Way Down on the High Lonely

Neal Carey #3

by Don Winslow, Conny Lösch (Translator)

Drei Jahre sind seit Neal Careys letztem Fall vergangen. Drei Jahre innerer Einkehr in einem chinesischen Kloster. Doch dann steht plötzlich Joe Graham vor ihm, und mit der Ruhe ist es endgültig vorbei. Denn die »Bank« braucht Neal, um Cody McCall zu finden, den zweijährigen Sohn einer Hollywood-Produzentin. Cody wurde von seinem Vater entführt und in die Wildnis von Nevada verschleppt. Um den Kleinen zu finden, muss Neal nicht nur seine Cowboyqualitäten unter Beweis stellen, sondern sich auch noch in eine Gruppe von Neonazis einschleusen – während Codys Schicksal auf Messers Schneide steht …

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Detective, Noir

345 pages, Paperback

Published February 8, 2016

About the author

Don Winslow is the author of twenty-one acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including the New York Times bestsellers The Force and The Border, the #1 international bestseller The Cartel, The Power of the Dog, Savages, and The Winter of Frankie Machine. Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone. The Power of the Dog, The Cartel and The Border sold to FX in a major multimillion-dollar deal to air as a weekly television series beginning in 2020.

A former investigator, antiterrorist trainer and trial consultant, Winslow lives in California and Rhode Island.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Yigal Zur · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely. funny. fun thriller. really good writer. a bit of mix of thriller with western with a touch of chinese kung-fu. great description of nature which are lovely but tend to be a bit to long, a funny picture of religious nazi fanatics, a bit too much "coral" fights but good natured adventure story which tried to pack all in .

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is fairly timely. Don Winslow was focused on fringy white nationalism cults before it was cool. Not a perfect novel, but I do enjoy early Don Winslow novels. They aren't nearly as serious as his later Cartel stuff. I'm not sure I prefer one type of Winslow to the other. They are just different. I'd love to see Winslow revisit Carey and his troupe now.

[Martinis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nonostante la trama ed i personaggi - soprattutto i personaggi - non totalmente convincenti, ho divorato il terzo tassello delle indagini di Neal Carey. Risulta perfetto se cercate una lettura scorrevole e poco impegnativa, che intrattenga e faccia sorridere spesso (cosa vi devo dire, il tipo di umorismo di Winslow è esattamente quello che apprezzo).
Ogni tanto però mi verrebbe da dirgli, Don... anche meno. Anche meno.

[Arantxa Rufo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo malo de la saga de Neal Carey es que no se la puede comparar con el resto de la obra de Don Winslow. Por algún motivo, el autor quiso escribir algo mucho menos intenso, profundo, enérgico, y se limitó a una serie de historias entretenidas y rápidas que no ofrecen mucho más. La primera, Un soplo de aire fresco, me gustó mucho porque me ofreció justo eso, un investigador diferente, una historia diferente a las que estaba acostumbrada. La segunda, Tras la pista del espejo de Buda, fue un bajón en todos los sentidos, los personajes rozaban el ridículo y la historia no había por dónde cogerla. La tercera y última editada en español, En lo más profundo de la meseta solitaria, me ha vuelto a enganchar, aunque no corrige algunos de los errores de la segunda ni tiene la frescura de la primera. Sin embargo, la historia vuelve a ser entretenida y toda la ambientación en la primera parte, las descripciones de los paisajes y la vida rural en una granja en mitad de la nada (y creo que toda la novela es una excusa para mostrar esto), me parecieron magníficas.

👍 Los diálogos y la relación entre Neal y Graham.
👍 El ritmo, aun cuando no está sucediendo nada, es un placer leerlo.

👎 En ocasiones se excede con las descripciones de acciones insustanciales.
👎 Neal Carey no puede ser el mejor en unas cosas y terriblemente torpe en otras. Se me queda muy flojo como héroe de acción.
👎 Tira de demasiado cliché, sobre todo en la caracterización de personajes.
👎 Es demasiado políticamente correcta.

[Lindig · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thought the basic premise was interesting, the main character was a mass of contradictions and so never quite jelled for me. Probably the first instance was when he was attacked after leaving the whorehouse. He'd just spent at least three years studying martial arts in an Asian monastery, never mind that it was involuntary, but does he make the slightest effort to fight back? No; in fact, he seems to cooperate. Of course, it was a necessary ploy to meet a particular character and get to a particular place, but it all seemed quite contrived.

I will say that the author's sense of place is excellent.

