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Easy Rawlins #2
A Red Death
Easy is out of " the hurting business" and into the housing (and the favor) business when a racist IRS agent nails him for tax evasion. FBI Special Agent Darryl T. Craxton offers to bail him out if he agrees to infiltrate the First African Baptist Church and spy on alleged communist union organizer Chaim Wenzler. That's when the murders begin...
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
Walter Mosley
208 books3,942 followersWalter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 467 reviews
July 14, 2024
Mosley takes the traditional hard-boiled detective mystery and gives it a refreshing spin by spotlighting African-American communities. His lead, Easy Rawlins, is a Louisiana/Texas transplant now working in L.A. as a janitor, maintaining the building he surreptitiously owns. As any decent detective fiction, the city plays a prominent role in the life of the detective and Mosley nicely captures a range of African-American experiences in period L.A.
Easy is in a tough spot and is hoping Mofass, the man who manages his property, can give him some tips on dealing with the I.R.S. Mofass' not-so-helpful advice is to lie to the Revenue Man.
"Go on in there and lie, Mr. Rawlins. Tell 'em you don't own nuthin.' Tell 'em that you a workin' man and that somebody must have it out for you to lie and say you got that property. Tell 'em that and then see what they gotta say."
When he arrives at home, the wife of his volatile best friend, Mouse, is in his house with their son. She's split with Mouse and thought Easy would provide a refuge.
"She could knock a man into next Tuesday, or she could hold you so tight that you felt like a child again, in your mother's loving embrace."
Easy follows Mofass' advice, but gets a bad feeling when the agent subsequently asks him to get (non-existent) paperwork together and to be ready for his call. When he returns downtown, he comes to the attention of a different kind of fed. It's 1953, Communist hunting is a national pastime, and when Easy is offered an out with the IRS if he 'reports for his country,' he finds himself reluctantly agreeing.
I like the language, although thankfully Easy's internal dialogue avoids dialect, as I find it makes for a long read. I like the awareness Easy has of modifying his speech patterns depending on which sub-culture he's in. It is a survival strategy, and I enjoy seeing how Easy uses it to his advantage.
Mosley is masterful at weaving different race issues in the story, from Easy getting an education on the marginalization Jews experience, to Easy's own interaction with mostly white lawmen. There's an enlightening scene where he meets a black L.A. detective at a death scene and watches him interact as equals with his partner. I also love the way Easy describes the people he meets:
"His color was dark brown but bright, as if a powerful lamp shone just below his skin."
"A sepia-colored woman"
"John's face looked like it was chiseled in ebony"
"Jackson's skin was so black that it glinted blue when in the full sun"
It's a small thing that doesn't appear in most white detective fiction novels, but it says so much about the author and his regard for his characters.
Problems for me center around narrative arc; I feel like Mosley slips a lot of characters in, some important and many incidental. It becomes hard to distinguish between important and inconsequential. More significantly, I found the character of Easy a bit less likeable in this book; as Kemper said, Easy has "man ho tendencies," making him harder to like. I give Mosley credit for putting Easy in a hard ethical place in relation to the I.R.S.; however, he also does it to him in his emotional life. Between the sexism, Easy's own anti-Semitism, his willingness to use the church, and his affair, there isn't much to redeem him.
Note: this edition also contains a short story, 'Silver Lining,' inserted before the main story. It proves to be a sort of spoiler for a plot point in A Red Death. If you care about such things, skip it.
Overall, two and a half stars. I think I'll head back to Devil in a Blue Dress and capture more of the magic I remember from Easy.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
Easy is in a tough spot and is hoping Mofass, the man who manages his property, can give him some tips on dealing with the I.R.S. Mofass' not-so-helpful advice is to lie to the Revenue Man.
"Go on in there and lie, Mr. Rawlins. Tell 'em you don't own nuthin.' Tell 'em that you a workin' man and that somebody must have it out for you to lie and say you got that property. Tell 'em that and then see what they gotta say."
When he arrives at home, the wife of his volatile best friend, Mouse, is in his house with their son. She's split with Mouse and thought Easy would provide a refuge.
"She could knock a man into next Tuesday, or she could hold you so tight that you felt like a child again, in your mother's loving embrace."
Easy follows Mofass' advice, but gets a bad feeling when the agent subsequently asks him to get (non-existent) paperwork together and to be ready for his call. When he returns downtown, he comes to the attention of a different kind of fed. It's 1953, Communist hunting is a national pastime, and when Easy is offered an out with the IRS if he 'reports for his country,' he finds himself reluctantly agreeing.
I like the language, although thankfully Easy's internal dialogue avoids dialect, as I find it makes for a long read. I like the awareness Easy has of modifying his speech patterns depending on which sub-culture he's in. It is a survival strategy, and I enjoy seeing how Easy uses it to his advantage.
Mosley is masterful at weaving different race issues in the story, from Easy getting an education on the marginalization Jews experience, to Easy's own interaction with mostly white lawmen. There's an enlightening scene where he meets a black L.A. detective at a death scene and watches him interact as equals with his partner. I also love the way Easy describes the people he meets:
"His color was dark brown but bright, as if a powerful lamp shone just below his skin."
"A sepia-colored woman"
"John's face looked like it was chiseled in ebony"
"Jackson's skin was so black that it glinted blue when in the full sun"
It's a small thing that doesn't appear in most white detective fiction novels, but it says so much about the author and his regard for his characters.
Problems for me center around narrative arc; I feel like Mosley slips a lot of characters in, some important and many incidental. It becomes hard to distinguish between important and inconsequential. More significantly, I found the character of Easy a bit less likeable in this book; as Kemper said, Easy has "man ho tendencies," making him harder to like. I give Mosley credit for putting Easy in a hard ethical place in relation to the I.R.S.; however, he also does it to him in his emotional life. Between the sexism, Easy's own anti-Semitism, his willingness to use the church, and his affair, there isn't much to redeem him.
Note: this edition also contains a short story, 'Silver Lining,' inserted before the main story. It proves to be a sort of spoiler for a plot point in A Red Death. If you care about such things, skip it.
