Johnny and his buddy Goat hate their lives and decide to rob the store they work at for "the big score". There is a little more motivation than that-- particularly the future of Arty, Johnny's dependent brother. The plot and characters are bare bones and there are very few surprises lying in wait. "Final Spin" is short and easily read in a few hours, especially because you know you are not missing any important plot points. I am reluctant to give this only 2 stars... it is not offensive in any way... but it feels like reading a sketch or outline of a fuller novel in development.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This review is based on an ARC of Final Spin which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (St. Martin's Press).

‘OH MY GOD’ good!!! Final Spin is an explosive, sparking thriller full of style, tension, and clever twists! With unique voice and inventive formatting, Jocko Willink whips out an unforgettable sibling story with a well-formed cast of characters and a shocking outcome.

The pacing, the tension-- both pack punches in just the right moments to leave you gasping for more! The plot is elusive, truly unpredictable. I've never read a thriller that's left me as genuinely surprised as Final Spin!

By 25% in I had declared that I'd read anything by this author, and I stand by that.

Mark your calendars, folks! Final Spin comes out November 9, and it's a book you won't want to miss!

This was a short, quick read - I read it in a day. The writing was simple, clear and concise. Honestly it kind of read like a children's book. It was a good story about a young man, Johnny, in a dead-end job with a brother who had a disability, Arty. Arty was known as the Cleaner and worked at a local laundromat. Cleaning clothes is something that Arty absolutely loves - it's his whole life. When the owner of the laundromat tells Johnny he is going to have to sell the laundromat, Johnny knows he has to do something so that Arty can stay there doing what he loves. That's when the trouble begins.

The simple language was compelling and the story was entertaining. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on November 9, 2021.

Final Spin by Jocko Willing. The story of Johnny, a 23 year old stock boy who decides to rob his place of employment. This goes horribly wrong. It's a very quick read but what is interesting is the beginning of each chapter. It's formatted like poetry and has a very minimalist effect. Thanks for letting me review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press 😘 NetGalley and Author for this advance ebook copy in return for an honest review!

When I first read the description for Final Spin I had to try and receive it!
This is my first Jocko novel. And I hope he sticks with fiction writing because this was a good one!.
This is more of a literacy fiction with a good touch of mystery added!
Still through its an amazing read!
This is an excellent book that is so unique and fantastic!
It's a slow burn of a story rather than a suspense driven thriller with quite a few red herrings present as the tale unfolds
The characters are so well portrayed and developed!

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

I was interested in reading this book when I saw it was ex Navy SEAL Jock Willink's first foray into fiction. It is definitely an interesting read and is marked by the brevity you'd expect from someone that cultivates an image of a man of few words.

Well, I'm kind of surprised that I enjoyed this short story as much as I did. It reads fast - I was done with it in just a few hours, and I guess that's because it was so compelling. I was really curious to find out what exactly the author wanted us to know about Johnny, Goat, Arty, and Jessica.

Johnny and Goat are just normal guys, grocery store stockers, who have a criminal plan to help Johnny's special brother Arty, but the plan quickly goes awry, of course, as these guys don't really have criminal minds. The story moves very quickly, and proceeds to an ending that I didn't want, but I suppose it was the ending that had to be.

This would be a great book to read on a plane, or if one had to sit in a waiting room for an extended period. It's intense and entertaining. and short.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read Final Spin.

A man living a dead end life wants to make a big change, but is it the right move? The final spin was a suspenseful and mysterious novel. This book reminded me of a lot of chuck palaniuk books. Interesting story and the formatting helps build suspense.

Final Spin is written with very sparse words and very sparse chapters. That being said, I think that is exactly how this story should be told. At first, I had trouble reading this, it felt very juvenile and silly. But as the story went on, it felt right, I loved the stylized writing and the short chapters.

Johnny is a young man with an older brother on the spectrum. Johnny takes care of him as their mother is an alcoholic. He hates his job, he hates his life, he feels like he’s in a huge rut with no way forward. When he finds out that his brother, Arty, is going to his job at the laundromat, the only thing that makes him happy, Johnny makes some very bad choices to save Arty’s job.

This story has great character development, and although it’s very short, it held my interest throughout. I give this book 3 stars and will recommend it to my friends and family.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review

I must admit that when I opened up Final Spin, the only knowledge I had about it was the author himself. I’d heard Jocko on podcasts, including his own, and I’ve read his numerous books. My first thought when seeing that Jocko was making his foray into fiction was, “I bet this is going to be an awesome military thriller.” Nope, it was not that. It was still awesome, but a military thriller it was not.

