What do you think?
Rate this book
Easy Rawlins #9
Little Scarlet
An irresistible story of love and death, this Easy Rawlins mystery takes place during the devastating 1965 Watts riots. Easy's hunt for a killer reveals a new city emerging from the ashes -- and a new life for Easy and his friends.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
186 people are currently reading
2195 people want to read
About the author
Walter Mosley
202 books3,889 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
December 11, 2024
Easy has his work cut out for him as he tries to hunt down a serial killer brutally murdering his community's Black women. Making it even more difficult is the streets he must search are also suffering from the immediate aftermath of the 1965 Watts riots.
This is probably my favorite of the series to date. Not as much levity and bantering with Mouse as I world have liked, but there was enough to balance out the serious and heartbreaking topics. A story for the ages which I highly recommend to all.
This is probably my favorite of the series to date. Not as much levity and bantering with Mouse as I world have liked, but there was enough to balance out the serious and heartbreaking topics. A story for the ages which I highly recommend to all.
May 7, 2018
Sadness is a kind of beacon for me.
Easy Rawlins is a black man in his mid-forties who works as a senior custodian at a junior high in Los Angeles in the ‘60’s. But his real work is done through his inconspicuous office in Watts and on the streets as he helps those he knows in his neighborhood, investigating crimes against them or any injustices they’ve suffered. He doesn’t have a private investigator’s license, but that doesn’t stop him from helping or force him to always play by the rules. But this time around, in the wake of the riots in Watts, it’s the police who are asking for his help. Among the 33 dead, a black woman was found murdered in her home, and the last person she was seen with was a white man who had been pulled out of his car and beaten when driving through her neighborhood. Before word of her death and the most likely suspect gets out, possibly setting off more rioting, the police want Easy to nose around in places they can’t and to speak to people who would only clam up in the presence of the law.
Outstretched hands of the law held wooden batons and pistols, handcuffs and warrants but rarely a welcome and never an offer of equality.
Easy is uneasy about this whole arrangement where he’s been given a letter from the commissioner himself, authorizing him to go anywhere and question anyone as needed, at a time and place where every black man is under suspicion. But he wants justice for the murdered woman and her family, and for the truth to come out, wherever it may lead. He knows he’s the best man for the job with those in the neighborhood trusting him. But the case rapidly spirals into more than he bargained for and becomes more complicated than ever, any resolution he can imagine promising not peace, but more turmoil and sorrow to those involved, including himself.
This is my first time reading a book in this series, though the fourth book I’ve read by Mosley, and I’ve liked them all. Mosley creates intelligent characters contemplating their lives and their place in a world often bent against them. With Easy Rawlins, he wanted to create a black male character who was more than a side character or a protagonist. He wanted to create a hero, and he has more than succeeded with Easy. Written in first person, this book is a page turner because Easy is so compelling to read about with his streetwise take on the world and the pain he carries around with him, including the weight of the world and that of his family and friends. He realizes he could have had an easier life by keeping to himself, but he can’t turn his back on reality and those who need him, and still live with himself.
Unfortunately the issues addressed in this book aren’t dated and are just as relevant and important to look at today with the current administration in the US not interested in providing fair treatment to all its citizens. The author has a clear purpose in writing his stories in light of this, no matter which decade they were written in. I won’t call it an agenda since that has negative connotations. He simply chooses to enlighten while entertaining his readers, never venturing so far as to preach. And entertain he does, including plenty of ironic humor in this criminal mystery mixed with psychological drama and social commentary.
This is the eighth book in this series which can be read as a standalone due to the author’s skill in integrating bits of information the reader needs to know from past books to understand what’s going on in this one. Having read this for my book club, I plan to go back now and read the series in order to see what I missed. If you’re looking for a great criminal mystery series with depth and flawed, but likable characters, see what this book has to offer.
It was like a war, I thought. A war being fought under the skin of America.
Pain has a memory of its own.
Easy Rawlins is a black man in his mid-forties who works as a senior custodian at a junior high in Los Angeles in the ‘60’s. But his real work is done through his inconspicuous office in Watts and on the streets as he helps those he knows in his neighborhood, investigating crimes against them or any injustices they’ve suffered. He doesn’t have a private investigator’s license, but that doesn’t stop him from helping or force him to always play by the rules. But this time around, in the wake of the riots in Watts, it’s the police who are asking for his help. Among the 33 dead, a black woman was found murdered in her home, and the last person she was seen with was a white man who had been pulled out of his car and beaten when driving through her neighborhood. Before word of her death and the most likely suspect gets out, possibly setting off more rioting, the police want Easy to nose around in places they can’t and to speak to people who would only clam up in the presence of the law.
Outstretched hands of the law held wooden batons and pistols, handcuffs and warrants but rarely a welcome and never an offer of equality.
Easy is uneasy about this whole arrangement where he’s been given a letter from the commissioner himself, authorizing him to go anywhere and question anyone as needed, at a time and place where every black man is under suspicion. But he wants justice for the murdered woman and her family, and for the truth to come out, wherever it may lead. He knows he’s the best man for the job with those in the neighborhood trusting him. But the case rapidly spirals into more than he bargained for and becomes more complicated than ever, any resolution he can imagine promising not peace, but more turmoil and sorrow to those involved, including himself.
This is my first time reading a book in this series, though the fourth book I’ve read by Mosley, and I’ve liked them all. Mosley creates intelligent characters contemplating their lives and their place in a world often bent against them. With Easy Rawlins, he wanted to create a black male character who was more than a side character or a protagonist. He wanted to create a hero, and he has more than succeeded with Easy. Written in first person, this book is a page turner because Easy is so compelling to read about with his streetwise take on the world and the pain he carries around with him, including the weight of the world and that of his family and friends. He realizes he could have had an easier life by keeping to himself, but he can’t turn his back on reality and those who need him, and still live with himself.
Unfortunately the issues addressed in this book aren’t dated and are just as relevant and important to look at today with the current administration in the US not interested in providing fair treatment to all its citizens. The author has a clear purpose in writing his stories in light of this, no matter which decade they were written in. I won’t call it an agenda since that has negative connotations. He simply chooses to enlighten while entertaining his readers, never venturing so far as to preach. And entertain he does, including plenty of ironic humor in this criminal mystery mixed with psychological drama and social commentary.
This is the eighth book in this series which can be read as a standalone due to the author’s skill in integrating bits of information the reader needs to know from past books to understand what’s going on in this one. Having read this for my book club, I plan to go back now and read the series in order to see what I missed. If you’re looking for a great criminal mystery series with depth and flawed, but likable characters, see what this book has to offer.
It was like a war, I thought. A war being fought under the skin of America.
Pain has a memory of its own.