Overall, two and a half stars. I think I'll head back to Devil in a Blue Dress and capture more of the magic I remember from Easy.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
February 28, 2018
I'm loving this series and I'm not a series person. Easy Rawlins is lovable even when he messes up. You're still still behind him. Mosley continues to paint a vivd picture of blacks living in racist America in the 1940s, specifically in and around Los Angeles. The story has recurring characters, murder, and enough ups and downs to keep any reader interested. I love the old crime detective feel of the novel. If you're participating in March Mystery Madness you might want to check these out.
January 23, 2025
For me, A Red Death was even better than book one. Easy, Mouse and Co. have "easily" earned a place in my heart.
Not only does this dynamic plethora of characters make me laugh till it hurts, they also provide invaluable insights and perspectives based on their differing experiences with the ways of the world.
Not only does this dynamic plethora of characters make me laugh till it hurts, they also provide invaluable insights and perspectives based on their differing experiences with the ways of the world.
October 18, 2011
It’s been said that nothing is certain but death and taxes. Easy Rawlins has dealt with plenty of death as a black World War II veteran who also has been mixed up with very bad people in post-war Los Angeles. But this time he’ll have to deal with taxes, too. Which is worse? Ask Al Capone.
Set in the early ‘50s, it’s been a few years since Easy’s introduction in Devil in a Blue Dress, and he has set himself up nicely by taking advantage of an illicit windfall to buy some apartment buildings as well as acting as an unlicensed private detective for the black community. Easy got a little too cute for his own good when he set up his real estate purchases and now he has a zealous IRS agent after him. His only way out is take a deal offered by the FBI to befriend and report on a suspected communist agitator working with a church in Easy’s neighborhood.
Easy soon has even bigger problems than being sent to prison for tax evasion with the appearance of an old flame looking to rekindle a relationship. The problem is that the woman is the wife of Easy’s old friend, the murderous Mouse. Getting on Mouse’s bad side is a sure way to get dead, but Easy can’t stay away from the woman he considers the love of his life.
Just as he did in the previous book, Mosley has recreated a rich and vivid world of the black community in post-war L.A. and then populated it with a variety of characters for Easy to interact with. The theme in this one is betrayal with Easy having to spy on a man he comes to like and respect as well as his guilt about his feelings for Mouse’s wife.
The one sour note in this one is Easy’s man-ho tendencies. Despite carrying on with a woman he claims to have deep feelings for, Easy casually beds several other women over the course of the book and never once shows the slightest bit of guilt or remorse over any of them. Maybe Mosley was trying to illustrate the different standards that applied with regards to men and women in days of yore, but it makes Easy appear like kind of a heartless bastard.
Set in the early ‘50s, it’s been a few years since Easy’s introduction in Devil in a Blue Dress, and he has set himself up nicely by taking advantage of an illicit windfall to buy some apartment buildings as well as acting as an unlicensed private detective for the black community. Easy got a little too cute for his own good when he set up his real estate purchases and now he has a zealous IRS agent after him. His only way out is take a deal offered by the FBI to befriend and report on a suspected communist agitator working with a church in Easy’s neighborhood.
Easy soon has even bigger problems than being sent to prison for tax evasion with the appearance of an old flame looking to rekindle a relationship. The problem is that the woman is the wife of Easy’s old friend, the murderous Mouse. Getting on Mouse’s bad side is a sure way to get dead, but Easy can’t stay away from the woman he considers the love of his life.
Just as he did in the previous book, Mosley has recreated a rich and vivid world of the black community in post-war L.A. and then populated it with a variety of characters for Easy to interact with. The theme in this one is betrayal with Easy having to spy on a man he comes to like and respect as well as his guilt about his feelings for Mouse’s wife.
The one sour note in this one is Easy’s man-ho tendencies. Despite carrying on with a woman he claims to have deep feelings for, Easy casually beds several other women over the course of the book and never once shows the slightest bit of guilt or remorse over any of them. Maybe Mosley was trying to illustrate the different standards that applied with regards to men and women in days of yore, but it makes Easy appear like kind of a heartless bastard.
February 10, 2020
Book 2 to a epic series. Walter Mosley is an awesome author who has written an awesome series of crime at it's best.
April 19, 2021
This was few steps back from Devil in a Blue Dress. It was an okay story but nothing significant or thrilling overall. Easy was more of an observer in this plot, stumbling upon dead guys and women who were throwing themselves at his feet a little too much. The IRS agent portrayed as the racist antagonist didn’t feel very convincing either.
February 23, 2011
...because I said I'd probably change my mind in twenty four hours and it's been almost exactly twenty four hours...
Forgive me for a moment while I engage in a small bit of phenomenological bracketing (or maybe this is something like deconstruction) and put aside for a moment the race of the characters and the socio-historical context that the story is set in and just focus on the skeletal remains of the book. What I'm left with is the story of a tax evader who the law catches up with and offers him the chance to get rid of his own legal troubles in exchange for helping to ruin someone else's life. The tax evader has some pangs and conscience and feels weird for what he is doing and finds himself in a lot of hot water when people he knows start winding up dead. He sleeps with a bunch of women, gets into some fights and unravels a conspiracy and in the end all is good for him.
Without the 1905's racial and political setting the story is kind of weak, at least to me. It's a pretty standard story filled with quite a bit of masculine bravado and the resolution is a mixture of being kind of obvious and also kind of 'wait, how exactly did he make that final jump in reasoning to figure this out?' Throw in some of the red scare elements to the story and it takes on a bit more interesting shape but I was left wondering if mysteries aren't just all like those cozy ones, where there is a theme like baking or knitting or cats to add color to the standard who-dunnit fare. Here instead of say a scrap booking group who get caught up in a murrrder! it's an African-American swindler of sorts who is a lot of ways just another iteration of the hard-boiled detective. There is the tough talking, the excessive drinking, the witty comments made in the face of danger, the slightly damaged psyche and the irresistibleness that makes just about every female character in the book end up in his bed at some point.
