Review by Booklist Review
Willink, a former Navy Seal and holder of a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, knows his rough stuff. But we're safe. Final Spin is a crackerjack thriller, obedient--unlike so many--to Poe's dictum that everything in a narrative should be directed to a single point. The focus is twenty-something Johnny, a box stacker in a minimart and a model for a life mired in hopelessness. He's caretaker for his brother, Arty, who is "not-quite-right." Their gentle scenes are reminiscent of the George-and-Lenny moments in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The sudden threat that Arty might lose his make-work job in a laundromat sends Johnny spinning into a robbery scheme, and we're in full thriller mode: gunfights, car chases, a SWAT team, and a resolution suggesting that the meek may inherit the earth after all. You've read this book before, and you've seen the movie, but Willink gives it a nice spin, a reminder of why the theme is timeless.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Former Navy SEAL and children's book author Willink (Way of the Warrior Kid series) marks his adult fiction debut with the downbeat and gripping story of a group of characters abandoned by the American Dream. At age 23, Johnny cares for his alcoholic mother and mentally challenged brother, Arty, while holding down a dead-end job as a stock boy at a big box store. Arty is obsessed with clean clothes, and when the Laundromat where he works is slated to be sold, Johnny decides to buy the business in order to keep Arty employed. To come up with the $40,000 he needs, Johnny and his best friend, Goat, decide to rob the safe at their store, hand off the money to the owner, then hightail it to Mexico. They get the money, but the getaway scheme is flawed from the start, and Johnny and Goat quickly have the state police on their trail. To make matters worse, Johnny is forced to say goodbye to his girlfriend, Jessica, who has just found out she is pregnant. Willink tells his story in quick blasts of haiku-like writing (Johnny on the customers at his workplace: "People: Flesh-covered robot beings in need of fuel and meaning./ They find both here"), with dialogue reminiscent of early David Mamet. Told with a gritty simplicity, this retains a hold on the reader right through to the inevitable tragic climax. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Sick of being a lowly stock clerk, living at home, and having to watch after his brother, Johnny connives with best friend Goat to address all these issues at once. Soon the two are learning that being on the run is not so much fun. From retired U.S. Navy SEAL Willink, the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of leadership titles and juvenile fiction and creator of the popular Jocko Podcast.
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