A Cool Breeze on the Underground (Library Edition) [Audio Cassette]

Don Winslow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2008

Neal Carey is not your usual private eye. A graduate student at Columbia University, he grew up on the streets of New York, usually on the wrong side of the law. Then he met Joe Graham, a one-armed P.I. who introduced him to the Bank, an exclusive New England institution with a sideline in keeping its wealthy clients happy and out of trouble. They pay Neal's college tuition, and Neal gets an education that can't be found in any textbook-- from learning how to trail a suspect to mastering the proper way to search a room.

Now its payback time. The Bank wants Neal to put his skills to work in finding Allie Chase, the rebellious teenage daughter of a prominent senator. The problem: Allie has gone underground in London, and to get her back, Neal has to follow her into the punk scene, a violent netherworld where drugs run rampant and rage is the name of the game. Up against punk junkies, antique book thieves, and murderous betrayal, Neal has his work cut out for him to save Allie-- and get back above ground for good.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ambitious but technically unsophisticated first entry in a series features street-wise New Yorker Neal Carey, a 23-year-old graduate student of 18th-century literature. Neal is directed by Friends of the Family, a discreet, private investigation agency for which he works, to find Allie Chase, the teenage, drug-addicted daughter of a U.S. senator and presidential hopeful. Allie is somewhere in England and must be returned to the States before the Democratic Convention nine weeks away. Neal finds Allie but is forced to use his cunning to bring her home; at the same time he suspects someone from the agency is trying to kill him. Winslow guides us on a tour of punk 1976 London and introduces some colorful characters. But this first novel loses much of its punch because Winslow overloads beginning chapters with his hero's personal history rather than pacing the plot with relevant details. Neal is a distant hero whose escapades seem artificially linked.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

''A fresh voice, immensely likeable. . . Winslow shows he's got what it takes to hook a reader. . . Where he goes next with Neal is anyone's guess, but it's bound to be a great ride.'' --Mystery Scene

''Winslow keeps his plot moving quickly despite many twists and turns.'' --Pittsburgh Press

''A flair for language, quick wit, and detail complete a winning first novel.'' --Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged LIBRARY edition (November 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143322805X
• ISBN-13: 978-1433228056
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,597,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Don Winslow (b. 1953) is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen crime and mystery novels as well as short stories and film screenplays. A Cool Breeze on the Underground, Winslow's debut and the first novel in his popular Neal Carey series, was nominated for an Edgar Award. Before becoming a fulltime writer, Winslow worked as a private detective in New York and California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent debut, December 23, 2000

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Cool Breeze on the Underground (Neal Carey Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a brisk, immensely enjoyable updating of the private eye and noir genres. When we first meet Neal Carey he's a graduate student at Columbia, working on a degree in 18th Century English Literature. But then he receives a call from his "Dad," Joe Graham, who turns out to be the one-armed dwarf who sort of adopted Neal when he was eleven years old and running the streets. A series of flashbacks shows Graham teaching Neal how to survive and grooming him for an eventual position trouble shooting for a shadowy organization called Friends of the Family, who look after the interests of the wealthy clients of the Kitteridge family bank in Providence, RI. Over the years, Neal learned everything from how to tail people to how to search a room without anyone ever knowing, and in the course of these unusual studies, Joe realized that Neal was a gifted student. Eventually the Friends send him to school, but now they need him for a special assignment.

It's 1976 and with Jimmy Carter likely to win the Democratic presidential nomination, he's expected to look for a northern running mate. Senator John Chase of Rhode Island has a decent shot at the job, but there's one significant skeleton in his closet : his troublesome teenage daughter has run away to London. Now it's up to Neal to go find her and bring her back in time for the Convention.

Neal is a streetwise and sassy hero, which makes for plenty of snappy banter. And the London he arrives in is in the midst of the birth of punk rock, which provides an unusually anarchic backdrop to the action. Add in a priceless first edition of Tobias Smollett's The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle and a double-crosser within the Friends and you've got a mystery that cleverly mixes elements of classic noir with various innovations of the author's own. Imagine Oliver Twist by way of Raymond Chandler with a soundtrack by The Clash, and you'll capture something of the spirit of the story. It all makes for great fun and I look forward to reading the subsequent books in the series.

GRADE : A-

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Must Must Read!, November 26, 1998

By 

lit. (Arlington, Morocco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cool Breeze on the Underground (Neal Carey Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a fabulous book, introducing the reader to fascinating characters (Neal Carey, Joe Graham, etc). As the first in a series of Neal Carey mysteries, this is the perfect book to drag you in and hook you, leaving you wanting more. The story is fascinating, and the driving plot makes this a page-turner. And how can you not fall in love with these charatcters?This is one of the best detective mysteries I've read, and I reccommend it to ALL my friends. READ IT!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, Well Written, July 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Cool Breeze on the Underground (Neal Carey Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this after loving California Fire And Life (by the same author). What I found was Neal Carey, a wonderful plot, some great dialogue and Don Winslow taking another step up the ladder of my favorite writers.

This book is intriguing, gripping and fun. It is filled with detail and an insight that leaves the reader enriched for the experience. Novels that flit from city to city seldom manage to capture the feel of the setting with any great detail but Don Winslow finds a way to take you from New York to London and have you believe he's lived in both places all of his life. The scenes in Yorkshire are a little stereotyped, but that's nitpicking in the extreme.

Neal Carey is an excellent character, hard, streetwise and compassionate, backed up ably by Joe Graham and a smart mouth. The story is well told and unfortunately believable.