And on the last point, maybe I'm becoming something of a (male) spinster-like prude in my nearing middle-ages (what would be the male term, bachelor doesn't work, but I've got my cat and I've got my books) but I'm starting to get a little annoyed when too much sex pops up in my books. Sex for sex sake in books is boring to me and feels more like the author projecting fantasies that (s)he would like to see happen in and letting the main character live them out. Not that any of the sex here is explicit or anything and it's probably just a reaction to having just read Edge, where every woman wants to throw themselves into the bed of the hero (but he gallantly doesn't take advantage of most of them!) but it is kind of a boring thing to just throw into a book when it doesn't do anything to add to the story or advance the plot or whatever a book is supposed to do.
All of that complaining and whining aside, the book is a nice read and it moves along at a fairly good pace. I might have enjoyed it more if I had given it my full attention instead of reading it when it was convenient to have a mass-market with me to read, and when I didn't need the convenience of a mass-market I was reading other books at the time. And maybe this isn't the kind of book that should be spread out over two weeks time to finish But nothing in the book really ever grabbed me or made me think, wow I'd really like to read something more by the author. If I was more of a fan of mysteries I'd probably read something else by him, but instead my search will go on for another mystery/crime writer that I get a lot of enjoyment out of.
Forgive me for a moment while I engage in a small bit of phenomenological bracketing (or maybe this is something like deconstruction) and put aside for a moment the race of the characters and the socio-historical context that the story is set in and just focus on the skeletal remains of the book. What I'm left with is the story of a tax evader who the law catches up with and offers him the chance to get rid of his own legal troubles in exchange for helping to ruin someone else's life. The tax evader has some pangs and conscience and feels weird for what he is doing and finds himself in a lot of hot water when people he knows start winding up dead. He sleeps with a bunch of women, gets into some fights and unravels a conspiracy and in the end all is good for him.
Without the 1905's racial and political setting the story is kind of weak, at least to me. It's a pretty standard story filled with quite a bit of masculine bravado and the resolution is a mixture of being kind of obvious and also kind of 'wait, how exactly did he make that final jump in reasoning to figure this out?' Throw in some of the red scare elements to the story and it takes on a bit more interesting shape but I was left wondering if mysteries aren't just all like those cozy ones, where there is a theme like baking or knitting or cats to add color to the standard who-dunnit fare. Here instead of say a scrap booking group who get caught up in a murrrder! it's an African-American swindler of sorts who is a lot of ways just another iteration of the hard-boiled detective. There is the tough talking, the excessive drinking, the witty comments made in the face of danger, the slightly damaged psyche and the irresistibleness that makes just about every female character in the book end up in his bed at some point.
And on the last point, maybe I'm becoming something of a (male) spinster-like prude in my nearing middle-ages (what would be the male term, bachelor doesn't work, but I've got my cat and I've got my books) but I'm starting to get a little annoyed when too much sex pops up in my books. Sex for sex sake in books is boring to me and feels more like the author projecting fantasies that (s)he would like to see happen in and letting the main character live them out. Not that any of the sex here is explicit or anything and it's probably just a reaction to having just read Edge, where every woman wants to throw themselves into the bed of the hero (but he gallantly doesn't take advantage of most of them!) but it is kind of a boring thing to just throw into a book when it doesn't do anything to add to the story or advance the plot or whatever a book is supposed to do.
All of that complaining and whining aside, the book is a nice read and it moves along at a fairly good pace. I might have enjoyed it more if I had given it my full attention instead of reading it when it was convenient to have a mass-market with me to read, and when I didn't need the convenience of a mass-market I was reading other books at the time. And maybe this isn't the kind of book that should be spread out over two weeks time to finish But nothing in the book really ever grabbed me or made me think, wow I'd really like to read something more by the author. If I was more of a fan of mysteries I'd probably read something else by him, but instead my search will go on for another mystery/crime writer that I get a lot of enjoyment out of.
February 29, 2024
“I didn’t need to worry about communists, though--the police were enough for me.”
Our man Easy Rawlins, now a comfortable landlord owning multiple rental units, is in trouble with the tax man. He receives a troubling offer to take the heat off. It’s 1953 and the FBI is looking for communists. They suspect someone in Easy’s Watts neighborhood, and if he doesn’t want to lose everything and go to jail, he needs to help them get their man.
This is my kind of candy read. I love noir, and I really enjoy Mosley’s writing. His stories are hard-boiled but thoughtful with a good dose of eloquence sprinkled around. Easy is tough but humble, and always in need of his friends. Like the first in the series, this was a page-turner with a satisfying ending, and I’m looking forward to reading all of them.
Our man Easy Rawlins, now a comfortable landlord owning multiple rental units, is in trouble with the tax man. He receives a troubling offer to take the heat off. It’s 1953 and the FBI is looking for communists. They suspect someone in Easy’s Watts neighborhood, and if he doesn’t want to lose everything and go to jail, he needs to help them get their man.
This is my kind of candy read. I love noir, and I really enjoy Mosley’s writing. His stories are hard-boiled but thoughtful with a good dose of eloquence sprinkled around. Easy is tough but humble, and always in need of his friends. Like the first in the series, this was a page-turner with a satisfying ending, and I’m looking forward to reading all of them.
March 8, 2013
Easy Rawlins is such a great character for a noir novel simply because Walter Mosley writes him with such a clear and unique voice.
Even in this relatively disappointing follow-up to Devil in a Blue Dress he is highly enjoyable as a man primarily looking after himself in a series of intrigues, fights, double crosses and sexual encounters used as an exploration of race differences in American society in 1952.
In this novel EVERYONE is the bad guy, including Easy. He might be looking to protect himself first and foremost but he realises that it's not always the correct thing to do. This self righteousness mixed with self-loathing is pretty standard for the genre but I don't think I've ever come across it in so forthright a way.
The ambiguous nature of the entire cast of characters works well with the theme of paranoia and 'red-baiting,' the reader can't trust anyone to be on Easy's side much in the same way Americans of the period grew to distrust everyone amid their fears of Communism I guess.
