.The war began over a woman. Pam came into their lives and the work is turned upside down. The Italian's wage war on the Irish and it is violent! Some scenes won't be for everyone, but as a reader of dark and gritty crime books, I was there for it all. This is a the start of a new trilogy by Don Winslow and I am already wanting more. It was great to chat about the story with my fellow Aussie read a long members. How we all had different takes on characters and situations.This is a compelling and dark read, right up my alley. A big thanks to Harper Collins Australia and Tandem Global for having me along. Bring on Book 2

Richard

July 25, 2022

At this point, it’s safe to predict that any novel by Don Winslow will be one I enjoy! This is the start of a new epic crime trilogy by the author and I’m here for it. Inspired by Homer’s classic: The Iliad, Winslow spins a tale of a 1980’s gang war between Irish and Italian families in Providence, Rhode Island and the damage it causes. The book focuses on Danny Ryan, surrogate son of the Murphy family, who’s sense of honor and loyalty keeps him fighting for the Murphy’s even if it’s not in his best interest. The book never hides its influence, featuring a modern Helen of Troy, whose body would launch a thousand beat-downs, a Paris that’s just as useless as one would expect, a Hector that must fight the war his brother started, and even an interesting twist on Achilles. As usual with books by Winslow, it’s immensely readable, accessible, and engaging, with compelling writing and clear, relatable characters. But it does fall short of being amazing as it feels like it’s missing something to really set it off. It feels more like an earlier draft than some of his better novels and is nowhere near as powerful, affecting, or as timely as The Power of the Dog or The Force. If a lesser author’s name was on the book, it would be a very good standout, but it comes off as Winslow-lite, because I’ve now come to expect him to always bring his full A+ game. But, it is in no way a bad book. I just hold him to a higher standard now. But I still really enjoyed it and it’s worth a read, especially as the start of a new trilogy.

Truman32

May 15, 2022

Like Winnie the Pooh with honey covered paws, it was extremely difficult to let go of Don Winslow’s new book, City on Fire. The problem was I had agreed to chaperone for my second-grade child’s class trip to the zoo. But Winslow, a very good author, is like one of those Las Vegas hypnotists, that take over your mind and have you doing things in public you will soon regret. But instead of clucking around like a chicken or flashing my pasty white buns to an audience of shocked and enraged folks, I instead shirked my safeguarding duty to read. You see there is a gang war going on in Providence Rhode Island. The Italian organized crime family is attempting to seize total control of their thing from the Irish family. Danny Ryan, a soldier on the Irish side yearns to get away from the mob world entirely, only to find himself pulled even further and further into this violent quarrel. I was supposed to keep an eye on the kids, but it was extremely difficult with a story this good. Suddenly I heard sounds of shrieking. Several of the kids had somehow ended up in the Gorilla den. An unusually burly Silverback quickly claimed two of the children as new members of her own troop, threw them onto her back and climbed away. Other second graders had cleverly opened the killer bee exhibit. All at once, zigzagging yellow and black missiles of death were zooming around panicked families and employees emitting an angry buzz that chills my spine and probably will forever. They were pollinating plants which was good, as over 80% of the world’s plants (many of which we use for food) depend on bees performing this important process. However, many others were stinging screeching people to death which was bad. The zoo was in total anarchy. Children were riding tigers. Others were eating soft serve ice-cream straight from the tap and were unwilling to share with me. Why, oh why had this happened to me? I wanted to curse and angrily wave my fists at the gods but didn’t because I was trying to be responsible and that would go against several bylaws in the chaperone code of conduct guidebook.Don Winslow understands the need to balance his violence with taking the time to create and introduce memorable characters you can believe in and feel sorry about when they eventually take their dirt nap. It’s a tricky business to get the reader to root for murderers and thieves, but Winslow manages it. City of Fire is the first book in a trilogy, so hopefully soon we will be able to spend more time with these gangsters. Just please do not take this book if you are planning to oversee children. Bad things will happen. Believe me.

Julie

July 14, 2022

A story as old as storytelling itself, from Aeneid to Romeo and Juliet to West Side Story; we never tire of telling or reading about men gathering in rival gangs to fight over women. In the case of Don Winslow's atmospheric, colloquial wild ride City on Fire, those rival gangs are the Italian and Irish mobs vying for power in Providence, Rhode Island, circa early-mid 1980s. The novel is exuberantly violent, as roiling with larger-than-life characters as the Atlantic coast during a winter storm. With mob jargon and Eastern seaboard cadence, Winslow dumps heavy loads of cinematic native color into each scene, marrying Goodfellas with Miller's Crossing until you could just see the HBO series unfolding on the pages in front of you. These wise-guys may not be very wise, but they are hella entertaining to follow around. But this more than just a vehicle for action scenes. Despite a huge cast of characters, there is nuance and depth; Winslow takes his time developing complex personalities, familial and cultural entanglements, the clash of conscience vs. duty. It's a challenge in a such a masculine world to showcase female characters, but Winslow does center several women in the story, deepening its larger themes and creating a richer epic. A great escape read; I look forward to the next installments.

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