[Alessia Scurati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Io devo avere un dono per iniziare le storie nel mezzo e per ritrovarmi nel profondo ambiente rurale americano in grandi e aperti scenari abitati da: animali, prostitute, qualche famiglia perbene e un numero preoccupante di psicopatici sadici torturatori e assassini. Seriamente: sono un tipo suggestionabile, che a nessuno di voi venga in mente di propormi un viaggio negli Usa Coast-to-Coast. Dopo le ultime cose che ho letto, ho deciso che la metropolitana di NY a mezzanotte è un posto più sicuro.
In ogni caso: grandi capacità narrative, grande ironia, grande azione.
La trama è degna di un fumettone, se non fosse che, date le svolte sulla politica internazionale negli ultimi tempi, non è poi così fantascientifica come uno vorrebbe immaginare - semmai iperbolica.
Trovo sempre una sgradevole svolta incline all’ultra violenza gratuita e perturbatrice in questi romanzi, mi riferisco anche al filone Lee Child e compagnia. Già muoiono come mosche grappoli di personaggi secondari, magari evitare le torture medievali da tibie lasciate allo scoperto dopo le martellate e scuoiamento in crosta di sale post sodomizzazione con cactus (per dire, a caso…) non farebbe perdere la tensione e il senso dell’orrore. C’è del sadismo latente (ma poi nemmeno tanto latente) anche in chi scrive certe cose. Ed è volgare. Indugiare nel vomitevole è decisamente volgare.
Violenza gratuita a parte, una lettura anche piuttosto divert(ente)ita.
Si vede che è iniziata l’estate, mi sparo thriller e gialloni come fossero Smarties.

[Ffiamma · Rating 3 out of 5]

terza avventura per neal carey che, dopo anni di esilio in un monastero cinese, si trova catapultato nel mezzo del nevada alla ricerca di un bambino scomparso. tra cowboy, vita dura e fanatismi di vario genere, la situazione è molto più complicata di quel che sembra e il protagonista si trova coinvolto in un crescendo di inverosimiglianze e assurdità. intrattiene e diverte come un film di azione, ma di certo (come in tutti i libri della serie) il miglior winslow non è di certo questo.

[Barry who enjoys well-written thrillers, mysteries , & espionage & loathes romance, horror & supernat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don Winslow is one of my favorite authors and Neal Carey is my favorite Winslow character but Way Down on the High Lonely wasn't up to the standard that I had come to expect from this author. Neal was Neal and Joe and Ed were Joe and Ed and I enjoyed all three. I also enjoyed the new characters that were introduced as I found them to three dimensional, realistic and very engaging.

The first 85% of the book was very enjoyable and the plot drew me in very nicely. Joe rescued Neal from isolation in a Buddhist monastery on a Chinese mountain top where he had been stranded after the previous book. The two then went in pursuit of a young boy who had been kidnapped by his biological father in a custody dispute. Ultimately, Neal spent months undercover in a tiny Nevada town trying to find the boy.

The last 15% (mas o menos) of the book described the battle between Neal and the good guys and the bad guys. This battle went on forever, or so it seemed and contained many things that were so unrealistic that it became tiresome. It seemed to me that Winslow hadn't done much research about existing in the late fall or early winter in that part of the world nor did he seem to understand much about riding horses in bad conditions and at night.

The result is the three-star rating - most of the book was enjoyable but the last 15% was tedious. Don Winslow and Neal Carey fans would probably enjoy this book but they should certainly have read the first two books in the series. Those who had not would miss a lot of the connections to earlier events.

Over and Out

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far and away the best Neal Carey book so far (only 2 more to read). The ending on this is especially awesome and Neal and his coworkers destroy an Aryan Brotherhood group that is planning to start a minor war against the government. So many explosions and shoot outs!

But what really makes this one better is it is just more believable. Neal never wants to go on these cases for the Friends of Friends, but at least this time it is believable that he would go through hell and back to rescue a kid who has been taken from his mother and being raised in this neo-nazi terrorist sect.

Winslow has a very clear divide in his books. He has 5 early ones that are all based on Neal Carey, so far they are pretty average. Even this one, which I enjoyed, is nothing compared to his latter books. BUT. For the first two I was kind of blown away that it was even the same author. Aside from the writing style being wildly different, these have been poorly written books. I can now see Winslow start to develop into a decent writer, and I have high hopes for the final two in the Neal Carey series.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid fast paced adventure novel filled with action. Unlike the first Neal Carey book, "A Cool Breeze on the Underground," the third Beal Carey book is not concerned with fleshing out the backstory or filled with flashbacks of Carey's coming of age years. If you want to read his background, go grab that book. This one is a straight-ahead adventure story set primarily among the Cowboys and hills of rural Nevada where Carey nearly singlehandedly takes on a militant band of Neo-Nazis waiting for the end of the world. This book is simply an action-packed adventure and takes a broad swipe at religious nuts and militant survivalist nuts. It also gives the reader a feel for small town life in cattle country in pretty much the middle of nowhere. This is an excellent choice if you are looking for an adventure novel.

