NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� , embarking on what he calls his final book tour, had a feeling he might not keep it together
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit of a bittersweet evening for me,鈥� he said Monday, speaking before some 40 admirers at in downtown Manhattan, one of the city鈥檚 last stores dedicated entirely to crime narratives. 鈥淚 am obviously much too macho to shed a tear or anything like that 鈥� tough guy crime writer. But I might.鈥�
Winslow, 70, has announced that his new novel, 鈥淐ity in Ruins,鈥� will be his last. He鈥檚 not burned out or ill or out of ideas. He has other priorities 鈥� one priority: the defeat of , whom the author regularly attacks through statements and videos on social media.
鈥淲hat I fear very much is happening in this country,鈥� he says of the possibility Trump will return to the White House. 鈥淚 need a more immediate sort of address than is available in a novel.鈥�
On Monday, he sounded very much like an active author, explaining his typical writing day 鈥� up at 4:45 a.m., a pot of coffee, a round of newspapers, then hours of work. But he also was thinking about the past and how to say goodbye, remembering all the jobs he took on, from private investigator to a tour guide in Kenya, and the many publishers who turned him down.
The Mysterious Bookshop is a special stop along the way. He first read there in the early 1990s, when he was promoting his debut novel, 鈥淎 Cool Breeze on the Underground,鈥� and has returned many times. During the reading, he called out thanks to the store鈥檚 owner,
鈥淚 think we're the ones thanking you for being here,鈥� Penzler responded.
It happened. Winslow chokes up, turns away.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 look at Otto,鈥� he says as he again faces the audience.
Winslow feels, for now, the time is right for quitting. 鈥淐ity in Ruins鈥� completes a trilogy featuring dockworker/crime boss/Hollywood investor Danny Ryan that began 30 years ago 鈥� and he is enjoying strong early feedback. The book is in the top 200 on Amazon.com and has been widely praised. The Washington Post called 鈥淐ity in Ruins鈥� a 鈥渟weeping story that morphs and expands over time.鈥� Associated Press reviewer Bruce Da Silva, himself a crime novelist who shares Winslow鈥檚 Rhode Island background, citing Winslow鈥檚 鈥渃ompelling characters, his vivid prose, and his exploration of universal themes.鈥�
Winslow enjoys the attention, but said he needs to 鈥済raciously get off the stage and make room for other people.鈥� Also, he confided, 鈥淚 am not young.鈥�
Winslow is the author of more than 20 novels, including 鈥淧ower of the Dog,鈥� 鈥淪avages鈥� and the featuring the escape of an that came out just as El Chapo himself broke out from prison in 2015 鈥� a coincidence so remarkable that Winslow claims his publisher suspected he and El Chapo had plotted it together.
A slender, earnest man wearing a stylish dark jacket and matching slacks, Winslow is a onetime upstart who can鈥檛 believe he gets paid for what used to get him in trouble 鈥� daydreaming and dirty words. His epitaph could easily be 鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe my own luck.鈥� He calls himself 鈥渁n overnight success鈥� who broke through in his 50s, when he was finally able to give up his many day jobs. In recent years, his books have been bestsellers that have attracted film and television directors, including Oliver Stone鈥檚 adaptation of 鈥淪avages鈥� and a planned film based on another Danny Ryan book, 鈥淐ity on Fire,鈥� with playing Ryan.
Penzler says he鈥檚 long admired Winslow, and how his research in 鈥淭he Cartel鈥� and other novels made him feel like he was right there with the author's characters. But he wonders about Winslow鈥檚 supposed departure. He鈥檚 heard this story before.
鈥淚 know almost every mystery writer in America, and all of them at one time or another, say, 鈥業 think this is it. I think I鈥檓 done.' Half the time it's just nothing,鈥� Penzler says. 鈥淒on's a little more thoughtful. He probably believes this at the moment, but let's talk again in five years.鈥�
Winslow, during a telephone interview Tuesday, acknowledges that not everyone is convinced he鈥檚 done. Friends give him 鈥渒nowing looks.鈥� Even his wife is doubtful, he says. But for the moment he can think of nothing else but advocating against Trump. Asked what he鈥檇 do with his free time should win, he says he struggles to think past
鈥淚 think I'll always write, but I don't think I'll always publish," he says. 鈥淚deas are always popping into my head. I don't think you can turn this off and on like a light switch. But I'm not tempted to sit down and write a novel.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
