William Morrow

Quick Review: CITY IN RUINS by Don Winslow (Hemlock Press/William Morrow)

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WinslowD-DR3-CityInRuinsUSHCThe explosive conclusion to the Danny Ryan trilogy… and also a very successful writing career

Sometimes you have to become what you hate to protect what you love.

Danny Ryan is rich.

Beyond his wildest dreams rich.

The former dock worker, Irish mob soldier and fugitive from the law is now a respected businessman – a Las Vegas casino mogul and billionaire silent partner in a group that owns two lavish hotels. Finally, Danny has it all: a beautiful house, a child he adores, a woman he might even fall in love with.

Life is good.

But then Danny reaches too far.

When he tries to buy an old hotel on a prime piece of real estate with plans to build his dream resort, he triggers a war against Las Vegas power brokers, a powerful FBI agent bent on revenge and a rival casino owner with dark connections of his own.

Danny thought he had buried his past, but now it reaches up to him from the grave to pull him down. Old enemies surface, and when they come for Danny they vow to take everything – not only his empire, not just his life, but all that he holds dear, including his son.

To save his life and everything he loves, Danny must become the ruthless fighter he once was – and never wanted to be again.

City in Ruins brings to a close Don Winslow’s final trilogy. Before City on Fire was published, the author announced that he was retiring at the end of the series. Despite only starting to read his work relatively recently (2017’s The Force), he quickly became a must-read author for me. Broken is one of my favourite short story collections, and I’ve eagerly anticipated every one of his new novels. While this may be his last, I am glad that I still have many from his backlist still to read. Anyway. I enjoyed City in Ruins, and I think fans of Winslow’s work will find plenty to enjoy. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE BANG-BANG SISTERS by Rio Youers (William Morrow)

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YouersR-BangBangSistersUSHCThe next novel from Rio Youers sounds like a lot of fun. The new novel from the acclaimed author of No Second Chances, The Bang-Bang Sisters is described as “an action-packed crime novel featuring three kick-ass heroines—bandmates who moonlight as vigilantes.” Due to be published by William Morrow this summer, I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the synopsis:

Blood. Bullets. Rock and roll.

Meet the Bang-Bang Sisters: Brea, Jessie, and Flo. Together, they’re a kick-ass rock band with an unbreakable bond.

But that’s only half the story. Offstage, they’re highly skilled vigilantes, traveling the country in their beaten-up tour van to exact justice on criminals who have slipped through the system. Part rock stars, part assassins, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Drawn by a tantalizing lead, the sisters head to Reedsville, Alabama — a city crawling with destitution and corruption — where they close in on a notorious serial killer known as “the wren.” But they soon discover that they have walked straight into a trap set by Chance Kotter, a ruthless mobster with a personal vendetta.

Bruised and beaten, the sisters find themselves at the mercy of Chance and a sadistic game of survival that will pit them against each other: Forty-eight hours. One city. Three sisters. Only one of them can survive.

Full of gripping action and shocking twists that come at a breakneck pace, The Bang-Bang Sisters is a relentless, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that will leave you breathless.

Rio Youers’s The Bang-Bang Sisters is due to be published by William Morrow in North America and in the UK, on July 16th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Threads, Twitter

Upcoming: THE BOOK OF DOORS by Gareth Brown (William Morrow/Bantam)

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BrownG-BookOfDoorsUSHCI stumbled across The Book of Doors on NetGalley. It’s Gareth Brown‘s debut novel, and the synopsis caught my attention (later, so did the UK cover). It’s probably not surprising that “strange things are afoot at a bookstore” is a premise that would grab my attention. Due out in February, here’s the synopsis:

Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers — a lonely yet charming old man — dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.  

But this is no ordinary book…

It is the Book of Doors. 

Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them.

BrownG-BookOfDoorsUKHCThen she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them.

Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors — and the other books in his secret library’s care — from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there. 

But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force — in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman — is at the very top of that list.

Really looking forward to this.

Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors is due to be published by William Morrow in North America (February 13th) and Bantam/Transworld in the UK (February 15th).