April 20, 2021
This is book nine of the series and i have to say this book is my extra favorite one so far. I love them all but this book really hit on issues that are so relevant even in today's society, from passing for white to police putting their knee on the Black man's neck. Wow, who knew🤔
Walter Mosley has a way of telling stories that matter through his fictional writing which is not that fictional at all!!
Walter Mosley has a way of telling stories that matter through his fictional writing which is not that fictional at all!!
September 29, 2015
This was the first Easy Rawlins novel to come close to being as good as the first,
Devil In A Blue Dress
. The books in between have all been decent, but until this one, none have been able to match the urgency and freshness of the first novel. In Little Scarlet, Easy is a changed man after witnessing the violence and destruction during the 1965 race riots in Watts, and he searches for the murderer of a black woman in the riot's aftermath. Using the riots as a setting really upped the ante from the previous novels, giving all of the usual detective stuff way more weight. The city has changed and everytime Easy steps outside you can feel that change and the danger. The series has always also been a look at race relations in the 40's-60's and that theme is made that much more potent in this book. Although the series isn't always stellar, this one really set the standard for higher stakes in the next two really good Easy novels:
Cinnamon Kiss
and
Blonde Faith
.
November 4, 2018
My favorite Easy story so far. Set right after the 1965 LA riots THIS is what I expect from Walter Mosley. I needed this after attempting to read John Woman and getting smacked in the face with the crazy "hotepishness" that it represented. I told you I was gonna steal that phrase Jerrika! (If you need context for hotepishness please read Jerrik's review of John Woman here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mosley delivered everything and more of what I needed and wanted in an Easy Rawlins story in this one.
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Mosley delivered everything and more of what I needed and wanted in an Easy Rawlins story in this one.
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
June 28, 2019
This novel has a passion for the real. It takes the reader back to 1965 – Los Angeles riot. A time when injustice meets the cruelty of reality and calls it powerlessness. Where Easy Rawlins solves the murder of “Nola Payne” referred to as “Little Scarlet”. Was she killed by her “white lover” or a victim of the riots? It turns out she was a victim of society.
The pin up hate of a man named Harold Ostenberg, who never could find his identity, in a world which left him none and a mother who lost her identity long ago.
Life goes on for Easy Rawlins. Not in the re-building of Watts, for that is gone. In the re-building of a woman named Juanda who decides to fight the odds – go to school and see what she may become. The biggest payoff - she is now Easy’s friend not his love interest.
A must read.
The pin up hate of a man named Harold Ostenberg, who never could find his identity, in a world which left him none and a mother who lost her identity long ago.
Life goes on for Easy Rawlins. Not in the re-building of Watts, for that is gone. In the re-building of a woman named Juanda who decides to fight the odds – go to school and see what she may become. The biggest payoff - she is now Easy’s friend not his love interest.
A must read.
March 15, 2022
Αρκετά ενδιαφέρον ως προς την ιστορία,όχι όσο καθηλωτικό το περίμενα.
3.5🌟
Εντιτ:Μετά από επισταμένη έρευνα στο διαδίκτυο, έρχομαι να αναθεωρήσω τη βαθμολογία, γιατί τελικά η προσέγγιση του συγγραφέα δικαιολογήθηκε στο έπακρο. 5/5 και επανορθώνω την αρχική "αδικία"
3.5🌟
Εντιτ:Μετά από επισταμένη έρευνα στο διαδίκτυο, έρχομαι να αναθεωρήσω τη βαθμολογία, γιατί τελικά η προσέγγιση του συγγραφέα δικαιολογήθηκε στο έπακρο. 5/5 και επανορθώνω την αρχική "αδικία"
April 3, 2009
Easy Rawlins is rough, self-assured, mature, street smart, definitely a man’s man. A businessman who loves family and respects women, he is the amateur investigator featured in 10 books by Walter Mosley.
It’s the 60’s – a violent time in our history. An violence is the vehicle that Mosley uses to drive this story. Watts 1965. For those who don’t know what went down, go Wiki it for the full 411. But here’s a snapshot…
Watts, is a black neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, California, that erupted violently in August 1965 after a white highway patrol office stopped a black driver. Blacks in the neighborhood, like Blacks all over the country during the 60’s were fed up with injustice. And more so with non-violent protest. They gathered, observing this unusual traffic stop. They began throwing rocks at the police. This escalated into five days of burning, looting, and bloodshed. Blacks attached white people, fought police and shot at firefighters. It took 15,000 National Guard troops to squash the rebellion.
Sounds familiar. Riots. LA. 1992. Rodney King. Baby, there ain’t nothing new under the sun.
Watts, Los Angeles, August 1965, five days after the riots began is where the story Little Scarlet kicks off.
Ezekiel Rawlins, as the white folks called him, fronts as the head custodian at Sojourner Truth High School while keeping a private investigator business on the down low. You know the brother doesn’t have a PI license, but that doesn’t stop him for helping folks in his community. Easy ain’t no push over, but deep down he can’t get over his southern gentleman roots. Roots that lead back to Louisiana and Texas. He enlists the help of several interesting characters including his, shoot first and never ask questions, “ace boon coon”, Raymond Alexander, better known as “Mouse”
In the aftermath of the riots 34 people are killed. Although the news only reports 33, the 34th is a young black woman who the police suspects was killed by a white man. They need Easy’s assistance in solving the crime, because they would get nowhere with white cops investigating the murder of a black woman by a white man. That would be just the spark needed to rekindle the riots.
Mosley, one of the best-selling mystery writers, has weaved a story that is real, compelling, engaging,…and puts the issue of black – white relations on blast. He does it in a very easy and subtle way, which is contrasted with the way Easy moves through the story.
Yes, the story takes place in the aftermath of the Watts Riots…black-white tension;
Yes, Easy is a black man who doesn’t trust the white police…black-white tension;
Yes, there is the murder of a black woman by a white man – black-white tension;
This tension explodes when Easy discovers who the murderer is and the fiery rage that consumes him. Once the murderer is revealed, you will not be able to put the book down. These are just a few of the many parallels that exist in the story.
You will definitely want to know what Easy and his friend Mouse gets into next. I hear there is a film in the works starring Jeffery Wright and Mos Def.
It’s the 60’s – a violent time in our history. An violence is the vehicle that Mosley uses to drive this story. Watts 1965. For those who don’t know what went down, go Wiki it for the full 411. But here’s a snapshot…
Watts, is a black neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, California, that erupted violently in August 1965 after a white highway patrol office stopped a black driver. Blacks in the neighborhood, like Blacks all over the country during the 60’s were fed up with injustice. And more so with non-violent protest. They gathered, observing this unusual traffic stop. They began throwing rocks at the police. This escalated into five days of burning, looting, and bloodshed. Blacks attached white people, fought police and shot at firefighters. It took 15,000 National Guard troops to squash the rebellion.
