Don Winslow was done with writing, but writing wasn’t done with him.
The crime novelist, who announced he was retiring from the fiction world in 2022, will publish a new collection of short novels this fall, publisher William Morrow announced in a news release.
The Final Score, which collects six short novels, is “is a propulsive, perceptive, and deeply immersive collection of crime writing—the ultimate testament to Don Winslow’s prowess as a living legend of the genre,” the publisher says.
Winslow made his literary debut in 1991 with A Cool Breeze on the Underground and went on to write more than 20 more crime novels, including the critically acclaimed Power of the Dog and Danny Ryan series. The last Danny Ryan book, City in Ruins, was to be his final book, with Winslow saying in 2022 that he would dedicate his time to political activism.
In an interview last year, Winslow told Kirkus that he wasn’t sure what he would do if he had an idea for another book.
“I’ve made this decision,” he said. “I’m pretty confident. I’ve had this career that is so much bigger and better than I ever dreamed, and I’m grateful for that and for readers giving me the life I’ve had.”
Winslow told Deadline that he’s uncertain if The Final Score will be his final book.
“I don’t know if I am back for one more book or more,” he said. “One day I just started writing again and I couldn’t stop. I wrote all of these stories in secret and for the first time in decades without a deadline.”
The Final Score is scheduled for publication on Sept. 16.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