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

Very Quick Review: THE NINTH METAL by Benjamin Percy (William Morrow)

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PercyB-CC1-NinthMetalUSPBThe first book in the Comet Cycle trilogy

IT BEGAN WITH A COMET…

At first, people gazed in wonder at the radiant tear in the sky. A year later, the celestial marvel became a planetary crisis when Earth spun through the comet’s debris field and the sky rained fire.

The town of Northfall, Minnesota will never be the same. Meteors cratered hardwood forests and annihilated homes, and among the wreckage a new metal was discovered. This “omnimetal” has properties that make it world-changing as an energy source… and a weapon.

John Frontier — the troubled scion of an iron-ore dynasty in Northfall — returns for his sister’s wedding to find his family embroiled in a cutthroat war to control mineral rights and mining operations. His father rightly suspects foreign leaders and competing corporations of sabotage, but the greatest threat to his legacy might be the US government. Physicist Victoria Lennon was recruited by the Department of Defense to research omnimetal, but she finds herself trapped in a laboratory of nightmares. And across town, a rookie cop is investigating a murder that puts her own life in the crosshairs. She will have to compromise her moral code to bring justice to this now lawless community.

I read Benjamin Percy’s The Ninth Metal little while ago, but somehow completely forgot to write a review! It’s the first novel in his Comet Cycle trilogy, and it’s quite the start, too: it’s the story of a devastating natural calamity, and its impact on the inhabitants of Northfall. Coupled with greed, small-town and national politics, this makes for a very intriguing start. I very much enjoyed this.

Continue reading →

Quick Review: INSIDE THREAT by Matthew Quirk (William Morrow)

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QuirkM-InsideThreatUSHCDefending the president from threats internal and external…

Assume the worst. Code Black.

The day that every secret service agent trains for has arrived. The White House has been breached; the President forced to flee to a massive doomsday bunker outside DC to defend against whatever comes next. Only the most trusted agents and officials are allowed in with him — those dedicated to keeping the government intact at all costs.

Among these is Erik Hill, who has given his life to the Secret Service. They are his purpose and his family, and his impressive record has made him a hero among them. Despite his growing disillusionment from seeing Washington corruption up close, Erik can’t ignore years of instincts honed on the job. The government is under attack, and no one is better equipped to face down the threat than he is.

The evidence leads him to a conspiracy at the highest levels of power, with the attack orchestrated by some of the very individuals now locked in with him. As the killers strike inside the bunker, it will take everything Erik Hill has to save his people, himself, and his country.

I’ve been a fan of Matthew Quirk’s novels ever since I read an ARC of his debut, The 500, in a single sitting. Each of his novels has been a fast-paced, engaging thriller — and Inside Threat is no different. I enjoyed this.

Continue reading →

Very Quick Review: CITY OF DREAMS by Don Winslow (William Morrow)

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WinslowD-C2-CityOfDreamsUSHCDanny Ryan et al dodge the law, the mafia, and their own demons; and take a quick turn through Hollywood…

Hollywood.

The city where dreams are made. 

On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run. The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison. With his little boy, his elderly father and the tattered remnants of his loyal crew of soldiers, he makes the classic American migration to California to start a new life.

A quiet, peaceful existence.

But the Feds track him down and want Danny to do them a favor that could make him a fortune or kill him. 

And when Hollywood starts shooting a film based on his former life, Danny demands a piece of the action and begins to rebuild his criminal empire.

Then he falls in love.

With a beautiful movie star who has a dark past of her own.

As their worlds collide in an explosion that could destroy them both, Danny Ryan has to fight for his life in a city where dreams are born.

Or where they go to die.

From the shores of Rhode Island to the deserts of California where bodies disappear, from the power corridors of Washington where the real criminals operate to the fabled movie studios of Hollywood where the real money is made, City of Dreams is a sweeping saga of family, love, revenge, survival and the fierce reality behind the dream.