Even in this relatively disappointing follow-up to Devil in a Blue Dress he is highly enjoyable as a man primarily looking after himself in a series of intrigues, fights, double crosses and sexual encounters used as an exploration of race differences in American society in 1952.
In this novel EVERYONE is the bad guy, including Easy. He might be looking to protect himself first and foremost but he realises that it's not always the correct thing to do. This self righteousness mixed with self-loathing is pretty standard for the genre but I don't think I've ever come across it in so forthright a way.
The ambiguous nature of the entire cast of characters works well with the theme of paranoia and 'red-baiting,' the reader can't trust anyone to be on Easy's side much in the same way Americans of the period grew to distrust everyone amid their fears of Communism I guess.
July 2, 2021
The second installment in the Easy Rawlins series and this book takes the development of the main character a whole lot further, with Rawlins attempting to discover why the IRS is after him for unpaid tax whilst, at the same time, attempting to run down a supposedly communist agitator. Brilliantly plotted and well written, this book almost makes you smell what it must have been like to be black and poor in early 1950's LA, with the overt racist attitude of the police and the IRS on one side and the struggle to exist with some dignity on the other. Rawlins has created a very character in Easy Rawlins and, with Raymond 'Mouse' Alexander, these are two men seemingly at odds with the norms of white society. This book is a treat for any serious fan of the genre.
January 5, 2021
Not as good as the first one and didn't really hook me like the first one but still an enjoyable series and I'm interested in what will happen next.
December 17, 2010
Fair warning is due - it takes you a third of the way before this book takes fire and the ending (which shall not be revealed here) is the usual sub-Chandleresque rush of confused data that plays the same role, in this genre, as the 'deus ex machina' once did in courtly drama - BUT the core of the book is brilliant.
Why is Mosley so good when he is good (and when he is not stuck in the usual problem of series writers that he has to recapitulate so much for late entrants)? Because he writes with precision about a world that, although alien to non-Americans of any hue and only known by way of older men's reminiscences by younger American blacks, comes alive in his hands.
Hue is an interesting aspect of the case here. I know of no white author who describes so frequently the precise tone of a man's skin. Mosley repeatedly and precisely gives you the skin tone of almost every non-white character in a way that defines his perceived character. He also describes the second skin - the clothes - in a way that makes you understand better how variation of costume was one means of differentiating a man from the crowd.
Two FBI agents are indistinguishable ('twins') in dark uniforms and white skins but the ethnic communities are multi-coloured not only in skin tone but in dress. Then it hits you (as a non-black) - the agents of white society in their drab suits and white skin look alike in the way that we see aliens in movies look alike.
Society, to the oppressed ethnic subject, is rule by conquering aliens and, of course, this trope has been used since in popular culture to show humans (invariably white) ruled by aliens in order to spread a message of violent gung-ho resistance to oppression.
You can see Mosley moving his story line towards the world of Black Power in stages here but he matches this with his first 'Philadelphia' black cop. This black is certainly not fazed by his racist colleagues and, though a bit player, he hints at the other option for the black community - integration on equal terms and civil rights. This is done subtly so that you would scarcely notice.
I always thought I understood the role of charismatic religion in black society but now I feel that I understand it - an education given so lightly as to be imperceptible. Nor does he compromise with a character whose morality is Chandler's but placed under conditions of oppression where the costs of goodness and integrity mean that you are likely not to survive for long if you are too precious.
There are many subtleties in this book - not least the understated play on the experience of the holocaust for one of the protagonists (black-Jewish relations often being particularly fraught in more recent times) with a metaphor of the poisoning of red ants' nests coming across as surprisingly unheavy-handed.
And, finally, beyond politics and religion, you have sex. Mosley at one point seems to be constantly rutting and this is subversive, given the 'moral' standards of contemporary white society. There is no guilt or shame in either him or the women - or in the society they live in. Mosley courageously does not worry about stereotyping but just lays out the lifestyle of this relatively young black male and lets the reader choose his stance.
You realise that Philip Marlowe had it easy as a white man in a white society. While you may despair at our hero's tormented self-centredness at times, it is not for us to judge - even though not a few black 'resistance' heroes might want to string him up as the worst sort of exploitative petty capitalist on the make.
The story is set in the period when America was witch-hunting Communists and the 'take' on the politics of the black community under these conditions is subtle. This is all you need to know about the story.
Why is Mosley so good when he is good (and when he is not stuck in the usual problem of series writers that he has to recapitulate so much for late entrants)? Because he writes with precision about a world that, although alien to non-Americans of any hue and only known by way of older men's reminiscences by younger American blacks, comes alive in his hands.
Hue is an interesting aspect of the case here. I know of no white author who describes so frequently the precise tone of a man's skin. Mosley repeatedly and precisely gives you the skin tone of almost every non-white character in a way that defines his perceived character. He also describes the second skin - the clothes - in a way that makes you understand better how variation of costume was one means of differentiating a man from the crowd.
Two FBI agents are indistinguishable ('twins') in dark uniforms and white skins but the ethnic communities are multi-coloured not only in skin tone but in dress. Then it hits you (as a non-black) - the agents of white society in their drab suits and white skin look alike in the way that we see aliens in movies look alike.
Society, to the oppressed ethnic subject, is rule by conquering aliens and, of course, this trope has been used since in popular culture to show humans (invariably white) ruled by aliens in order to spread a message of violent gung-ho resistance to oppression.
You can see Mosley moving his story line towards the world of Black Power in stages here but he matches this with his first 'Philadelphia' black cop. This black is certainly not fazed by his racist colleagues and, though a bit player, he hints at the other option for the black community - integration on equal terms and civil rights. This is done subtly so that you would scarcely notice.
I always thought I understood the role of charismatic religion in black society but now I feel that I understand it - an education given so lightly as to be imperceptible. Nor does he compromise with a character whose morality is Chandler's but placed under conditions of oppression where the costs of goodness and integrity mean that you are likely not to survive for long if you are too precious.
There are many subtleties in this book - not least the understated play on the experience of the holocaust for one of the protagonists (black-Jewish relations often being particularly fraught in more recent times) with a metaphor of the poisoning of red ants' nests coming across as surprisingly unheavy-handed.
