Publication Date: January 27, 2026
#1 internationally bestselling author Don Winslow—America’s King of Crime Fiction—is back and he’s better than ever.
The trademark literary style, trenchant wit, and incisive characterization that have made Don Winslow a repeat New York Times bestselling author and “America’s greatest living crime writer” (Providence Journal) are on brilliant display in this new book sure to delight Winslow’s most devoted fans and first-time readers.
The multi-million-dollar casino heist is impossible—it can’t be done. That’s what makes it irresistible to a legendary robber facing the rest of his life in prison for his “Final Score.” An ambitious, hard-working college-bound teenager has a side job delivering illegal booze to “The Sunday List” until a crooked cop, a seductive customer, and a fake guru threaten to end his dreams. Two wise guys tell each other a “True Story” over breakfast at a diner. It’s all bullshit and laughs until someone else has to pick up the check. An otherwise honest patrolman has to make an excruciating choice between his loyalty to the job and his love for a ne’er-do-well cousin in “The North Wing.” The entitled, substance-addicted movie star that surfer/PI Boone Daniels and his crew are hired to babysit in “The Lunch Break” is a problem. She also has a problem—someone wants her dead. Finally, the one terrible, momentary mistake that a devoted family man makes sends him to prison and on a “Collision” course between the man he wants to be and the killer he’s forced to become to survive.
With a foreword written by award-winning crime author Reed Farrel Coleman, The Final Score is a propulsive, perceptive, and deeply immersive book of crime writing — the ultimate testament to Don Winslow’s prowess as a living legend of the genre.
A true testament of an author’s talent is the ability to shift easily between genres. Don Winslow proves to be a master of intense novels, along with engaging short stories.
He demonstrates this skill with six short stories compiled in The Final Score. Each selection is written in a way to bring the characters to life, even when the setting is Rhode Island in 1970.
“The Sunday List” focuses on a young man’s efforts to make spare cash by delivering booze on Sundays. It’s a fascinating journey to a time when liquor stores closed on Sundays. The main character is appealing and draws readers into the story. The powerful conclusion makes this one of the strongest selections.
The title story belongs to a career criminal ready to pull one last job before going to prison. It is exciting and, in true Winslow fashion, offers engaging dialogue.
The selections, while covering different themes, provide a solid sampler of Winslow’s ability to transport readers into the story as participants.
The Final Score demonstrates how short stories can be as effective as novels when written by a skilled author.
Don Winslow is the author of twenty-five acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including seven New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, City on Fire and City of Dreams). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone from 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. Additional Winslow books are currently in development at Paramount (The Winter of Frankie Machine), Netflix (Boone Daniels), Warner Brothers (Satori), Sony (City on Fire, City of Dreams, City in Ruins) and Working Title (“Crime 101”) and he has recently written a series of acclaimed and award winning short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. A former investigator, anti-terrorist trainer and trial consultant.
