Reviews

A Cool Breeze on the Underground by Don Winslow

janetval's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

5.0

lorimichelekelley's review against another edition

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3.0

It was okay. It moved fairly fast, and I liked the story about how Neil got into his line of work. But that's pretty much all I liked. Towards the end, I was listening on 1.5 speed just to get it over with, and the ending wasn't at all a surprise. I also didn't like how unrealistically easy it was for the characters to find people they were looking for. Also, at one point, Neil steals a wallet and then apparently doesn't look at the identification or doesn't remember what it says and then gives it back to the guy. Then when the guy gets away, Neil panics that he'll never be able to find him again. What kind of detective wouldn't get enough information from the wallet to find someone?

coach_sean's review against another edition

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3.0

Like many of the Audible.com daily deals, I am so glad I purchased this. I wouldn't have done this w/out that deal. It was an enjoyable story and I grew to like the characters. The narrator was quite good.

karsgm's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 estrellas

Nunca había leído a Don Winslow y no sabía qué esperar. Por fortuna, este libro ha sido entretenido, no es una maravilla, pero sí está bueno para pasar el rato.

Me gustan las historias de detectives privados, y este libro es sobre ello. Me gusta el amplio trasfondo del pasado de Neal Carey, y cómo llegó a convertirse en detective privado bajo la protección y guía de Joe Graham. La narrativa es fluida y maneja el suspenso suficiente como para hacerte querer dar vuelta a la página.

Los personajes están más o menos delimitados (a veces costaba saber quién era el que decía qué cosa), pero más allá de tres o cuatro (incluidos Neal y Joe) no tienen un trasfondo interesante que me haga sentir empatía (o antipatía) por ellos.

Los narradores son un poco confusos, pues comienza con una tercera persona y de pronto, pasa a la primera con los pensamientos de los personajes sin trazar una línea divisoria. Los cambios de perspectiva están bien delimitados, y no resulta confuso cuando cambia de punto de vista en la narrativa.

Está plagado de humor negro, tiene un poco de datos históricos interesantes y demasiados hilos argumentales que al final colapsan uno contra otro y resulta un poco tedioso de leer. La trama se alarga demasiado para que termine solucionándose en el último capítulo, aunque debo decir que parte de la resolución fue ingeniosa y no me la veía venir.

Más allá de eso, es un libro palomero que se lee rápido y puede sacarte algunas risas.

jarthur's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

felicitydisco's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Winslow's first book, and wow, he was a master from the start.

williamlowe11's review against another edition

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5.0

Clever and thoughtful, a few surprises and characters that are believable.

pauldaly's review against another edition

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4.0

Here’s the thing about Don Winslow- he has two speeds- very, very good or great. Now I’m a little spoiled ‘cause I’ve read the great stuff first, and frankly hadn’t heard of the Neal Carey books, Winslow’s first foray into fiction. So I picked up the first one and it’s terrific. Like if you had only heard the Beatles Rubber Soul and Revolver, then went back and listened to Please Please Me and With The Beatles. You might say not as good, but still pretty great. And you’d keep listening. So I’m going to pick up the next in the series and I’m damned sure I’m gonna enjoy that one too.

ccopeland28's review against another edition

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3.0

Good detective book, especially if you are at all interested in learning how to become a stealth P.I. The story is good, the characters are well-written, and reading this was fun.

jeraccoon's review against another edition

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3.0

2.75