The Final Score: Six Short Novels

Characters wrestle with the costs of loyalty and the burdens of familial responsibility in this spare collection of six short novellas from Winslow (City in Ruins). In the title story, career thief John Highland faces a lengthy prison sentence after a botched heist. As mounting legal debts threaten to leave John's wife destitute, John devises one last gamble: a scheme to steal millions of cartel dollars from a crooked casino. In the standout "The North Wing," a straitlaced patrolman has his loyalty to his troubled cousin tested after a fatal drunk driving accident. Longtime Winslow fans will welcome the reappearance of surfer/PI Boone Daniels in "The Lunch Break," which finds Boone babysitting a petulant starlet whose addictions have made her an insurance liability for the studio hoping to get one last great performance out of her. Meanwhile, a stalker threatens to end more than just her career. Winslow's keen ear for dialogue shines throughout--especially in "True Story," where two mob associates swap tall tales over a diner breakfast--but some of the entries feel more like outlines than full-blooded narratives. Still, it's always refreshing to spend time with Winslow's inimitable prose. Agent: Shane Salerno, Story Factory. (Sept.)