Sounds familiar. Riots. LA. 1992. Rodney King. Baby, there ain’t nothing new under the sun.
Watts, Los Angeles, August 1965, five days after the riots began is where the story Little Scarlet kicks off.
Ezekiel Rawlins, as the white folks called him, fronts as the head custodian at Sojourner Truth High School while keeping a private investigator business on the down low. You know the brother doesn’t have a PI license, but that doesn’t stop him for helping folks in his community. Easy ain’t no push over, but deep down he can’t get over his southern gentleman roots. Roots that lead back to Louisiana and Texas. He enlists the help of several interesting characters including his, shoot first and never ask questions, “ace boon coon”, Raymond Alexander, better known as “Mouse”
In the aftermath of the riots 34 people are killed. Although the news only reports 33, the 34th is a young black woman who the police suspects was killed by a white man. They need Easy’s assistance in solving the crime, because they would get nowhere with white cops investigating the murder of a black woman by a white man. That would be just the spark needed to rekindle the riots.
Mosley, one of the best-selling mystery writers, has weaved a story that is real, compelling, engaging,…and puts the issue of black – white relations on blast. He does it in a very easy and subtle way, which is contrasted with the way Easy moves through the story.
Yes, the story takes place in the aftermath of the Watts Riots…black-white tension;
Yes, Easy is a black man who doesn’t trust the white police…black-white tension;
Yes, there is the murder of a black woman by a white man – black-white tension;
This tension explodes when Easy discovers who the murderer is and the fiery rage that consumes him. Once the murderer is revealed, you will not be able to put the book down. These are just a few of the many parallels that exist in the story.
You will definitely want to know what Easy and his friend Mouse gets into next. I hear there is a film in the works starring Jeffery Wright and Mos Def.
February 7, 2022
Another excellent book by Mr. Mosley
June 15, 2017
This one touched my heart a bit. Taking place during and after the riots in 1965 in LA, Easy is once again asked to do what the white police aren't able/willing to do. Track down a man who has been accused of killing black woman all across LA. But because of the "sensitive" nature of the neighborhoods due to all the riots police relations haven't been well handled and it's up to Easy to get it all straightened out. They suspect that it's a white man killing all these black women and because of that they are afraid of all the negative attention it can have on the police and the backlash behind it especially after all these riots. The killing spree has such a deeper reasoning behind it other than just the dislike of someone skin color and it's just so damn sad.
What I liked about this, is that it reminds me of what happened in Baltimore just last year after a killing of an unarmed black man, but this focused more on how society doesn't see black woman for who they are, and what they really mean to a community. There was a part in the story when the cop who asked Easy for help, Det. Suggs, talks about the victim that started this whole thing,
It was the whole book, Easy was tip toeing on the line that would just set him off one way or another. Knowing what he knew, but seeing the cops do absolutely nothing, but when a white man is suspected of doing the killings, it's their own asses they want to protect. It's enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
What I liked about this, is that it reminds me of what happened in Baltimore just last year after a killing of an unarmed black man, but this focused more on how society doesn't see black woman for who they are, and what they really mean to a community. There was a part in the story when the cop who asked Easy for help, Det. Suggs, talks about the victim that started this whole thing,
"No. He didn't kill Nola. He might have set fire to his life but he didn't kill that girl."
"Woman," I said.
"Say what?"
"Woman. Nola Payne was a woman just like you and me are men."
Suggs was driving. He turned to me and gave me a quizzical look.
"I don't like bein' called boy," I said. "I don't like our Negro women to be called girls. That's easy enough, right?" It was something I had always wanted to say but hadn't. (p.239 Mosley)
It was the whole book, Easy was tip toeing on the line that would just set him off one way or another. Knowing what he knew, but seeing the cops do absolutely nothing, but when a white man is suspected of doing the killings, it's their own asses they want to protect. It's enough to make you want to pull your hair out.
October 5, 2017
I enjoyed the first several books of this series, but I'm really enjoying them now because you can see the evolution of Easy and the love he has for his patchwork family.
April 6, 2014
I had to read Mosley's Little Scarlet for my Mystery Lit class. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first while reading. I felt like I had walked down a bad alley in the wrong neighborhood. Little Scarlet takes place during the Watts Riots in the 60's (Google it!) and centers on the murder of a black woman and the behind the scenes investigation by Easy Rawlins. Rawlins is a black, hard boiled 'researcher' just trying to make it in a white world. He is not perfect and I think I'm in love with him.
The way Mosley let's the reader into the mind of Easy is fascinating. The book is from his POV and it is sprinkled with his experiences in the past that ties in to his current situation. He is not able to depend on the white police force to get the job done when it comes to a black murder. Easy uses the resources he has, that of his friends. They are living the best they can in a world pitted against them.
I didn't feel that Little Scarlet was a typical murder mystery. The reveal was pretty early and then the hunt for the murderer takes up the rest of the book. The aspect that appealed to me was that in the end we see that the murderer is a product of his society and that everyone makes decisions based on the experiences they've lived through. We're almost meant to feel sorry for the murderer. I think at times, we're meant to dislike Easy. Everything is not that black and white though. And yes, I did fall a bit for Easy. He made me feel safe in that dangerous world I was visiting. I think I will try visiting again one day.
The way Mosley let's the reader into the mind of Easy is fascinating. The book is from his POV and it is sprinkled with his experiences in the past that ties in to his current situation. He is not able to depend on the white police force to get the job done when it comes to a black murder. Easy uses the resources he has, that of his friends. They are living the best they can in a world pitted against them.
I didn't feel that Little Scarlet was a typical murder mystery. The reveal was pretty early and then the hunt for the murderer takes up the rest of the book. The aspect that appealed to me was that in the end we see that the murderer is a product of his society and that everyone makes decisions based on the experiences they've lived through. We're almost meant to feel sorry for the murderer. I think at times, we're meant to dislike Easy. Everything is not that black and white though. And yes, I did fall a bit for Easy. He made me feel safe in that dangerous world I was visiting. I think I will try visiting again one day.
May 21, 2018
4.5 stars. I always enjoy his books. This book takes place in the 60’s but is so relevant with what is going on in society right now. His books have the same character in them and I haven’t read them in any sort of order and haven’t had any problems following the stories. The plot is standalone but a lot of the characters are the same and there are references to past events. Maybe I feel this way because I have read other books by him. If you haven’t read this author I would highly recommend picking up one of his books.
January 3, 2011
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...
More than a man of of mystery
Walter Mosley prefers 'literary' label
Jenny Shank, Special To The News
Published July 16, 2004 at midnight
Over the fourteen years of Walter Mosley's publishing career, during which he has turned out 19 books, Mosley has experienced segregation and discrimination - in the bookstore.
