Forgotten Books: A COOL BREEZE ON THE UNDERGROUND -- Don Winslow

Forgotten? Maybe, but soon to be re-released by Busted Flush Press. And it's about time because a passable paperback copy will run you around twenty bucks.

I'm a big admirer of Don Winslow's novels, and I've reviewed several of them here on the blog. For some reason, however, I'd never read his early efforts, the books in the Neal Carey series, of which this is the first. Carey is a private-eye, working for a large agency with a long history. The agency provides very private services for the clients of The Bank. Carey is picked off the streets as a kid by one of the operatives, Joe Graham, and part of the fun in this book is the training Carey receives from Graham. Now Carey's grown and working for the firm, while at the same time working on his Master's degree in 18th century British literature.

"It was a wandering daughter job." That's the way Hammett put it, and in Carey's case the wandering daughter has disappeared in London. He has a short time to find her, and when he does, she's in pretty bad shape. But he gets her home. Along the way there are plenty of twists, betrayals (some of them by Carey), and surprises. It's good stuff, and it's great that Busted Flush is going to reprint the entire Carey series . (Not so great for the people selling those old paperbacks, though.) Highly recommended, just like anything by Winslow.