[Anna Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una storia avvincente che tiene con il fiato in sospeso. I personaggi di Winslow, poi, non smettono mai di sorprendere.

[Luca Masera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lettura facile e divertente. Sicuramente più facile che divertente...

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dislike books largely featuring (or about) cults and extremists. Also, I don’t care for torture scenes or descriptions about them, especially if they are detailed. 🤢🙅🏻‍♀️

[Reive Doig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book. Of course being a Neal Carey book the plot seems a little contrived, but it mixes humor, mystery, and action well.

[John Grazide · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was one of the best stories I've read! And so far the best in the Neal Carey series. This picks up right where the last one left off. But, three years later. Once Dad gets Neal back to the States he eases him back into the life with an easy abduction recovery job. When the son of a Hollywood big shot is taken by her deadbeat husband "The Family" gets involved. And the trail leads Neal to a tiny town in Nevada, but when the operation turns out to be a bust, Neal picks up a few clues and heads out on his own. To an even smaller town. In this town he stumbles into a white supremacist group. And things really take off. Again some of the best writing I've come across. Could definitely stand by itself, but the other stories lend to it. Great!!

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Neal Carey
SETTING: Nevada
SERIES: #3
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Neal Carey has been confined to a Chinese monastery for 3 years when Joe Graham, who acts as his father, gets him out so that he can participate in a job. He needs to find 2-year-old Cody McCall who it appears has been abducted by his father, Harley. They were last seen in Nevada, and New Yorker Neal is a complete fish out of water when the path leads to the wilds of Nevada. Amazingly, he takes to the rugged lifestyle. But things go awry when he finds that Harley was last at a neighboring ranch which now is a racist training ground. The setting was well depicted, and the plot moved along well. Some of the things that Neal did made me gasp, but he managed to redeem himself in the end.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Neal Carey series. Neal is a street kid raised to be an investigator for the "Friends of the Family", the investigative arm of a mob-connected Rhode Island bank. A surprising literate short series; this 1993 entry is the 3rd of 5 series entries. In the 2nd book of the series, The Trail to Buddha's Mirror (1992), Neil wound up in a Chinese agricultural collective.

Neal Carey is sprung from three years in a Chinese monastery only to be sent undercover as a ranch-hand in the Nevada plains to scout out the Sons of Seth, a white-supremacist flock that's his best hope for locating two-year-old Cody McCall, snatched from his Hollywood mother during a paternal weekend.

[Thane Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read any of Don Winslow's books, and he's getting a lot of press with his recent border/drug series. Since those were all checked out, I tried another of his books. It's an older one, 1993 or so, and had a few parts that were a little dated. But that's to be expected with a 1993 novel. Sure, there were a few parts that were quite unbelievable, but that's to be expected with a tough man hero coming to the rescue. I enjoyed the book, and give it a solid three stars.

[Les Edgerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Winslow novel I've given less than five stars to. There were just some plot points that strained my credulity a bit too much and took me out of the fictive dream. That said, it was still a typical Winslow novel--highly entertaining. Not his best (imo), but I'm definitely not sorry I bought it.

[Diogenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neal Carey goes West and infiltrates a white supremacist enclave. As he goes from tough kid (#1) to hermit scholar (#2), his adventures get better, scarier and more complex. Although Carey at times seems to be his own worst enemy, his character develops into someone we want to see much more of. At least I do.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned adventure story. Winslow writes with warmth and compassion. Neal Carey's quest for a kidnapped child takes him to Nevada, where he encounters some ornery men. I am always eager to see what Neal will do next.

[Nancy]

Neal goes in search of the child of an actress whose husband kidnapped their child. The father has become part of of an extremist church. Neal infiltrates a neo-nazi organization in Nevada to find the father and the child. He meets a girl, finds the child and Joe Graham, his "father" helps.

[Gary Hahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok as a fill in until I could find something else, but not along the lines of what I've been reading from Baldacci, Berry, Meltzer, Mills/Flynn, Taylor, Berenson, Silva, Rosenberg or Cameron. Fairly quick read, but chapters are too long. No good stopping points with chapters that long.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considerable but a good adventure story.

I read this book after reading the Dawn Patrol. I've picked up two other books by the author which I'll read shortly.

[Ben Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in the series and I really enjoyed it. Don Winslow has great characters and Neil Carey is a great one.

[Mr Slug · Rating 3 out of 5]

typical of this series- great set up, interesting characters, muddling obvious middle, decent ending.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing and Taught

The more I read of Winslow and Neal Carey the more I like them both. Winslow's layered a Storytelling gets better in each book.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these and the narrator and am sad to see the series no longer available on Audible.

[Dwight Quarles Jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the Neal Carey series. The books are funny and have decent action. There are always really solid sub-plots that keep the book moving forward.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy Don Winslow's intelligent, sensitive style of writing. I like the way he writes women, too. Good stuff.