As a writer who's primarily known for mysteries but has also written straightforward literary fiction, science-fiction and essays, Mosley on occasion feels the sting of the "genre writer" label, an epithet that often prevents his mysteries from receiving review coverage and the attention of literary power brokers.
As Mosley explained, "I had a kind of important literary novel that came out earlier this year, The Man in My Basement, and I got a lot of coverage, which was nice, and I really appreciated that. And now Little Scarlet comes out, and in many ways Little Scarlet is just as good a book, a book about ideas, and character, and character development. But I think that it will be very difficult for the literary establishment to pay attention to Little Scarlet."
Mosley spoke in a phone interview from his home in New York in advance of his appearances in Denver today and Saturday.
Little Scarlet, the ninth book in Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, is set amid the smoldering aftermath of the 1965 Watts riots. The 34 people killed during the riots left plenty of mysteries to be uncovered. The Los Angeles police, who usually behave in an antagonistic and patronizing way toward Mosley's Rawlins, a freelance detective/father/school janitor, call him to assist with one case, much to Rawlins' astonishment.
While Little Scarlet brims with murder, mayhem, flirtation, a serial killer and other titillations standard to the genre, at every point where it could have degenerated into thriller clichés it instead moves in a fresher, more profound direction.
Rawlins is a canny, reflective character, a black man who's driven to solve the mysteries of human psychology and politics during those turbulent years for race relations in America as much as he is to discover who done it.
Mosley allows that the literati have been increasingly embracing his work. "Maybe I've changed some in the eyes of people," he said.
A sign of this was Mosley's invitation to emcee last year's National Book Awards, at which Stephen King accepted the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award while decrying award-givers' snubs of popular fiction.
In the passionate speech that stirred up furor among bookish people, King said he doesn't "have any patience with or use for those who make a point of pride in saying they've never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."
Mosley believes he's received some consideration from the literary establishment because he doesn't stick exclusively to mysteries.
"If there's another writer, like Ross McDonald or Raymond Chandler, and all they're writing are mysteries, they won't be accepted," he said. "And that's problematic. A lot of so-called literary novels are just not very good. They're not well-written, they're not well-thought-out. They have pyrotechnics of intelligence.
"On the other hand, some of the best writers and speculative ideas are in science-fiction. The science-fiction genre is completely, completely segregated. And these people are writing good stuff. They're writing about where you're going, which means they're talking about where you are.
"One of the things that fiction and all art has to do is bring something new to the table, and I think a lot of new things that are being done all the time are being ignored."
Another sign of Mosley's increased acceptance in the literary community was an invitation to serve as guest editor of the Best American Short Stories series last year, a role such literary heavyweights as Tobias Wolff, Jane Smiley, Sue Miller and Annie Proulx have filled in the past decade.
"It was really fun," said Mosley, who explains his approach to selecting the stories this way: "I don't think about writers. I think about stories. . . . It was really important for me to press the people I was working with to bring me all kinds of short stories, not just the literary short story which would work in an Iowa workshop."
Mosley ended up with an eclectic, entertaining collection, including a horror story by Dan Chaon, and "there was one with a robotic boy (by Ryan Harty) and a Doctorow story which was very much a crime story," he said.
While Mosley's predictions for the reception of Little Scarlet may be accurate, it would be a shame if the book were overlooked. Seeing the world through Easy Rawlins' eyes is an enriching experience, because Easy Rawlins' job, apart from solving crimes, appears to be that of managing to remain a moral person even though the situations in which he's placed present him with myriad opportunities to become amoral.
As Mosley said of his most famous character: "Easy wants to do what's right, which means he's not a criminal. But don't most people think they're doing what's right? They're trying to maintain a standard of moral balance.
"And it's interesting because Easy's notion of what's right isn't necessarily what most people in America - and certainly not what the police and the justice system - think is the right thing. And to me that's an interesting notion, to be very moral but not to go on a line with the moral and ethical structures that exist around him. . . . For instance, even when he's asked to find the white man (who police say has) murdered a black woman, he doesn't accept that. He thinks: 'Maybe. You say he did.' "
In searching for the true killer, who happens to be black, "Easy crosses even some people in his own system (in the black community) who would say, 'Yeah, well of course that white man killed her.' "
Another striking aspect of Little Scarlet is its use of crime-novel conventions, twisted in a symbolic way. For example, Easy Rawlins often disguises himself to complete his work, but unlike other detectives who put on wigs or hats or costumes, as even the archetypal detective Sherlock Holmes did on many occasions, Easy uses his knowledge of people's perceptions of him to disguise himself.
When interviewing people in a black neighborhood, he dresses more casually than he usually does for work and changes the cadences of his speech to match those of the people gossiping on the street corner. When dealing with police, he dresses in more formal attire and uses elevated diction.
Mosley said many people, both during the time in which the book is set and today, wear these sorts of disguises, changing themselves to fit in or to impress.
"I remember once there was a guy who arrived at this party in a Rolls-Royce, and he was all dressed up. I said, 'Wow, he's really rich.'
"And my father said, 'Why do you say that?' And I said, 'Look at that suit, and he's driving a Rolls-Royce.' And my father said, 'Well, he rented the Rolls-Royce. And he bought the suit with a credit card. He hasn't got but about $10 to his name.'
"My father knew this guy. But you know, he fooled you. And I think people do it all the time. Even though things have changed in America, at this time (the '60s of the book's setting) all black people looked alike - that was clear - because nobody really looked that closely at individual black people. You didn't have a black senator or president or movie star - not many. There was this kind of mass of black humanity, so it was very easy to hide."
Another character in Little Scarlet, a highly intelligent computer expert named Jackson Blue, isn't able to find a job commensurate with his abilities until he puts on a pair of glasses that make him appear less threatening to his interviewers.
"In Jackson's case, he wasn't even fooling them, because he really was a programmer and he really could do it. But even though he had all of these talents, he had to pretend anyway," Mosley said.
Perhaps the aspect that most distinguishes Little Scarlet from lesser mystery, crime and thriller novels is the way Mosley seems to be building to a good-vs.-evil showdown between Easy Rawlins and the murderer but then diffuses it into a climax that's much more subtle and satisfying.
Mosley's ability to deal skillfully with shades of gray is something that "literary" novelists often lack.
Mosley plans to continue his genre-straddling ways in the near future. His current projects include a book about "a deconstructionist historian" and the next Easy Rawlins book, which is called Cinnamon Kiss. And he said he's just completed his first young-adult novel, 47.
Mosley has no plans to end the Easy Rawlins series any time soon.
"I could see him be 80 years old and have a protégé," he said.
