The Final Play cover art

The Final Play

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Final Play

By: David Baldacci
Narrated by: Joshua Kane
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

From the international number one bestselling thriller writer, David Baldacci, comes a gripping mystery about a college football player’s investigation into the unsolved disappearance of a fellow player who seemingly vanished into thin air.

Previously published as The Mighty Johns, The Final Play is an ebook novella from bestselling author David Baldacci.

Forty years ago, Herschel Ruggles, a legend on the Mighty Johns football team at Draven University, disappeared after scoring a record-breaking touchdown in front of 25,000 spectators. Ruggles, instead of celebrating, continued running, ball in hand, into a passageway that led under the field. He was never seen again.

His disappearance had mystified the community for decades until another player, brilliant physics major, Merlin North, turns detective and becomes fixated on discovering what happened to Herschel Ruggles.

As North’s investigation deepens, he uncovers evidence which suggests that dark forces played a hand in Ruggles’ fate, revealing a truth even more extraordinary than he could ever have anticipated.

 Amateur Sleuths Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Sports Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Crime Disappearance

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Pitfall cover art
Artifacts cover art
The King of Crows cover art
The Krewe: A Southern Noir Mystery Thriller cover art
Dark River cover art
The Sam Pope Series: Books 1-3 cover art
Noir Fatale cover art
One Word Kill cover art
No One Will Miss Her cover art
Constance cover art

Critic reviews

David Baldacci is one of the all-time best thriller authors (Lisa Gardner)
Sinewy, and written with Baldacci’s consummate skill, this is a thriller from the top drawer (Daily Mail on Walk the Wire)
A mile-a-minute read that proves once again why David Baldacci has readers the world over flocking for more (Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry, on Long Road to Mercy)
All stars
Most relevant
Slow to start, great storyline though
DB is a master class, awesome, love all his books

Final Play

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fairly enjoyable A little short for the price paid A bit underwhelming but the plot was unusual for me being a Brit but I liked it

Plot was interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Have all but two audiobooks by Baldacci was a fan. However this last (?) book does not have the same quality .The story is too long and boring , had difficulties to continue to the end.
So disappointed! Would definitely not recommend this book !

Story too long

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.