And, finally, beyond politics and religion, you have sex. Mosley at one point seems to be constantly rutting and this is subversive, given the 'moral' standards of contemporary white society. There is no guilt or shame in either him or the women - or in the society they live in. Mosley courageously does not worry about stereotyping but just lays out the lifestyle of this relatively young black male and lets the reader choose his stance.
You realise that Philip Marlowe had it easy as a white man in a white society. While you may despair at our hero's tormented self-centredness at times, it is not for us to judge - even though not a few black 'resistance' heroes might want to string him up as the worst sort of exploitative petty capitalist on the make.
The story is set in the period when America was witch-hunting Communists and the 'take' on the politics of the black community under these conditions is subtle. This is all you need to know about the story.
July 20, 2012
A step back in appeal for me after Devil in a Blue Dress , but still an interesting trip to the West Coast black ghetto in the fifties, at the height of the Communist witchhunt.
Easy Rawlins is already established as the main character in this second mystery/thriller featuring him, so I expected some better pacing, easier to follow plot. It was instead a bit of a muddle with several separate murders that feel shoehorned / forced into one narrative. So what is really the connection between an apparent suicide in one of Rawlins rented appartments, violence against the minister of a black church, the IRS and the hunt for a Jewish labor organizer? Read on to find out.
Easy goes for about three quarters of the book from one place to another, more like a passive observer than an active investigator. Then, in the last quarter of the book he starts throwing (and receiving) punches, some bullets fly, and generally secrets are revealed in a convenient and timely manner. He's also quite a hit with the ladies who have only to look at him to fall at his feet.
For all my criticism, the voice of Mr. Rawlins feels authentic, anchored in the harsh realities of being a man of color before the Civil Rights Movement gained traction. He is a tough man because he needs to survive on these mean streets, but he is using his brains more than his fists, and is capable of selfless gestures and kindness towards his neighbors and friends. His rants against the establishment, the police and in general against the White Man, are still present, but a bit toned down compared to the debut novel. Maybe his financial relative affluence has polished some of the more abrasive aspects of his personality.
The secondary characters are less well defined. I struggled a bit following who is who, especially the Church deacons and the barroom population.
I would say this book is OK for the fans of the author, interested in continuing with the series, but not so impresive on its own merits.
Easy Rawlins is already established as the main character in this second mystery/thriller featuring him, so I expected some better pacing, easier to follow plot. It was instead a bit of a muddle with several separate murders that feel shoehorned / forced into one narrative. So what is really the connection between an apparent suicide in one of Rawlins rented appartments, violence against the minister of a black church, the IRS and the hunt for a Jewish labor organizer? Read on to find out.
Easy goes for about three quarters of the book from one place to another, more like a passive observer than an active investigator. Then, in the last quarter of the book he starts throwing (and receiving) punches, some bullets fly, and generally secrets are revealed in a convenient and timely manner. He's also quite a hit with the ladies who have only to look at him to fall at his feet.
For all my criticism, the voice of Mr. Rawlins feels authentic, anchored in the harsh realities of being a man of color before the Civil Rights Movement gained traction. He is a tough man because he needs to survive on these mean streets, but he is using his brains more than his fists, and is capable of selfless gestures and kindness towards his neighbors and friends. His rants against the establishment, the police and in general against the White Man, are still present, but a bit toned down compared to the debut novel. Maybe his financial relative affluence has polished some of the more abrasive aspects of his personality.
The secondary characters are less well defined. I struggled a bit following who is who, especially the Church deacons and the barroom population.
I would say this book is OK for the fans of the author, interested in continuing with the series, but not so impresive on its own merits.
July 12, 2021
Easy Rawlins is a fantastic character. This series is a great read!
January 15, 2021
The GR description says this is set in 1953. However, this was first published in 1991 and not especially in any 1950s style that I have read. Example: This is definitely not erotic, but there are more erections in the 275 or so pages than any 1950s novel would give you. Easy Rawlins was definitely more lusty here than I remember from Devil in a Blue Dress.
It seems there are plenty of plot threads and I had a hard time keeping up with them. I wasn't alone. Easy didn't seem to see how everything fit together either. (And no, it wasn't all those erections - those were just side business. We both knew they had nothing to do with the IRS and the FBI and the First African church.)
There was more dialogue than I remembered in Devil too. It is in dialect. Easy even mentions that he has enough education to talk more like white folk, but it's important to stay with who you are. I have to admit I was dismayed at the amount of racism. Not that I didn't know it went on back then, but following the summer of 2020, it felt more "in my face". Much has improved/changed since the 50s and 60s, thankfully. I'm sure I'll be up for another in the series, but I'll probably not volunteer for the onslaught soon. This is a strong 3-stars.
It seems there are plenty of plot threads and I had a hard time keeping up with them. I wasn't alone. Easy didn't seem to see how everything fit together either. (And no, it wasn't all those erections - those were just side business. We both knew they had nothing to do with the IRS and the FBI and the First African church.)
There was more dialogue than I remembered in Devil too. It is in dialect. Easy even mentions that he has enough education to talk more like white folk, but it's important to stay with who you are. I have to admit I was dismayed at the amount of racism. Not that I didn't know it went on back then, but following the summer of 2020, it felt more "in my face". Much has improved/changed since the 50s and 60s, thankfully. I'm sure I'll be up for another in the series, but I'll probably not volunteer for the onslaught soon. This is a strong 3-stars.
August 31, 2020
I didn't like this as much as the first one, but it was still a good read. It was a bit complicated, especially for an audiobook, but not bad.
What I like most about both so far is that it takes me to a world that is very different; a different time, different place, and a different culture. It's still very accessible and understandable, though.
What I like most about both so far is that it takes me to a world that is very different; a different time, different place, and a different culture. It's still very accessible and understandable, though.