Jocko writes a poetic thriller novel, although “novella” might be a more accurate description. It’s a short story revolving around a few main characters, but it is told in a poetic style. It has certain meter to certain lines, a rhythm that one must read with. It was fascinating and completely unexpected. I would’ve been less surprised if I read “You better check yo self before you wreck yo self” in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

In a similar vein to when I first read J.B. Stevens’s All the Violent Memories, it took time to allow the rhythm of the story to sink in, but once it did, I was hooked. It was an interesting read, chalked with lots of action. I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of Stevens or thrillers in general. But when you say, “That’s not what I was expecting,” remember, I told you so.

This little thriller is a fast read and not at all what I was expecting. It’s the story of a small town guy trying to better himself - often through bad choices. In the end, he does end up taking care of those closest to him and as a result finds a bit of happiness for himself. It’s a tale of circumstance and choice. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.

I was expecting more from the story. Jocko's other books had vivid details while this book wasnt engaged. I didn't care about the characters at all.
I wouldn't recommend it to friends or family but it was an entertaining read for what it was. A story for a middle school grade level.

I can sort of tell this author normally write non-fiction books by his writing style, but that doesn't take away from this being a good story. I'd put this in the literature genre, which is one of my sweet-spots. While not it the "great" category, it is very good. Recommended to literary fiction fans for its economy of language to tell a story in a compelling way.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Final Spin by Jocko Willink.

This is a short story about Johnny and his brother Arty. Johnny is working at a dead end job, and is deeply dissatisfied with his life. Arty is disabled and obsessed with all things laundry, so much that he works at a laundromat. So it's that much more distressing when the owner of the laundromat is tells Johnny that he is going to sell, and that Arty won't have a job anymore.

Desperate to save his brother's job, Johnny and Goat hatch a crazy plan to save the laundromat, and end up on the road trip of their lives.

As mentioned, this is quick enough to read in a day, but it packs a PUNCH! It kiiiind of smacked of a Wes Anderson novel, it's writing was very subtle and versy, and the adventure was over the top. I didn't buy the ending for one second, but seeing as none of it was believable, it fit. However, that didn't stop it from being as fun as a roller coaster.

Never read, never even heard of the author and with a name like Jocko I’m sure I’d remember, but the book sounded appealing. And sure enough…
Final Spin is technically a crime novel, but it’s certainly not a typical one. Which is to say it can just as easily and accurately be described as a proper character driven dramatic literature. It features a 23 year old protagonist who, despite having both good looks and good brains, haven’t done much with either. Instead, he lives with his alcoholic mother (absent in any way that has meaning from his life and this novel) and his older brother (a spectrumish 29 years old obsessed with cleaning clothes), stacks the shelves in a local supermart and spends time with his gf and his bff.
And then a catalyst…his brother’s place of employment, a laundromat owned by a Dutch couple is going up for sale, the owners desperately need 40K and a plan forms. A plan to rob the supermart with his best friend, buy the laundromat and take off for Mexico.
It’s an admirable plan in a way that its motivations are pure, a man who has failed to get places at life is determined to at least maintain and preserve the sole joy and happy place of his brother’s life, but it’s a rushed plan, the kind where all things that can go wrong do.
So it’s that kind of a novel. And a very compelling one at that.
There’s an interesting narrative structure here that the author utilizes, it’s somewhere between a poem and a play both stylistically and in its sparseness, dialogue driven composition, but it’s surprisingly effective, and dynamic (which makes it a step up on most poems and plays) and the sparsity of text takes away nothing you need. I suppose, that’s minimalism at its finest. Plus it makes for an exceptionally quick read for the page count.
All in all, an enjoyable read and a great introduction to a new author. One I would certainly read more of, given a chance. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a fast read. I think my biggest issue was the layout of the novel (almost like poetry in some spots) as it made me want to skim through it.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jocko Willink is a badass. Navy SEAL who has written best sellers like Way if the Warrior and Extreme Leadership. This book is different and may be his first foray into fiction.

It's an easy book to read and relatively short. I read it in one night.

Johnny lives a dead end life, working at a dead end job, hanging at the bar at night. His brother is on the spectrum and is obsessed with doing laundry. Johnny takes care of him because their money there is a drink who isn't in the picture.

Johnny decides to make some changes and, though he's very good hearted, everything doesn't go as planned.

This book is really well written and completely engrossing. A good person who continually did wrong. The book is a look on life, love, luck, family and hope. All packed neatly into a good story.

I need to read Jockos other books.

#netgalley #finalrinse