Crime novelist Don Winslow makes a surprise return from his retirement with a new collection of short novels titled The Final Score. Although Winslow had announced that he would focus on activism and political video-making, the author has now “paused” his retirement to return to the world of crime fiction.
Winslow reportedly struck a deal with Harper Collins/William Morrow for his new book just a few months ago. The Final Score is now up for pre-orders on Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble in the U.S. An international best-selling author, Winslow has been named “America’s King of Crime Fiction” and is known for his famous Neal Carey Mysteries and The Cartel Series.
“I don’t know if I am back for one more book or more,” Winslow told Deadline. “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. It felt good and I feel that two of these stories, Collision and The Final Score, are among the best work I’ve ever done.” These two works are already considered for film and TV adaptations.
In the same interview, Winslow also revealed that he has spent the last year of his retirement reacquiring his works from various studios and streaming platforms. These works include The Cartel book trilogy, once in talks to be directed by Ridley Scott, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Similarly, The Winter of Frankie Machine was acquired by Paramount for Martin Scorsese, with Robert De Niro to star. But Scorsese and De Niro filmed The Irishman instead.
Winslow has also regained the rights to his five-book Neal Carey series, which had been in development with Rian Johnson and Boone Daniels for Netflix. Additionally, he is in the process of reacquiring The Force from 20th Century Studios and Disney. The crime drama had Matt Damon set to star, with James Mangold directing from a screenplay by Scott Frank.
Meanwhile, Crime 101 (WT), directed by Bart Layton for Amazon, has just wrapped filming. The star-studded cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte. Amazon MGM plans to release the film in theaters over President’s Day weekend in February 2026, following a preview at CinemaCon. Winslow’s latest book trilogy, City on Fire, is also in development at Sony, starring Austin Butler and Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic) as the director. The project is being produced by David Heyman and Shane Salerno for 3000/Sony.
Source: Deadline