More than a man of of mystery
Walter Mosley prefers 'literary' label
Jenny Shank, Special To The News
Published July 16, 2004 at midnight
Over the fourteen years of Walter Mosley's publishing career, during which he has turned out 19 books, Mosley has experienced segregation and discrimination - in the bookstore.
As a writer who's primarily known for mysteries but has also written straightforward literary fiction, science-fiction and essays, Mosley on occasion feels the sting of the "genre writer" label, an epithet that often prevents his mysteries from receiving review coverage and the attention of literary power brokers.
As Mosley explained, "I had a kind of important literary novel that came out earlier this year, The Man in My Basement, and I got a lot of coverage, which was nice, and I really appreciated that. And now Little Scarlet comes out, and in many ways Little Scarlet is just as good a book, a book about ideas, and character, and character development. But I think that it will be very difficult for the literary establishment to pay attention to Little Scarlet."
Mosley spoke in a phone interview from his home in New York in advance of his appearances in Denver today and Saturday.
Little Scarlet, the ninth book in Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, is set amid the smoldering aftermath of the 1965 Watts riots. The 34 people killed during the riots left plenty of mysteries to be uncovered. The Los Angeles police, who usually behave in an antagonistic and patronizing way toward Mosley's Rawlins, a freelance detective/father/school janitor, call him to assist with one case, much to Rawlins' astonishment.
While Little Scarlet brims with murder, mayhem, flirtation, a serial killer and other titillations standard to the genre, at every point where it could have degenerated into thriller clichés it instead moves in a fresher, more profound direction.
Rawlins is a canny, reflective character, a black man who's driven to solve the mysteries of human psychology and politics during those turbulent years for race relations in America as much as he is to discover who done it.
Mosley allows that the literati have been increasingly embracing his work. "Maybe I've changed some in the eyes of people," he said.
A sign of this was Mosley's invitation to emcee last year's National Book Awards, at which Stephen King accepted the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award while decrying award-givers' snubs of popular fiction.
In the passionate speech that stirred up furor among bookish people, King said he doesn't "have any patience with or use for those who make a point of pride in saying they've never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."
Mosley believes he's received some consideration from the literary establishment because he doesn't stick exclusively to mysteries.
"If there's another writer, like Ross McDonald or Raymond Chandler, and all they're writing are mysteries, they won't be accepted," he said. "And that's problematic. A lot of so-called literary novels are just not very good. They're not well-written, they're not well-thought-out. They have pyrotechnics of intelligence.
"On the other hand, some of the best writers and speculative ideas are in science-fiction. The science-fiction genre is completely, completely segregated. And these people are writing good stuff. They're writing about where you're going, which means they're talking about where you are.
"One of the things that fiction and all art has to do is bring something new to the table, and I think a lot of new things that are being done all the time are being ignored."
Another sign of Mosley's increased acceptance in the literary community was an invitation to serve as guest editor of the Best American Short Stories series last year, a role such literary heavyweights as Tobias Wolff, Jane Smiley, Sue Miller and Annie Proulx have filled in the past decade.
"It was really fun," said Mosley, who explains his approach to selecting the stories this way: "I don't think about writers. I think about stories. . . . It was really important for me to press the people I was working with to bring me all kinds of short stories, not just the literary short story which would work in an Iowa workshop."
Mosley ended up with an eclectic, entertaining collection, including a horror story by Dan Chaon, and "there was one with a robotic boy (by Ryan Harty) and a Doctorow story which was very much a crime story," he said.
While Mosley's predictions for the reception of Little Scarlet may be accurate, it would be a shame if the book were overlooked. Seeing the world through Easy Rawlins' eyes is an enriching experience, because Easy Rawlins' job, apart from solving crimes, appears to be that of managing to remain a moral person even though the situations in which he's placed present him with myriad opportunities to become amoral.
As Mosley said of his most famous character: "Easy wants to do what's right, which means he's not a criminal. But don't most people think they're doing what's right? They're trying to maintain a standard of moral balance.
"And it's interesting because Easy's notion of what's right isn't necessarily what most people in America - and certainly not what the police and the justice system - think is the right thing. And to me that's an interesting notion, to be very moral but not to go on a line with the moral and ethical structures that exist around him. . . . For instance, even when he's asked to find the white man (who police say has) murdered a black woman, he doesn't accept that. He thinks: 'Maybe. You say he did.' "
In searching for the true killer, who happens to be black, "Easy crosses even some people in his own system (in the black community) who would say, 'Yeah, well of course that white man killed her.' "
Another striking aspect of Little Scarlet is its use of crime-novel conventions, twisted in a symbolic way. For example, Easy Rawlins often disguises himself to complete his work, but unlike other detectives who put on wigs or hats or costumes, as even the archetypal detective Sherlock Holmes did on many occasions, Easy uses his knowledge of people's perceptions of him to disguise himself.
When interviewing people in a black neighborhood, he dresses more casually than he usually does for work and changes the cadences of his speech to match those of the people gossiping on the street corner. When dealing with police, he dresses in more formal attire and uses elevated diction.
Mosley said many people, both during the time in which the book is set and today, wear these sorts of disguises, changing themselves to fit in or to impress.
"I remember once there was a guy who arrived at this party in a Rolls-Royce, and he was all dressed up. I said, 'Wow, he's really rich.'
"And my father said, 'Why do you say that?' And I said, 'Look at that suit, and he's driving a Rolls-Royce.' And my father said, 'Well, he rented the Rolls-Royce. And he bought the suit with a credit card. He hasn't got but about $10 to his name.'
"My father knew this guy. But you know, he fooled you. And I think people do it all the time. Even though things have changed in America, at this time (the '60s of the book's setting) all black people looked alike - that was clear - because nobody really looked that closely at individual black people. You didn't have a black senator or president or movie star - not many. There was this kind of mass of black humanity, so it was very easy to hide."
Another character in Little Scarlet, a highly intelligent computer expert named Jackson Blue, isn't able to find a job commensurate with his abilities until he puts on a pair of glasses that make him appear less threatening to his interviewers.
"In Jackson's case, he wasn't even fooling them, because he really was a programmer and he really could do it. But even though he had all of these talents, he had to pretend anyway," Mosley said.
Perhaps the aspect that most distinguishes Little Scarlet from lesser mystery, crime and thriller novels is the way Mosley seems to be building to a good-vs.-evil showdown between Easy Rawlins and the murderer but then diffuses it into a climax that's much more subtle and satisfying.
Mosley's ability to deal skillfully with shades of gray is something that "literary" novelists often lack.
Mosley plans to continue his genre-straddling ways in the near future. His current projects include a book about "a deconstructionist historian" and the next Easy Rawlins book, which is called Cinnamon Kiss. And he said he's just completed his first young-adult novel, 47.
Mosley has no plans to end the Easy Rawlins series any time soon.
"I could see him be 80 years old and have a protégé," he said.