March 8, 2011
Unbelievably good. Constructed tight as a drum. Rawlins would have made an excellent Roman Patrician. His intelligence which works on three layers of reality at all times plus a ruthlessness worthy of a Julius Caesar helps him maneuver through so many circles - police, Black businessmen, Jewish concentration camp survivors, Black church institutional support, Latino businessmen, the IRS, FBI, murderous white prejudice - all while surviving the paranoid Communist hunting of the 1950's. When this particular episode in his life begins Rawlins is attending school getting a degree, reading about the Roman Empire, attempting to build a future for himself by owning rundown apartment buildings and maintaining his own little house. His determination is awesome; however the lack of legitimate means of achieving success due to the powerful racial prejudices of America forces him to methods familiar to any ancient Roman citizen. He sees himself as a man forced to be bad by society but not as bad as he could be, and he is happy to be good and generous when he can. I totally agree with his usual clear vision of humanity. Rawlins IS a good man in a very harsh world. I love this series!
August 20, 2021
I have apparently read several Easy Rawlings books. But this is the first one that I have listened to in the audible format. This is an interesting series for a white man to listen to. It is a bit of a invasion of the life and world of a black man but I am not sure if it is believable or even vaguely accurate. I would guess that it is not accurate because to think otherwise would seem somewhat racist and full of fallacious beliefs of black culture.
Easy is yet another one of those characters with a mix of Morality and immorality. Will the real Easy Rawlings please stand up? This book is set in the early 1950s. Communism is one of the bogeymen. And the FBI and the IRS.
Easy is yet another one of those characters with a mix of Morality and immorality. Will the real Easy Rawlings please stand up? This book is set in the early 1950s. Communism is one of the bogeymen. And the FBI and the IRS.
June 21, 2023
So far, these Walter Mosley novels aren’t detective stories; they are crime and suspense stories. They are as brutal as Spillane, but Mosley’s black protagonist has criminals of all kinds and the white establishment of the time to battle. That means he cannot have a friend on the police force of the time and place; most of them hate him because he is black. His friends are black people, yet they live in a dangerous world where they have to protect themselves, sometimes from each, but almost always from the white establishment. It’s very interesting.
November 9, 2022
Un essai, mais pas convaincant. Lecture facile, trop, pas captivante...
September 18, 2020
Sigo tomando libros al azar de mi biblioteca para hacer relecturas y hoy tocó una novela del gran Walter Mosley, creador del investigador Easy Rawlins (inmortalizado estupendamente por Denzel Washington en la adaptación de El Demonio vestido de Azul, la primera de sus novelas) y quien aplica un color a cada título de cada novela que protagoniza el personaje. Hoy toca Muerte Escarlata -la segunda novela de Rawlins, que actualmente anda por las quince- que se ambienta nada menos que en las postrimerías de los disturbios de 1965 que casi que propulsan la guerra racial en todo EEUU. Todavía con edificios ardiendo y gente asesinada en las calles, Rawlins recibe el encargo -por pedido nada menos que del LAPD- de encontrar al hombre blanco que están seguros asesinó a una mujer negra en medio de ese conato de violencia. Así, Rawlins realizará su propio descenso a los infiernos, sufriendo cómo un condenado cada escalón que baja porque la realidad lo golpea y, cómo en toda buena novela policial, nada aparenta ser lo que es. Mosley se divide aquí en dos claras intenciones: una, brindar una buena novela negra, con un misterio, una investigación, una resolución a la altura (que quizá aquí sea la pata más floja dado que el culpable sale por completo de la nada) y un personaje principal sólido (cómo una roca, sin duda). Y dos, una reflexión social sobre este momento en particular y lo que significó para la población negra el haberse parado firmes, y hasta con violencia, en defensa de sus derechos. Mosley repasa todos: los mártires, los héroes y los aprovechados -sin importar el color de su piel- que se hicieron fuertes entre todo el relajo. Es esta segunda intención con margen la que más rédito brinda, logrando un relato amargo (que se asemeja en muchos modos a las novelas de Lew Griffin a cargo de James Sallis, quien podría perfectamente marchar codo a codo con Rawlins) que deja bastante sensación de desasosiego (que supongo es lo que Mosley buscaba). Un gran escritor Walter Mosley, de quien no siempre se habla lo suficiente.
February 20, 2021
Mosley recreates the atmosphere of L.A. and Watts in 1953 with it's red baiting, blacklisting and racism. Easy Rawlins is a likeable, but highly flawed character. The mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat.
November 7, 2024
DNF'ed with 70 pages to go. I just couldn't stomach the way the women were written - walking vaginas and mouths if they're young, busybodies if old. Deep fail of the Bechdel test. Just. No. I read Devil in a Blue Dress eight years ago and gave it 4 stars, but I didn't write reviews then so I don't know if the women in it had more brains and body parts, or I was shamefully oblivious.
July 12, 2021
Easy Rawlins, a black World War II vet in early ’50s LA feels like a second class citizen and is powerless to do anything about it. He bought a couple of apartments from the proceeds he earned illegally at the end of the first book and rents them out. He can’t disclose the earning hence he does not pay taxes. Straight laced IRS agent Lawrence catches him and his only way out is going undercover for FBI agent Craxton. He has to find actionable evidence on suspected communist sympathizer Chaim Wenzler to buy his freedom except he soon realizes Wenzler is the only white man who treats him as an equal. To further add to his moral dilemma Easy let his rent collector Mofass convince him to kick out an accident victim from his apartment after letting her live for free for four months. She responds by committing suicide. Ohh and he is also sleeping with his psychotic best friend Mouse’s estranged wife. Mosley is a smart writer, he makes it seems Easy is taking the best decision possible under the circumstances and then it turns out he was digging his own grave. So Easy retained my sympathies.
A Red Death is a retread of the first book of the series in terms of structure. It is still enjoyable but whereas Mosley’s debut felt unique, this feels like a bit rushed. Easy tries to be copacetic but as the walls close in the climax ends as expected in dead bodies. I enjoyed the mystery but the hook here is Mosley’s voice and his recreation of Black culture in post war LA. It is extremely well done, he creates this esoteric world where black people behave and talk differently depending on the race of the person they interact with.
