City of Dreams

In 1988, Chris Calumbo, a lieutenant in the Providence, R.I., Italian mob, sets in motion a risky plan, in bestseller Winslow’s powerful sequel to 2022’s City on Fire. He brokers a deal with the Baja cartel for 40 kilos of heroin; gets his boss, Peter Moretti, and several other New England wiseguys to invest; and arranges for Danny Ryan, the Irish mob’s leader, to hijack the shipment. Calumbo tips the feds, who will bust Ryan and return the dope to the Italians (minus a cut, of course). What could go wrong? Ryan, a recent widower, winds up fleeing Providence and landing in San Diego with his 18-month-old son and elderly father. Ryan and his crew spread out and work anonymous jobs, keeping their heads down until they hear that their nemesis, Moretti, has been killed. In a surreal twist of fate, Ryan ends up in Hollywood, where he finds himself investing in a movie called Providence based on the war between Italian and Irish mobs, and he falls in love with the film’s beautiful, doomed starlet. This classically inspired mob story breaks no new ground, but fans of Dennis Lehane and Richard Price are sure to be well pleased. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Apr.)