City on Fire by Don Winslow (HarperCollins, £20)
This first book in a projected trilogy about warring mobster families is set in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1986. The Italians and the Irish have carved up the city, existing in relative harmony while controlling the trucking industry and the docks. The author makes overt comparisons with the Iliad, and modern-day Helen of Troy Pam provides a convenient excuse for a bunch of men trapped in a cycle of violence to embark on a disastrous feud, although this time it’s due to a drunken grope rather than divine intervention. In the middle of it all is docker Danny Ryan, his dreams of escape stymied by his family connection to the Murphy clan, for whom he occasionally works; Danny now finds himself embroiled in the conflict. Winslow’s previous “Cartel” trilogy is an astonishing achievement that will be hard to beat, but on the strength of this immersive and humane tale of fate, free will, loyalty and betrayal, his new series will rank alongside it.