Easy interestingly judges a black cop for not talking in dialect though he seems like a stand-up guy in every other respect. The black cop does the practical thing so Easy’s judgment feels like an attempt to boost up his own pride. The world Mosley creates leaves no doubt that no black man can ever dream of being treated as an equal, so there are a lot of these minor interactions where you can’t really judge Easy for being passive aggressive. See how a complex protagonist and a lived in setting complement each other, little things like that sets Mosley at a slightly higher level than other genre authors.
On the negative side Easy sleeps with every woman he meets. It is a stereotype that has never worked for me it cheapens the grittiness of the story yet is a noir cliché Mosley overuses. The plot also lets Easy sidestep the tough decisions when it comes to Wenzler. Incidentally if you want a great crime novel about an undercover protagonist relating with harmless communist, read the seminal Big Nowhere by James Ellroy. Mosley gets enough right for me to just flow with the story and enjoy a stylish noir that captures pulp playground LA in a different light. Rating – 3.5/5.
Quotes: Like most men, I wanted a war I could go down shooting in. Not this useless confusion of blood and innocence.
Businessmen steal just to keep in practice fo’they legal work
A Red Death is a retread of the first book of the series in terms of structure. It is still enjoyable but whereas Mosley’s debut felt unique, this feels like a bit rushed. Easy tries to be copacetic but as the walls close in the climax ends as expected in dead bodies. I enjoyed the mystery but the hook here is Mosley’s voice and his recreation of Black culture in post war LA. It is extremely well done, he creates this esoteric world where black people behave and talk differently depending on the race of the person they interact with.
Easy interestingly judges a black cop for not talking in dialect though he seems like a stand-up guy in every other respect. The black cop does the practical thing so Easy’s judgment feels like an attempt to boost up his own pride. The world Mosley creates leaves no doubt that no black man can ever dream of being treated as an equal, so there are a lot of these minor interactions where you can’t really judge Easy for being passive aggressive. See how a complex protagonist and a lived in setting complement each other, little things like that sets Mosley at a slightly higher level than other genre authors.
On the negative side Easy sleeps with every woman he meets. It is a stereotype that has never worked for me it cheapens the grittiness of the story yet is a noir cliché Mosley overuses. The plot also lets Easy sidestep the tough decisions when it comes to Wenzler. Incidentally if you want a great crime novel about an undercover protagonist relating with harmless communist, read the seminal Big Nowhere by James Ellroy. Mosley gets enough right for me to just flow with the story and enjoy a stylish noir that captures pulp playground LA in a different light. Rating – 3.5/5.
Quotes: Like most men, I wanted a war I could go down shooting in. Not this useless confusion of blood and innocence.
Businessmen steal just to keep in practice fo’they legal work
April 4, 2009
A long time ago I decided never again to read crime fiction written by a man. I was so disappointed by the James Patterson "Women's Murder Club" book that I read (I actually felt it was worse than Patricia Cornwall!), that I decided that was it. No more male writers.
But there came a day when I needed a heck of a lot of mental distraction on my (hour-long) drive home from work, and when I went to the library I discovered that they had four Mosley audio books and another four or five *books* of his. And as it was the only thing that looked vaguely interesting in the audio book section - and because it would count for 50books_poc - I decided to give Mosley a chance.
Mosley's writing, and his character Easy Rawlins, remind me of Sara Paretsky and VI Warshawski, a favourite writer/character duo that I've been sorely missing of late. They've got the rough edges, the gritty cities, the edge to their stories that other writers don't quite match.
Mosley is clearly a notch or two above James Patterson, although I don't know that I'd trust him to write a female pov character. His female characters are all just a little too much the sexual object, and not quite enough human being. (That said, I loved both Etta Mae and Shirley... and think either of them would have been the making of Easy.) I found myself liking and admiring Easy quite a bit: despite how much he despised himself, and despite the truth of his background. And I certainly did enjoy the resolution of the mystery.
(Whether it's Mosley, or the rhythm used by the reader on the audio book, the odd thing is I can hear that same rhythm echoing through the words I write in this review. The rise and fall of that rich voice that I loved listening to for just over a week, morning and evening, to and from work.)
I don't want to read (or listen to) too much Mosley too fast. I don't want to risk Patricia Cornwall syndrome. (I read every Cornwall book a housemate of mine owned in a single weekend while I was procrastinating on my honours thesis. Reading that many at a single gulp exposed the lack of creativity that Cornwall had in her storylines, and I've never brought myself to read another one since.) So I'll leave it a while before I pick another one up. But one day I certainly will. Especially those audio books.
But there came a day when I needed a heck of a lot of mental distraction on my (hour-long) drive home from work, and when I went to the library I discovered that they had four Mosley audio books and another four or five *books* of his. And as it was the only thing that looked vaguely interesting in the audio book section - and because it would count for 50books_poc - I decided to give Mosley a chance.
Mosley's writing, and his character Easy Rawlins, remind me of Sara Paretsky and VI Warshawski, a favourite writer/character duo that I've been sorely missing of late. They've got the rough edges, the gritty cities, the edge to their stories that other writers don't quite match.
Mosley is clearly a notch or two above James Patterson, although I don't know that I'd trust him to write a female pov character. His female characters are all just a little too much the sexual object, and not quite enough human being. (That said, I loved both Etta Mae and Shirley... and think either of them would have been the making of Easy.) I found myself liking and admiring Easy quite a bit: despite how much he despised himself, and despite the truth of his background. And I certainly did enjoy the resolution of the mystery.
(Whether it's Mosley, or the rhythm used by the reader on the audio book, the odd thing is I can hear that same rhythm echoing through the words I write in this review. The rise and fall of that rich voice that I loved listening to for just over a week, morning and evening, to and from work.)
I don't want to read (or listen to) too much Mosley too fast. I don't want to risk Patricia Cornwall syndrome. (I read every Cornwall book a housemate of mine owned in a single weekend while I was procrastinating on my honours thesis. Reading that many at a single gulp exposed the lack of creativity that Cornwall had in her storylines, and I've never brought myself to read another one since.) So I'll leave it a while before I pick another one up. But one day I certainly will. Especially those audio books.