Danny Ryan and crew return in the sequel to City on Fire, dodging the attentions of the feds, other organized crime families, and their own demons. An engaging continuation of the series. Continue reading →

Books on Film: THE NIGHT AGENT by Matthew Quirk

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I’ve been a fan of Matthew Quirk‘s thrillers ever since I blitzed through an ARC of his debut, The 500. I read it in a single sitting, staying up well into the wee hours of the morning — at the time, we were living in a bedsit, so I read it all sitting on the floor in our bathroom, so my partner could sleep undisturbed. Anyway, on March 23rd, Netflix are due to release the ten-episode television adaptation of The Night Agent! Somehow, I managed to either miss or forget that it was being adapted, but I am very much looking forward to seeing what they’ve come up with.

Originally published in 2019, here’s the synopsis:

To save America from a catastrophic betrayal, an FBI agent must stop a Russian mole in the White House…

No one is more surprised than FBI Agent Peter Sutherland when he’s tapped to work in the White House Situation Room. When Peter was a boy, his father was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians — a breach that cost him his career, his reputation, and eventually his life. Now Peter’s job is monitoring an emergency line for a call that has not — and might never — come.

Until tonight.

At 1:05 a.m. the phone rings. A terrified young woman named Rose tells Peter that two people have just been murdered and that the killer might still be in the house with her. One of the victims gave her this phone number with urgent instructions: “Tell them OSPREY was right. It’s happening…” The call thrusts Peter into the heart of a conspiracy years in the making, involving a Russian mole at the highest levels of the U.S. government. Anyone in the White House could be the traitor. Anyone could be corrupted. To save the nation, Peter must take the rules into his own hands, question everything, and trust no one.

The Night Agent is published in North America by William Morrow, and in the UK by Aries/Head of Zeus. Continue reading →

Quick Review: RED WARNING by Matthew Quirk (William Morrow)

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QuirkM-RedWarningA long-dormant Cold War plan threats to devastate all of Washington, D.C.

CIA officer Sam Hudson races to find a deep cover operative loose in the U.S. and a mole in the Agency before they can launch a devastating attack on Washington, D.C. …

For years CIA officer Sam Hudson has been hunting Konstantin, a Russian deep cover operative responsible for a string of assassinations in the West—and he believes a well-placed source in Geneva can finally get him close to the killer. But when their meeting is ambushed, Sam’s partner is murdered and he barely makes it out alive himself.

Back in the States, the bosses put him on leave and want him to drop his obsession with Konstantin, but Sam can’t let a man who’s taken so many lives slip away again. When he gets a mysterious call at the Lincoln Memorial just before a bomb goes off, he realizes Konstantin has followed him to the U.S. — and is targeting him and everyone close to him. Teaming up with fellow CIA officer Emily Pierce, he sets out to redeem himself and uncover a plot that has been lying in wait since the end of the Cold War, its elements hidden among the most iconic buildings in the capital.

With enemies lurking both inside and outside the Agency and the Russian threat looming ever larger, Sam must use all his training and nerve to stop Konstantin before he can trigger the plot to devastate Washington and bring the U.S. to its knees.

I’ve been a fan of Matthew Quirk’s fast-paced thrillers ever since his debut, The 500 — which I read in one sitting, deep into the night. Each of his novels since has been equally gripping and action-packed. In Red Warning, he offers another action-packed thriller, but one that dials back the pacing just a little bit — which makes for a more substantial read. I really enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: CITY ON FIRE by Don Winslow (William Morrow)

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WinslowD-1-CityOnFireUSHCAn excellent start to a new, final trilogy

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.

I’m a relative newcomer to Don Winslow’s novels, having started with The Force (2017). Since then, I’ve eagerly anticipated each new book, as well as gone back and read some of his older novels. He recently announced that the trilogy that City on Fire starts will be his last — he is retiring from writing to focus on political activism. Based on this novel, it looks like he’s going to be going out on quite a high — City on Fire is an excellent start to a series, and one that hooked me pretty much from the get-go. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE MURDER RULE by Dervla McTiernan (William Morrow)

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McTiernanD-MurderRuleUSHCA young law student tries to derail a murder trial

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

 They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.

Dervla McTiernan’s latest novel has been getting quite a bit of good buzz in the lead up to publication. The synopsis was intriguing, and I’m always on the look-out for new authors to follow. (Because, you know, I never have enough to read.) After receiving a review copy, I dove right in, and blitzed through it in just a few sittings. This is a well-paced, well-written, and gripping thriller. Continue reading →