Sunday Books and Culture
Edited By Vanessa Remmers
Penny A. Parrish reviews reviews Don Winslow’s gripping and graphic crime thriller “The Final Score.”
The Final Score
By Don Winslow
Published by William Morrow (January 27, 2026)
Reviewed by Penny A Parrish
Not many authors can make you laugh as well as fear what’s coming next, but Winslow can and does in this collection of six short novels.
In Final Score, an aging criminal knows that this stint in prison will be his last and that he’ll die there. Which is okay with him if he can commit one more armed robbery that will benefit his beloved wife. So, he gathers a crew to help him pull off this final heist, which has an unexpected ending. THE SUNDAY LIST tells the story of a young man about to enter college. He gets no help from his hippie, stoned parents, and must raise tuition costs himself. Which he does by delivering booze to people in Rhode Island in 1970 on Sundays, which is illegal. A corrupt cop, an arrogant customer and his seductive wife make this particular delivery day rather difficult for the lad. The third selection is called TRUE STORY. It’s fascinating because there is no narrative, just dialogue between two mob guys at a diner before they pull off yet another job.
THE NORTH WING finds an honest police officer having to make a decision between loyalty to the job and helping his ne’er-do-well nephew who is facing prison time for a DUI that resulted in the death of a teenage girl. THE LUNCH BREAK features some California surfers who are hired to keep a rising starlet from ruining her career through alcohol, drugs, and hissy fits. Oh, and there is a stalker around too. The final story is COLLISION where the perfect world of a man and his family is destroyed by one inebriated moment. Time in Folsom Prison is described in brutal detail, and readers find out what a good man must do to survive.
The writing in these stories is graphic, colorful, and wonderful. Winslow paints such vivid pictures that you expect to find these characters in your kitchen when you put the book down. The format lends itself to cozy evenings by a fire, taking in one story each time. A great read.
Penny A Parrish is a local writer and photographer. You can see her pictures here.
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