November 4, 2010
We're back to the American detectives in my class, and are on the adventures of Easy Rawlins - who I guess can't really be called a detective at all. He's not a private eye like Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, he's not a retired detective like Poirot, and he's not even one of those armchair detectives like Miss Marple or Sherlock Holmes. I guess the best way to describe Easy Rawlins is as a sort of mercenary. If someone needs a job done, he does it. If they want protection from somebody, he'll do it. He figures things out, but he's never actively being a detective in the traditional sense. Instead, he just sort of goes along with whatever's happening and tries to keep his head above water.
That's the setup for this novel - at the beginning, Rawlins is being investigated by the IRS (he has some slightly illegal business enterprises, and they want to know where he's getting the money). The IRS wants to put him in jail, but then the FBI swoops in and tells Rawlins that they'll get the IRS off his back if he does a job for them. With no real choice, Rawlins agrees. His job is to go to a local church and get in with a Jewish man named Chaim Wenzler, who is a Communist. Since this is the 50's, that means he's obviously evil and must be stopped. Except, of course, he turns out to be a decent guy and Rawlins is left to consider the question of who's right and who's wrong.
Oh, and also he has to solve some murders that he's being framed for. You know, typical stuff.
The book was interesting and fast-paced, and even though Mosley doesn't have the gift for description that other hard-boiled American detectives I've reviewed have, he still writes very well. I was also pleased to see that there are actually some good female characters in this book that don't fall into the stereotype of either Femme Fatale or Dame in Distress. There are at least three really good female characters in this novel, and they serve as more than just decoration and sex appeal. So, good for Mosley.
Read for: Social Forces in the Detective Novel
That's the setup for this novel - at the beginning, Rawlins is being investigated by the IRS (he has some slightly illegal business enterprises, and they want to know where he's getting the money). The IRS wants to put him in jail, but then the FBI swoops in and tells Rawlins that they'll get the IRS off his back if he does a job for them. With no real choice, Rawlins agrees. His job is to go to a local church and get in with a Jewish man named Chaim Wenzler, who is a Communist. Since this is the 50's, that means he's obviously evil and must be stopped. Except, of course, he turns out to be a decent guy and Rawlins is left to consider the question of who's right and who's wrong.
Oh, and also he has to solve some murders that he's being framed for. You know, typical stuff.
The book was interesting and fast-paced, and even though Mosley doesn't have the gift for description that other hard-boiled American detectives I've reviewed have, he still writes very well. I was also pleased to see that there are actually some good female characters in this book that don't fall into the stereotype of either Femme Fatale or Dame in Distress. There are at least three really good female characters in this novel, and they serve as more than just decoration and sex appeal. So, good for Mosley.
Read for: Social Forces in the Detective Novel
March 12, 2015
Mosley's great talent in his Easy Rawlins mysteries is how he gives his protagonist multiple voices and the ability to bend himself to the specific people he's interacting with, and this one's a particularly fine example as Easy's ability to slide in and out of different personas is crucial to his entanglement with the feds. Too often in mystery, authors oversimplify by creating characters who fall into that bluntly honest/call 'em like I see 'em mold that unfortunately robs them of depth and nuances. Easy doesn't play that game, and it's part of what makes his continuing adventures a reward for readers.
December 7, 2023
An excellent Easy Rawlins mystery that has a lot of moving parts and complexity but avoids becoming too convoluted.
December 29, 2021
Oh Walter Mosley….
All of these characters literally make my head spin. You meet characters one second and they’re gone the next; so distracting.
I pretty much have the same critiques as book #1: too many characters, whacky mystery/storyline, unremarkable ending.
All of these characters literally make my head spin. You meet characters one second and they’re gone the next; so distracting.
I pretty much have the same critiques as book #1: too many characters, whacky mystery/storyline, unremarkable ending.
July 25, 2025
I'm still struggling with Easy Rawlins
I began reading Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries because one of them appeared in the Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage. (Sneer if you like, but I have read better books for much worse reasons.) I didn't much enjoy Devil in a Blue Dress -- in my review, I wrote,
A Red Death is the second book, and it is not measurably better. It still felt like work to read it. The plot doesn't just meander -- it careens drunkenly from one scene to another. And there are so many minor characters. Every time a name appeared, I found myself asking, "Who is this person, now?"
Also, there was one specific thing I disliked. Easy Rawlins is one of those fictional male detectives who is always running into pretty women who are eager to go to bed with him. He indulges, even when doing that is likely to cause him serious difficulty. I don't know why this guy shows up so often in detective fiction (see, for example, Cormoran Strike). but I am tired of him. Grow up, man!
I think I will give Easy one more try. Easy Rawlins book 3 is White Butterfly. If that doesn't entertain me, Easy and I are breaking up. (Yes, I'm shallow, but I read mysteries for fun.)
Blog review.
I began reading Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries because one of them appeared in the Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage. (Sneer if you like, but I have read better books for much worse reasons.) I didn't much enjoy Devil in a Blue Dress -- in my review, I wrote,
...it is not a terrible well-constructed novel. There's just too much going on: too many characters, too many locations, too much event. It held my interest, but I was lost much of the time.But Blue Dress was Mosley's debut novel, and I thought it could only get better.
A Red Death is the second book, and it is not measurably better. It still felt like work to read it. The plot doesn't just meander -- it careens drunkenly from one scene to another. And there are so many minor characters. Every time a name appeared, I found myself asking, "Who is this person, now?"
Also, there was one specific thing I disliked. Easy Rawlins is one of those fictional male detectives who is always running into pretty women who are eager to go to bed with him. He indulges, even when doing that is likely to cause him serious difficulty. I don't know why this guy shows up so often in detective fiction (see, for example, Cormoran Strike). but I am tired of him. Grow up, man!
I think I will give Easy one more try. Easy Rawlins book 3 is White Butterfly. If that doesn't entertain me, Easy and I are breaking up. (Yes, I'm shallow, but I read mysteries for fun.)
Blog review.
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