April 26, 2020
I got to meet Walter Mosley a couple of years ago when he gave a reading at The Free Library in Philadelphia, but I confess this is the first time I've gotten around to reading one of his many books. I very much enjoyed it. The Easy Rawlins (not Rawlings, mind you) character is driven by a fierce sense of justice and guided by a powerful and reliable moral compass. He is hard on himself, but he is almost universally recognized by those who know him best as that rarity, a good man. Mosley sets this good man of Los Angeles down in this novel in the midst of one of the most painful chapters in that city's history: the Watts riots of 1965. Mosley doesn't let the action bog down in a lot of history and social commentary; he lets the story speak for itself. The racial bigotry experienced daily by members of the African-American community, the antagonistic attitudes of the police and city hall, the rage that finally, predictably boiled over, all of this is not indicated or discussed so much as demonstrated in the narrative. The focal point is the murder of a black woman by, it is suspected, a white man, and the unwillingness of the police to publicize it for fear of pouring gas on the flames of Watts. Enter Easy Rawlins to lend a helping hand, though most of his assistance comes from his family and his closest friends who float around the edges of lawfulness. A good, thoughtful, adventuresome read.
May 1, 2008
Walter Mosley delivers crime fiction set during a turning point in America's racial history. His protagonist, Easy Rawlins, is a man who, more often than not, would like to be left alone--he just keeps getting caught up murders that require his special expertise in detection. The great pleasure of reading Mosley is the classic, sharp-paced action mixed with commentary on the problems of being African American in a racist society.
March 21, 2014
There are books that are written to convey plot as clearly as possible and keep the reader turning pages eagerly. This is one of them, but it's also a book that is freighted with bleak, clear-eyed insight. The prose is a joy to read - fleet-footed, yet meticulous, never heavy-handed, but far from empty-headed. If everything else by Mosley is half as good, I look forward to reading more of his work.
March 13, 2019
This was probably my favorite of the Easy Rawlins series. It takes place right after the Watts Riots and the setting and characters are written to show how the clash of change and resistance-to-change really impacted so many lives. I really liked Six Easy Pieces (6 short stories) as well and I saw how Mosley picked up some of the threads from those stories in this book. Looking forward to the next one!
December 21, 2020
Another very good entry in the series, this time the backdrop is the Watts riots of 1965. Easy finds himself working with the cops on this case and it's a new experience for him but he can get to places and information that they can't. The murder of one woman leads to connections to other deaths and a case from the previous short story collection. More great writing from Mosley with all your favourite supporting characters but none better than the main character himself which I really enjoy reading about. Easy is flawed and human, tells it like it is, and (usually) does the right thing. 4 + Stars
March 3, 2020
3,5* για την ακρίβεια.
Βασικά ευχαριστήθηκα πολύ την ανάγνωση και την ιστορία. Έχω - αν δεν κάνω λάθος - διαβάσει μόνο ένα ακόμα βιβλίου με ήρωα έγχρωμο. Μιλάει αρκετά για τις φυλετικές διαφορές και για το κλίμα στον Λος Άντζελες το 1965 με τις ταραχές και αυτό πολύ μου άρεσε. Είχε ατμόσφαιρα και ο Ίζυ Ρόουλινς είναι αρκετά συμπαθής. Το αστυνομικό κομμάτι όμως μπορώ να πω ότι ήταν λίγο μέτριο. Δεν με πείραξε παρόλα αυτά τόσο. Θα διαβάσω σίγουρα και το πρώτο της σειράς αν το βρω, διότι δεν υπάρχει κάτι άλλο μεταφρασμένο.
Βασικά ευχαριστήθηκα πολύ την ανάγνωση και την ιστορία. Έχω - αν δεν κάνω λάθος - διαβάσει μόνο ένα ακόμα βιβλίου με ήρωα έγχρωμο. Μιλάει αρκετά για τις φυλετικές διαφορές και για το κλίμα στον Λος Άντζελες το 1965 με τις ταραχές και αυτό πολύ μου άρεσε. Είχε ατμόσφαιρα και ο Ίζυ Ρόουλινς είναι αρκετά συμπαθής. Το αστυνομικό κομμάτι όμως μπορώ να πω ότι ήταν λίγο μέτριο. Δεν με πείραξε παρόλα αυτά τόσο. Θα διαβάσω σίγουρα και το πρώτο της σειράς αν το βρω, διότι δεν υπάρχει κάτι άλλο μεταφρασμένο.
June 7, 2020
I originally read this 15 years ago shortly after it was published. With the protests going on today over the murder of George Floyd, I felt it was an appropriate time to re-read books that take place during times of social unrest.
Little Scarlett opens just after the worst of the Los Angeles 1965 riots is ending. The social unrest is the backbone of the setting, and systemic racism is the lifeblood of the tale. A black man, Ezekiel Rawlins, is asked by the LA Police Department to investigate a murder in a black neighborhood that could rekindle the unrest if not solved quickly.
For obvious reasons, with the national guard patrolling the streets and tensions running high, it is not possible for white detectives to handle the investigation. Of course with the setting being 1965, there were no black detectives on the LAPD at that time. So Rawlins is drafted to assist.
While the rest of the story runs as expected for a testosterone-driven genre mystery, the quality of the writing constantly rises above genre. There are far too many insights, too many brilliant asides, to catalogue this as a genre novel. This is an important piece of American Literature, and but one example of why at least Walter Mosley book belongs on the shelves of any American who considers his or herself to be a bibliophile.
Little Scarlett opens just after the worst of the Los Angeles 1965 riots is ending. The social unrest is the backbone of the setting, and systemic racism is the lifeblood of the tale. A black man, Ezekiel Rawlins, is asked by the LA Police Department to investigate a murder in a black neighborhood that could rekindle the unrest if not solved quickly.
For obvious reasons, with the national guard patrolling the streets and tensions running high, it is not possible for white detectives to handle the investigation. Of course with the setting being 1965, there were no black detectives on the LAPD at that time. So Rawlins is drafted to assist.
While the rest of the story runs as expected for a testosterone-driven genre mystery, the quality of the writing constantly rises above genre. There are far too many insights, too many brilliant asides, to catalogue this as a genre novel. This is an important piece of American Literature, and but one example of why at least Walter Mosley book belongs on the shelves of any American who considers his or herself to be a bibliophile.
May 28, 2019
It's unusual for a series to still be improving, 9 books in -- but this one is. In this one, the police ask Easy to help solve a crime that occurred during the riots in Watts. While the plot is certainly what moves the book along, there is a lot here to consider about race and the riots. Excellent read
January 21, 2019
It is the last day of the Watts Riots in 1965 and there is a murdered black woman who may have been killed by a white man and the police come to Easy to find out what happened.
