Review by Booklist Review
Mosley returns to top form in this ninth installment of his celebrated Easy Rawlins series. In the early volumes, the calendar moved ahead almost one decade per book, but Mosley has been lingering through the 1960s--rightfully so, given the far-reaching impact of that turbulent era on African American life. Here it's the last days of the Watts riots in 1966, and a black woman, nicknamed Little Scarlet, has been found murdered in her apartment, the same building that an unidentified white man appeared to enter after escaping a mob of rioters. Did the white man commit the murder? The LAPD wants answers quickly, which is why Rawlins is asked to investigate. As has been the case throughout this series, the mystery at hand serves as a window opening on a historical moment. As Easy investigates, he finds himself forced to make sense of his own contrary feelings about the riots--his sadness at the loss of life and property in his community set against his recognition of inevitability, of the fact that the riots were expressing out in the open the anger every black man and woman had been forced to hide: Now it's said and nothing will ever be the same. That's good for us, no matter what we lost. And it could be good for white people, too. Mosley remains a master at showing his readers slices of history from the inside, from a perspective that is all those things history usually isn't: intimate, individual, and passionate. --Bill Ott Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Admirably performed by reader Boatman, this audiobook the latest in Mosley's series featuring Los Angeles PI Easy Rawlins (A Red Death, etc.) picks up immediately after the Watts riots of 1965. It is a time of change, and Rawlins finds himself in the unusual position of being asked to officially help the LAPD in its search for the killer of a young black woman. Mosley is at his best capturing the gritty ambience of a setting, and Boatman's skillful reading of the author's rich, descriptive prose transports listeners to that sweltering summer, when violence and fear simmered just below the city's surface. With the support of the LAPD in his back pocket, Rawlins makes his way through places that had previously been closed, if not forbidden, to the blacks of that time. Boatman does a fine job of conveying the growing sense of confidence and strength that comes with Rawlins's newfound freedom. Tightly edited and nicely produced, this already enjoyable audiobook is further enhanced by snippets of jazz accenting the story elements at the beginning and end of each disc. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Forecasts, May 24). (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The raw treatment of blacks in America, which has simmered beneath the surface of Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels and came to a low bubble in Bad Boy Brawley Brown, here erupts to a full boil. Set during the 1965 Watts riots, the eighth book in the series finds Easy, now 45, as he is recruited by the LAPD to investigate a murder in that combat-zone neighborhood. With a letter from the deputy police commissioner giving him carte blanche, Easy semipartners with his street crew of Rawlins regulars and LAPD Detective Melvin Suggs to work both sides of the law to unearth the identity of what proves to be a serial killer. Beyond the backdrop of the riots, the question of color is intricately and masterfully woven into the fabric of the story without overwhelming the mystery. The pervading theme here is change, in both the community and the core characters, and the novel's conclusion is perhaps indicative that this installment is a turning point in the series. Mosley's hot streak continues with Little Scarlet, the best Easy novel in years. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/04; see Q&A with Mosley on p. 107.]-Michael Rogers, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Easy Rawlins sizzles as Watts burns. The official death toll in the 1966 Watts riots is 33, but the LAPD is keeping a 34th fatality quiet. The victim is red-haired Nola Payne, a.k.a. Li'l Scarlet, strangled and then shot after she rescued a white man who'd been rousted from his car by an opportunistic thief. Det. Melvin Suggs and Deputy Commissioner Gerald Jordan don't say it in so many words, but the cops who drive the streets hassling loners are scared to go door-to-door asking questions while storefronts are still smoldering. So Easy accepts a paper from Jordan authorizing him to investigate. As usual, Easy isn't much of a detective--his inquiries lead to a chain of suspicious characters who finger one another--but he could hardly be improved as a philosopher and aphorist. Recognizing early on that the official response to the riots, enlisting subservient black men into the oppressive ranks of white officialdom and cracking down on the rest, marks "the beginning of the breakup of our community," Easy, who's "never willingly said anything intelligent" to a white man, follows a trail of ill-fated souls who've sought to cross racial divides till he finds the most tortured killer of his checkered career (Six Easy Pieces, 2003, etc.). The real strength of Easy's narrative, though, is his unflinching recognition that in working with the police, he's crossing the same border that's driven his brothers and sisters to violence. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