October 27, 2019
Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins là một thám tử tư da đen. Vì người da đen thời thập niên 1960 vẫn còn bị kỳ thị nhiều nên Easy Rawlins hoạt động không có giấy phép hành nghề thám tử, chỉ tự xưng mình mà nhà "tư vấn". Những người bạn có thể "nhờ cậy" được của Easy nếu không phải là một tên chuyên tiêu thụ đồ hôi của, ăn cắp ("Hắn là một tên giết người.") thì cũng là kiểu như "Easy, tao bây giờ muốn làm người lương thiện!".
Bối cảnh câu chuyện là lúc vừa sau lần bạo động của người da đen ở Los Angeles năm 1965. Bắn giết, hôi của, đốt phá – Vệ binh Quốc gia phải hành quân đến đó để giữ trật tự. 34 người chết và hơn 1000 người bị thương, nhiều vụ bắn nhau, phóng hỏa đốt cửa hàng người da trắng, khu phố Watts tựa như đang có chiến tranh.
Vào cuối cuộc bạo loạn này, một người phụ nữ da đen bị giết chết trong căn hộ của mình. Cảnh sát phỏng đoán tên sát nhân là một người da trắng được cô này che chở cho ở tạm trong căn hộ của cô ấy trong cuộc bạo loạn. Trong tình hình còn sôi sục, có thể tái bùng phát nếu như người da đen biết được chuyện này, cảnh sát buộc đã phải nhờ Easy đi điều tra hộ.
Với nhân vật thám tử tư da đen Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, Walter Mosley đã đưa thể loại "hardboiled detective" lên một đỉnh cao mới trong văn học trinh thám. Một quyển trinh thám hardboiled điển hình, không màu mè mà ngắn gọn, có phần mỉa mai chua chát ("Tên tôi là Rawlins, không phải Rawlings. Ông tôi thường hay nói đùa, lúc chạy trốn khỏi Tennessee đã bị bắn rơi chữ g lại rồi.") và đồng thời cũng là một quyển tiểu thuyết về tình cảnh, tâm tư, số phận của người da đen, về sự phân biệt sắc tộc ở Mỹ trong thập niên 1960. Hoàn cảnh người da đen cũng được lồng vào trong quyển tiểu thuyết này với những câu cảm thấy chạnh lòng: "Đã gần nửa đêm, và tôi đứng ở downtown bên cạnh Melvin Suggs da trắng trên đường phố. Ông ta từ nghề nghiệp mà là cảnh sát. Tôi từ màu da mà là tên tội phạm."
Lần đầu tiên đọc Walter Mosley, cảm thấy rất thích và chắc chắn sẽ quay lại với tác giả này trong thời gian tới đây.
Bối cảnh câu chuyện là lúc vừa sau lần bạo động của người da đen ở Los Angeles năm 1965. Bắn giết, hôi của, đốt phá – Vệ binh Quốc gia phải hành quân đến đó để giữ trật tự. 34 người chết và hơn 1000 người bị thương, nhiều vụ bắn nhau, phóng hỏa đốt cửa hàng người da trắng, khu phố Watts tựa như đang có chiến tranh.
Vào cuối cuộc bạo loạn này, một người phụ nữ da đen bị giết chết trong căn hộ của mình. Cảnh sát phỏng đoán tên sát nhân là một người da trắng được cô này che chở cho ở tạm trong căn hộ của cô ấy trong cuộc bạo loạn. Trong tình hình còn sôi sục, có thể tái bùng phát nếu như người da đen biết được chuyện này, cảnh sát buộc đã phải nhờ Easy đi điều tra hộ.
Với nhân vật thám tử tư da đen Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, Walter Mosley đã đưa thể loại "hardboiled detective" lên một đỉnh cao mới trong văn học trinh thám. Một quyển trinh thám hardboiled điển hình, không màu mè mà ngắn gọn, có phần mỉa mai chua chát ("Tên tôi là Rawlins, không phải Rawlings. Ông tôi thường hay nói đùa, lúc chạy trốn khỏi Tennessee đã bị bắn rơi chữ g lại rồi.") và đồng thời cũng là một quyển tiểu thuyết về tình cảnh, tâm tư, số phận của người da đen, về sự phân biệt sắc tộc ở Mỹ trong thập niên 1960. Hoàn cảnh người da đen cũng được lồng vào trong quyển tiểu thuyết này với những câu cảm thấy chạnh lòng: "Đã gần nửa đêm, và tôi đứng ở downtown bên cạnh Melvin Suggs da trắng trên đường phố. Ông ta từ nghề nghiệp mà là cảnh sát. Tôi từ màu da mà là tên tội phạm."
Lần đầu tiên đọc Walter Mosley, cảm thấy rất thích và chắc chắn sẽ quay lại với tác giả này trong thời gian tới đây.
December 6, 2020
4.5
I enjoyed this WAY more than I thought I would. The only other mystery that I've read that's hard-boiled is The Big Sleep and I hated that book so I wasn't sure how I'd like this one. Even though this wasn't the first book in the series it was still pretty easy to follow along. Easy Rawlins was such a great narrator, you can't help but tear through the pages wanting to know what will happen next.
The book opens with the Watts riots that took place in Los Angeles in the 60's and painted a pretty clear picture of police brutality during that time- it was chilling to see how little things have changed since then. Easy Rawlins is probably my favorite detective I've ever read - his loyalty to his family, friends, and neighbors is so steadfast and his genuine desire to uncover the case in order to reach justice made him such a commendable character.
The plot itself was so twisty and surprising, which is exactly what I want when I read a mystery!
I definitely want to go back and start the series from the beginning, Mosley is such a great writer and really knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats.
I enjoyed this WAY more than I thought I would. The only other mystery that I've read that's hard-boiled is The Big Sleep and I hated that book so I wasn't sure how I'd like this one. Even though this wasn't the first book in the series it was still pretty easy to follow along. Easy Rawlins was such a great narrator, you can't help but tear through the pages wanting to know what will happen next.
The book opens with the Watts riots that took place in Los Angeles in the 60's and painted a pretty clear picture of police brutality during that time- it was chilling to see how little things have changed since then. Easy Rawlins is probably my favorite detective I've ever read - his loyalty to his family, friends, and neighbors is so steadfast and his genuine desire to uncover the case in order to reach justice made him such a commendable character.
The plot itself was so twisty and surprising, which is exactly what I want when I read a mystery!
I definitely want to go back and start the series from the beginning, Mosley is such a great writer and really knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats.
January 31, 2024
I liked this book. I have liked most of Mosley's books. I especially liked Devil in a Blue Dress. But I like this one as well. It is set in Los Angeles in the 1960s and starts right after the Watts' riots. Told from the perspective of Easy Rawlins, a Black man who is beginning to find his way in the profession of private detective. The characters, Black and White, are carefully drawn and full of life and character. There is a mystery that he solves but it is more the people that he comes into contact with while he is tracking down the killer. He interacts with the police and the national guard and angry people in ways that make you feel like you are nearby listening to him and watching him. It is a very good read. I read it months ago but forgot to review it but I enjoyed it.
April 5, 2021
2.5 stars
I think this was pretty good, with satisfying twists and turns, tie-ins to previous books (and short stories) in the series, and some interesting changes in East’s life. But I had issues, too.
I seem to have a love/hate relationship with this series. I wish I could find a mystery series (with great audiobooks) with a Black detective who is as cool as Easy Rawlins, but without the sexism. Every time Easy leers at a young woman or Mosley starts riffing his casually sexist nonsense, I wince.
Every woman is either dead, elderly, helpless, or evaluated as a sex object and/or baby-maker:
and
and
Why you gotta be that way, Easy?
I know, Mosley is writing noir, in the style of Chandler, and sure Marlowe was always hooking up with the chicks too, but Marlowe was not in a committed relationship with a woman. Big difference, in my mind. Easy flips his shit when he find out Bonnie was eyeing another guy, but he spends his days leering at and kissing other women.
I have tried other Mosley books, Fearless was okay but McGill infuriated me even more than Easy. I was so distracted by this that I often lost the thread of the plot. Maybe I should just stop reading Mosley.
I’ve already forgotten most of the plot, but here’s the basic run-down, so I can read this later if I need a re-cap: it’s 1965, the Watts riots are on-going, and the LAPD turns to Easy for help because they don’t think they can investigate the murder of a Black woman without further inflaming the riots. Easy fully sympathizes with the rioters but he doesn’t hate the white people, so when it looks like a white man killed the eponymous Nola aka “Little Scarlet” (and this nickname was clearly just an excuse for another “color title” - there’s nothing especially Scarlet about any of this. I guess Nola’s hair is reddish. I was mostly distracted by Nola =/ NOLA), Easy isn’t so sure. He starts asking questions and calling in favors and doing more favors. There are a lot of plot tangents.
Michael Boatman did a great job reading the audiobook, he really was Easy, but there were some technical problems with the audiobook, three times the book repeated itself and I had to skip ahead to where I was meant to be.
His easy manner accepting my conditions made me think that this simple ride in a policeman’s car was going to take me down a much longer journey than I had planned on when I rolled out of bed that morning.
I think this was pretty good, with satisfying twists and turns, tie-ins to previous books (and short stories) in the series, and some interesting changes in East’s life. But I had issues, too.
I seem to have a love/hate relationship with this series. I wish I could find a mystery series (with great audiobooks) with a Black detective who is as cool as Easy Rawlins, but without the sexism. Every time Easy leers at a young woman or Mosley starts riffing his casually sexist nonsense, I wince.
Every woman is either dead, elderly, helpless, or evaluated as a sex object and/or baby-maker:
She was filled with the beauty of youth: her light brown skin and luscious hair, her child’s hands and woman’s figure. Her lips were in the shape of a chubby heart, and her eyes were always looking somewhere else to keep you from seeing the hunger they held . And even though everything about her was geared to making babies and a home, she sat there night after night with Geneva Landry, listening to her grief and loss.
and
I loved Bonnie, and had no intention of changing my situation, but still I yearned to be in the presence of the chattering young woman who lied to save me, and then lead me to freedom.
and
... I turned to look once more at the consecrated living room. Vika had come back and was removing the lemonade I’d put on the floor in my haste to leave. She had gotten down on one knee, a voluptuous purple sail with a yellow flag dipping into a crimson sea. My breath caught ...
Why you gotta be that way, Easy?
I know, Mosley is writing noir, in the style of Chandler, and sure Marlowe was always hooking up with the chicks too, but Marlowe was not in a committed relationship with a woman. Big difference, in my mind. Easy flips his shit when he find out Bonnie was eyeing another guy, but he spends his days leering at and kissing other women.
I have tried other Mosley books, Fearless was okay but McGill infuriated me even more than Easy. I was so distracted by this that I often lost the thread of the plot. Maybe I should just stop reading Mosley.
I’ve already forgotten most of the plot, but here’s the basic run-down, so I can read this later if I need a re-cap: it’s 1965, the Watts riots are on-going, and the LAPD turns to Easy for help because they don’t think they can investigate the murder of a Black woman without further inflaming the riots. Easy fully sympathizes with the rioters but he doesn’t hate the white people, so when it looks like a white man killed the eponymous Nola aka “Little Scarlet” (and this nickname was clearly just an excuse for another “color title” - there’s nothing especially Scarlet about any of this. I guess Nola’s hair is reddish. I was mostly distracted by Nola =/ NOLA), Easy isn’t so sure. He starts asking questions and calling in favors and doing more favors. There are a lot of plot tangents.
Michael Boatman did a great job reading the audiobook, he really was Easy, but there were some technical problems with the audiobook, three times the book repeated itself and I had to skip ahead to where I was meant to be.
May 25, 2020
I really enjoyed this mystery! The mystery itself was pretty straightforward. The bigger focus is on the obstacles that are preventing Easy from stopping the killer.
I love all the characters in this book. They are so many of them, and each and every one of them is complex and interesting. I also loved that the writing really gave us a clear understanding of Easy's emotions and thoughts about the bigger events in the book.
Docked a star for some of the ways Easy refers to women. Also felt like the book was a little heavy-handed in drawing attention to its themes. Overall, I really enjoyed it, though.
I love all the characters in this book. They are so many of them, and each and every one of them is complex and interesting. I also loved that the writing really gave us a clear understanding of Easy's emotions and thoughts about the bigger events in the book.
Docked a star for some of the ways Easy refers to women. Also felt like the book was a little heavy-handed in drawing attention to its themes. Overall, I really enjoyed it, though.
October 4, 2018
THIS is currently my favorite Easy Rawlins story thus far. A young black woman 'Little Scarlet' is murdered and the police have 'acquired' Easy to work his magic.
This case started out with Easy looking for a killer who ends up being a serial killer who had a terrible childhood and taking his revenge out on innocent black women. Easy grabs his killa bestie Mouse and on the case.
This case started out with Easy looking for a killer who ends up being a serial killer who had a terrible childhood and taking his revenge out on innocent black women. Easy grabs his killa bestie Mouse and on the case.
February 5, 2022
My favorite of the Easy Rawlings mysteries so far. An intimate portrait of a remarkable character. A man doing the right thing for the right reasons. Set in the immediate aftermath of the Watts Riots of 1965. Moseley expertly and beautifully reveals how pivotal that moment was. And he does it while delivering a page-turner crackling with electricity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews