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Leonid McGill #5
And Sometimes I Wonder About You
The welcome return of Leonid McGill, Walter Mosley's NYC-based private eye, his East Coast foil to his immortal L.A.-based detective Easy Rawlins.
In the fifth Leonid McGill novel, Leonid finds himself in an unusual pickle of trying to balance his cases with his chaotic personal life. Leonid's father is still out there somewhere, and his wife is in an uptown sanitarium trying to recover from the deep depression that led to her attempted suicide in the previous novel. His wife's condition has put a damper on his affair with Aura Ullman, his girlfriend. And his son, Twill, has been spending a lot of time out of the office with his own case, helping a young thief named Fortune and his girlfriend, Liza.
Meanwhile, Leonid is approached by an unemployed office manager named Hiram Stent to track down the whereabouts of his cousin, Celia, who is about to inherit millions of dollars from her father's side of the family. Leonid declines the case, but after his office is broken into and Hiram is found dead, he gets reeled into the underbelly of Celia's wealthy old-money family. It's up to Leonid to save who he can and incriminate the guilty; all while helping his son finish his own investigation; locating his own father; reconciling (whatever that means) with his wife and girlfriend; and attending the wedding of Gordo, his oldest friend.
In the fifth Leonid McGill novel, Leonid finds himself in an unusual pickle of trying to balance his cases with his chaotic personal life. Leonid's father is still out there somewhere, and his wife is in an uptown sanitarium trying to recover from the deep depression that led to her attempted suicide in the previous novel. His wife's condition has put a damper on his affair with Aura Ullman, his girlfriend. And his son, Twill, has been spending a lot of time out of the office with his own case, helping a young thief named Fortune and his girlfriend, Liza.
Meanwhile, Leonid is approached by an unemployed office manager named Hiram Stent to track down the whereabouts of his cousin, Celia, who is about to inherit millions of dollars from her father's side of the family. Leonid declines the case, but after his office is broken into and Hiram is found dead, he gets reeled into the underbelly of Celia's wealthy old-money family. It's up to Leonid to save who he can and incriminate the guilty; all while helping his son finish his own investigation; locating his own father; reconciling (whatever that means) with his wife and girlfriend; and attending the wedding of Gordo, his oldest friend.
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2015
316 people are currently reading
1600 people want to read
About the author
Walter Mosley
213 books3,866 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 253 reviews
August 24, 2020
A decent ending saves this anachronistic, convoluted, discombobulated muddle of characters that can't decide if it wants to dwell on girlfriends, exes, fathers, sons or cons. All to the detriment that leaves this listener more confused than satisfied, again, save for the ending. 4 of 10 stars!
April 28, 2024
Walt Mosley's remarkable storytelling skill is second to character development that few if any can touch. This being the fifth installment of Leonid McGill mysteries, its equal if not better to his others. If unfamiliar with the author, his career took off when he wrote Devil in a Blue Dress the first Easy Rawlins mystery which became a best seller and was adapted to a film with Denzel Washington. Since then he's created other detective series such as this.
Leonid T. McGill could never be called a typical P.I., father or business person nor is the family he stems from either. A stocky black guy in his 50's, with professional boxing skills and a way with the ladies, he runs a successful firm in NY and recently began training his teenage son Twill to join him. His estranged father Clarence associates with the world of socialism and gave Russian names to his children which eventually caused the death of his wife, and for that, he was never forgiven. Due to Lee's business which often involves women, his wife Katrina attempts suicide and is currently in a nearby sanitarium visited regularly by her husband and son.
Locating missing people is the bread and butter of PI firms, and when Hiram Stent hires McGill to locate his estranged cousin Celia who has become heir to millions, it opens the mouth of a labyrinth after an office break-in and the murder of Stent. Meanwhile Twill has gone undercover with his girlfriend Fortune into a huge underground crime organization headed by "Jones" a dangerous figure who employs thousands of 'children' for theft, drugs, prostitution and murder. In order to keep them in line, tracking capsules are inserted along with listening devices. While the NYPD is aware of them, they've yet to pin down Jones.
Similar to most PI's, Leonid has a specialized team for security, 'information' and hacking government resources. Among them Hush, a former convict and Gordy, his best friend and owner of a successful boxing gym, though there are others he accesses on occasion. As Leonid begins the hunt for Celia, the string of dominoes leads him on an ever zigzagging path that takes him to an erudite billionaire woman in Boston. They cut a rather unusual deal that sends Leonid on the hunt for a stolen biblical manuscript stating the woman he seeks is the culprit.
McGill is a 'take no prisoners' type and paid the price with NYPD Capt Kiteridge, he playfully refers to as "Kit". The story meanders between Leonid's missing person cases, interactions with a Marella, a sexual playmate on the run with an expensive engagement ring, his longtime relationship with Aura while doing his best not to be murdered or beaten. When Hush finds a way 'into' Jones' system, McGill cuts a deal with Kit to alleviate NYPD pressure to reveal his sources and more.
Needless to say, the complexity of plot and characters along with an extremely well paced story makes for an engaging experience. And like all great mysteries, every chapter heightens suspense. While crime isn't my primary genre, I plan to read the other McGill episodes since he's one of the more unique characters I've encountered.
Leonid T. McGill could never be called a typical P.I., father or business person nor is the family he stems from either. A stocky black guy in his 50's, with professional boxing skills and a way with the ladies, he runs a successful firm in NY and recently began training his teenage son Twill to join him. His estranged father Clarence associates with the world of socialism and gave Russian names to his children which eventually caused the death of his wife, and for that, he was never forgiven. Due to Lee's business which often involves women, his wife Katrina attempts suicide and is currently in a nearby sanitarium visited regularly by her husband and son.
Locating missing people is the bread and butter of PI firms, and when Hiram Stent hires McGill to locate his estranged cousin Celia who has become heir to millions, it opens the mouth of a labyrinth after an office break-in and the murder of Stent. Meanwhile Twill has gone undercover with his girlfriend Fortune into a huge underground crime organization headed by "Jones" a dangerous figure who employs thousands of 'children' for theft, drugs, prostitution and murder. In order to keep them in line, tracking capsules are inserted along with listening devices. While the NYPD is aware of them, they've yet to pin down Jones.
Similar to most PI's, Leonid has a specialized team for security, 'information' and hacking government resources. Among them Hush, a former convict and Gordy, his best friend and owner of a successful boxing gym, though there are others he accesses on occasion. As Leonid begins the hunt for Celia, the string of dominoes leads him on an ever zigzagging path that takes him to an erudite billionaire woman in Boston. They cut a rather unusual deal that sends Leonid on the hunt for a stolen biblical manuscript stating the woman he seeks is the culprit.
McGill is a 'take no prisoners' type and paid the price with NYPD Capt Kiteridge, he playfully refers to as "Kit". The story meanders between Leonid's missing person cases, interactions with a Marella, a sexual playmate on the run with an expensive engagement ring, his longtime relationship with Aura while doing his best not to be murdered or beaten. When Hush finds a way 'into' Jones' system, McGill cuts a deal with Kit to alleviate NYPD pressure to reveal his sources and more.
Needless to say, the complexity of plot and characters along with an extremely well paced story makes for an engaging experience. And like all great mysteries, every chapter heightens suspense. While crime isn't my primary genre, I plan to read the other McGill episodes since he's one of the more unique characters I've encountered.
June 5, 2015
Walter Mosley is, in my opinion, one of the best writers we have in the United States. Personally, I think he is undervalued because so many of his books are "crime novels." This is the 5th in the Leonid McGill series about a complex and somewhat enigmatic private detective, former thug, still viewed with suspicion by the NYPD. Leonid bears the name of a former Soviet leader because his father was an unabashed member of the American Communist Party. In this book, Leonid learns that his son, Twill, who is now working in his detective agency, is out on his own without consulting him and has placed himself in a very dangerous place. At the same time, Leonid is on a job in Philly and meets up with a beautiful but very dangerous woman with whom he begins a passionate affair. In the meantime, his wife is in a private hospital after having committed suicide. He feels guilty because he doesn't love her, but still cares for her. He loves Aura, the woman who manages the building where he rents his office. However, they haven't seen one another for a while, and he misses her. He soon learns that Twill is up to his neck in a secret group dominated by a Fagin-like character who calls himself Jones and and employs a group of young people who commit an incredible number of crimes every year. To complicate things even further, a man who had requested his help with a case is found murdered. It doesn't take long for him to learn that there is far more to this than he realized. Leonid isn't a hero. He is willing to blackmail anyone who he thinks deserves it. He doesn't want to kill, but will do so when he must. This is such an interesting and complex character. If you haven't read any of them, start at the beginning. Walter Mosley is worth savoring.
August 9, 2016
I was more than a little skeptical about Walter Mosley switching gears from Easy Rawlins to Leonid McGill six years back. After reading two McGill books, my take was only lukewarm. The fourth book, All I Did Was Shoot My Man, changed things in dramatic form. Not only was it hands down the best entry in the series, but arguably Mosley’s best book overall. At the very least, a top three title in this author’s vast body of work.
After a three and a half year hiatus, And Sometimes I Wonder About You drops us squarely back in the convoluted world of Leonid McGill. With an on again/off again marriage, extramarital affairs, and a profession that could leave him dead on any given day, McGill knows little about normalcy. By contrast to the previous series offering, the first half or more of And Sometimes lacks a grounded sense of reality. It’s clear that Mosley is having a ball, toying around with cartoonish villains and equally erratic plot points. Where the story finds a sense of structure and plausibility is when it delves back into sensitive family matters, both past and present.
Even an average novel by Walter Mosley is above average by the standards of most authors. For a series that hasn’t quite been able to measure up to its predecessor, Easy Rawlins, this particular sequel did what it was supposed to do. Fans of McGill should be satisfied.
After a three and a half year hiatus, And Sometimes I Wonder About You drops us squarely back in the convoluted world of Leonid McGill. With an on again/off again marriage, extramarital affairs, and a profession that could leave him dead on any given day, McGill knows little about normalcy. By contrast to the previous series offering, the first half or more of And Sometimes lacks a grounded sense of reality. It’s clear that Mosley is having a ball, toying around with cartoonish villains and equally erratic plot points. Where the story finds a sense of structure and plausibility is when it delves back into sensitive family matters, both past and present.
Even an average novel by Walter Mosley is above average by the standards of most authors. For a series that hasn’t quite been able to measure up to its predecessor, Easy Rawlins, this particular sequel did what it was supposed to do. Fans of McGill should be satisfied.
May 16, 2015
For me, Walter Mosley has entered that rarefied air of priority. His books have become events not to be missed or ignored for any length of time. When one of his mysteries are published, it takes precedence over any other reading that is currently taking place. The title of this 5th Leonid McGill installment, comes from Leonid saying to his wife, Katrina,“ ‘Sometimes I think that everybody in the world is crazy,’ ” I said, quoting myself, “ ‘except for me and you— and sometimes I wonder about you.’ ”
Mosley always does a superb job of re-familiarizing the reader with the basic cast of characters and thus makes it easy for one to pick up any of the McGill mysteries without concern about order. This is an otherworldly talent, and he makes it look easy. So, the crew is all here as we gallop along trying to solve some mysteries. Yes, plural. He has a few storylines going on in this one. There is one that is highly unlikely, and is a minor distraction from what is otherwise a fine offering.
This is the typical Mosley fare, page turning action, witty dialogue, a host of characters, and the always prevalent questions of why and how. Another enjoyable mystery and McGill, dare I say is becoming as popular as Easy Rawlins.
Mosley always does a superb job of re-familiarizing the reader with the basic cast of characters and thus makes it easy for one to pick up any of the McGill mysteries without concern about order. This is an otherworldly talent, and he makes it look easy. So, the crew is all here as we gallop along trying to solve some mysteries. Yes, plural. He has a few storylines going on in this one. There is one that is highly unlikely, and is a minor distraction from what is otherwise a fine offering.
This is the typical Mosley fare, page turning action, witty dialogue, a host of characters, and the always prevalent questions of why and how. Another enjoyable mystery and McGill, dare I say is becoming as popular as Easy Rawlins.
May 21, 2015
OMG I Want to marry Mr Mosley's brain!!!
Great story-- many threads woven together as usual. Such intriguing academic allusions, acerbic comments. I was laughing and giggling the whole way through this very serious and rather violent book. I adore Walter Mosley's talent and recommend this one highly
Great story-- many threads woven together as usual. Such intriguing academic allusions, acerbic comments. I was laughing and giggling the whole way through this very serious and rather violent book. I adore Walter Mosley's talent and recommend this one highly
February 6, 2016
Walther Mosley is one of my all time favourite authors. I have read everything he has ever written and I have enjoyed all of it. He is a gifted and skilled writer who can hold a reader enthralled from beginning to end. This novel is a brilliant exposition of his talent. We are reintroduced to PI Leonid McGill as he gets involved in three strands of investigation.
First, he searches for Celia, the distant cousin of Hiram Stent. He had turned homeless Hiram down as a client but soon after Hiram is murdered. He feels guilt and shame as he tries to ensure that Hiram's children are provided for. Second, he joins his son. Twill, in safeguarding Liza Downburton and her beloved, Fortune. Fortune, however, is controlled and owned by a dark underworld figure by the name of Jones. Jones runs a network of young people and children that he trains and instructs to commit crime, abuse and murder. He blackmails influential figures in important positions so that his crime network is protected. Third, Leonid is in lust with Marella, a woman he encounters on a train. It turns out she is keeping a valuable engagement ring from a very wealthy ex fiance. There are people after her. Leonid and Twill face grave danger. Leon is aided and surrounded by a great cast of charachers - Hush, Bug, the Professor, Gordo, Katrina, et al.
Mosley uses the vehicle of crime fiction for philosophy, social commentary and a meditation on what it is to be human. The novel reflects on sexuality and the state of marriage. It ponders on the nature of family and the forms it can take. More pertinently, it lays bare the splintered and broken heart at the centre of the American Dream. Furthermore, he paints a gloomy picture of the state of the nation in economic, political and social terms. All of this sounds serious, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to the simplicity and urgency of this erudite author and his storytelling. If you have not read Mr Mosley, I suggest you are in for a treat if you do.
First, he searches for Celia, the distant cousin of Hiram Stent. He had turned homeless Hiram down as a client but soon after Hiram is murdered. He feels guilt and shame as he tries to ensure that Hiram's children are provided for. Second, he joins his son. Twill, in safeguarding Liza Downburton and her beloved, Fortune. Fortune, however, is controlled and owned by a dark underworld figure by the name of Jones. Jones runs a network of young people and children that he trains and instructs to commit crime, abuse and murder. He blackmails influential figures in important positions so that his crime network is protected. Third, Leonid is in lust with Marella, a woman he encounters on a train. It turns out she is keeping a valuable engagement ring from a very wealthy ex fiance. There are people after her. Leonid and Twill face grave danger. Leon is aided and surrounded by a great cast of charachers - Hush, Bug, the Professor, Gordo, Katrina, et al.
Mosley uses the vehicle of crime fiction for philosophy, social commentary and a meditation on what it is to be human. The novel reflects on sexuality and the state of marriage. It ponders on the nature of family and the forms it can take. More pertinently, it lays bare the splintered and broken heart at the centre of the American Dream. Furthermore, he paints a gloomy picture of the state of the nation in economic, political and social terms. All of this sounds serious, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to the simplicity and urgency of this erudite author and his storytelling. If you have not read Mr Mosley, I suggest you are in for a treat if you do.
June 7, 2015
So damn good! Satisfying. Intriguing. And ..... Hush.... you betta ask somebody. That's all I'm gonna say.
August 12, 2025
Walter Mosley’s Leonid McGill character is a street smart and complex character who’s spent most of his life making mistakes. He’s trying to do the right thing now, but he’s not too likable a character. That didn’t stop me from liking the story and even rooting for him, though.
The stories meanders, like all the novels in this series do, because it’s as much about McGill as it is about the crime. but it all comes together. Several Mosley books ago, I stopped trying to figure out the plot, and just started enjoying the characters.
And Sometimes I Wonder About You is number 5 in Walter Mosley’s Leonid McGill series. I’m addicted to the series, and this is my favorite of the series.
We’ve heard McGill talk about his father who put fighting for the communist revolutionaries i South America throughout the series, so it was satisfying to have him appear. The scene where his father shows up at his door is the standout scene in this novel. Describing the scene would be so out of context that it would lose its edge, but this scene says so much about the McGill is today.
I’ll add one quote, since it also shows you some of Walter Mosley’s writing style:
You can easily start here with number 5 in the 6-book series. Why not start with the best? You’ll get plenty of backstory for it all to make sense, as long as you don’t mind missing the buildup for his father’s appearance.
The stories meanders, like all the novels in this series do, because it’s as much about McGill as it is about the crime. but it all comes together. Several Mosley books ago, I stopped trying to figure out the plot, and just started enjoying the characters.
And Sometimes I Wonder About You is number 5 in Walter Mosley’s Leonid McGill series. I’m addicted to the series, and this is my favorite of the series.
We’ve heard McGill talk about his father who put fighting for the communist revolutionaries i South America throughout the series, so it was satisfying to have him appear. The scene where his father shows up at his door is the standout scene in this novel. Describing the scene would be so out of context that it would lose its edge, but this scene says so much about the McGill is today.
I’ll add one quote, since it also shows you some of Walter Mosley’s writing style:
“How are you, Trot?” the man calling himself my father asked after his second sip of brandy.
“I can only tell it’s you by lookin’ at this picture,” I said.
“Memory is more like art than fact,” he said.
You can easily start here with number 5 in the 6-book series. Why not start with the best? You’ll get plenty of backstory for it all to make sense, as long as you don’t mind missing the buildup for his father’s appearance.
January 20, 2019
I skipped a couple books in this series and feeling happy with that decision. I think I have satisfied my appetite for too much to believe. This book caught me up with something I don't regret missing, the suicide attempt of Katrina, Leonid's unfaithful Scandinavian wife. The first part of this book has her in institutional setting and not wishing to stray from her bed. Her kids and LT pay visits but can't seem to convince her to return to active life. The latter half of the book has her back in the swing of things due to influence of Clarence, the returned father of LT we all thought dead.
LT, knight errant, protects a woman on a train on his return trip from a closed case. Of course this leads to incident with hired thug before they even leave the train station. The protection of this woman also leads to explicit and frequent coupling scenes. While LT was out of town his son Twill, now a partner in the PI business, is literally underground on a dangerous case helping another damsel in distress. Both cases blow up figuratively and literally. The McGill office is breached with explosives, but fails to gain information. Lots of fisticuffs and shoot-outs between the two cases.
The old boxing mentor of LT's, having recovered from cancer (where last I left him end of book 2) ties up everything with a bow getting married and it all ends with tears in the eyes of LT having just come to the wedding from a hospital bed after his most recent fray, battling the evil and elusive head of crime syndicate using youth. Maybe this is the final McGill? I mean...tears?!
I don't think I have included spoilers as both these major efforts are really complex. It is fun to see Hush running a limo service and living in a Fifth Avenue mansion. It gives me a chuckle, at least.
LT, knight errant, protects a woman on a train on his return trip from a closed case. Of course this leads to incident with hired thug before they even leave the train station. The protection of this woman also leads to explicit and frequent coupling scenes. While LT was out of town his son Twill, now a partner in the PI business, is literally underground on a dangerous case helping another damsel in distress. Both cases blow up figuratively and literally. The McGill office is breached with explosives, but fails to gain information. Lots of fisticuffs and shoot-outs between the two cases.
The old boxing mentor of LT's, having recovered from cancer (where last I left him end of book 2) ties up everything with a bow getting married and it all ends with tears in the eyes of LT having just come to the wedding from a hospital bed after his most recent fray, battling the evil and elusive head of crime syndicate using youth. Maybe this is the final McGill? I mean...tears?!
I don't think I have included spoilers as both these major efforts are really complex. It is fun to see Hush running a limo service and living in a Fifth Avenue mansion. It gives me a chuckle, at least.
January 21, 2024
Another uneven tale starring Lenoid McGill- Mosley's cruder, less interesting version of his timeless Easy Rawlins character. Forced and overstuffed.
2 1/2 Blase Blah Style Stars
2 1/2 Blase Blah Style Stars
June 16, 2015
And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley is the fifth Leonid McGill novel in the series and one I was unable to put down, just as I was unable to put down his previous four books in the series. Mosley’s characters are fully developed, multidimensional, and utterly fascinating, Leonid McGill is one of my all time favorite Private Investigators. Leonid’s personal life is still in chaos, much as it was in the previous book, All I Did Was Shoot My Man, his father is still missing and his wife’s slow recovery in the sanitarium is making things rather difficult for him and Aura. To further complicate matters Twill is busy working is own case helping Fortune and spending time with his girlfriend Liza. When Leonid is approached by Hiram Stent to locate his cousin Celia, who is about to inherit millions, he decline the case that is until his office is broken into and Hiram is found dead. McGill masterfully crafts a multi-storied PI mystery where Leonid finds himself in the seedy underbelly of Celia’s family, helping Twill, locating his father, attempting reconciliation with his wife and his girlfriend, and in his spare time, attending Gordo’s wedding. While this brief synopsis may sound chaotic and like spoilers, Mosley’s gift of storytelling makes sense of what appears chaotic and thankfully his writing allows me to give this much information without spoilers. Mosley’s writing is pure genius and reminds me of Mickey Spillane’s books, my first foray into PI stories. I highly recommend this book and Mosley’s previous books in this series to anyone who enjoys exceedingly well written, multi-directional storylines with complex characters and the feel of “old fashioned” PI stories.
June 29, 2015
And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley is the fifth novel in the Leonid McGill series and the character is compelling enough to make me want to go back and pick up the first four stories in this series. Moseley writes this novel with the easy groove of the music that McGill loves and the narrative by McGill brings you into his world with a unique and telling perspective.
In this fifth novel, the Private Detective finds himself in a precarious juggling act between the multiple cases he has going and a private life that seems to be at the best, uncontrollable. But McGill strolls through it all, though not in control, but seeming never completely out of control.
There is his depressed wife who is committed to an asylum, but not getting any better so that he wonders if it would be better if he brings her home. His on again and off again landlord lover who he is on a break from. Then there is the beautiful seductress who he meets and ends up in a torrid affair with. And then there is his son who following in his father's footsteps as a detective finds himself involved with a criminal mastermind who uses children and lost young people to commit crimes. A mystery man who something of a modern day Dickens' Fagan. There is the homeless man who tries to hire McGill to find his long lost relative and then ends up brutally murdered. The long lost relative who happens to hold onto a secret that the very rich will kill for. Then there is that seductress who seems to need protection when they are not in bed together. Add in McGill's long lost socialist father who has been either freedom fighting or in prison somewhere in South America after abandoning McGill, showing up to mend the broken relationship. All this and McGill has the wedding of his best friend and mentor to attend.
As you can tell, there is a lot going on in this book and as wonderfully as it is told, there is the simple fact that there is just so much going on that gets muddled from time to time. A large plate of jambalaya, where all the flavors fuse so much that they lose something of their own profile.
Mosley wields his pen well. The narrative of McGill is compelling and rhythmic. A strong story told by a flawed but strong man who is never totaling sure of his own sense of right. But does the best he can for all even then. It is a good story. And the character of Leonid McGill is one I will definitely follow, it just isn't good enough to rush out and pick up the next one right away.
In this fifth novel, the Private Detective finds himself in a precarious juggling act between the multiple cases he has going and a private life that seems to be at the best, uncontrollable. But McGill strolls through it all, though not in control, but seeming never completely out of control.
There is his depressed wife who is committed to an asylum, but not getting any better so that he wonders if it would be better if he brings her home. His on again and off again landlord lover who he is on a break from. Then there is the beautiful seductress who he meets and ends up in a torrid affair with. And then there is his son who following in his father's footsteps as a detective finds himself involved with a criminal mastermind who uses children and lost young people to commit crimes. A mystery man who something of a modern day Dickens' Fagan. There is the homeless man who tries to hire McGill to find his long lost relative and then ends up brutally murdered. The long lost relative who happens to hold onto a secret that the very rich will kill for. Then there is that seductress who seems to need protection when they are not in bed together. Add in McGill's long lost socialist father who has been either freedom fighting or in prison somewhere in South America after abandoning McGill, showing up to mend the broken relationship. All this and McGill has the wedding of his best friend and mentor to attend.
As you can tell, there is a lot going on in this book and as wonderfully as it is told, there is the simple fact that there is just so much going on that gets muddled from time to time. A large plate of jambalaya, where all the flavors fuse so much that they lose something of their own profile.
Mosley wields his pen well. The narrative of McGill is compelling and rhythmic. A strong story told by a flawed but strong man who is never totaling sure of his own sense of right. But does the best he can for all even then. It is a good story. And the character of Leonid McGill is one I will definitely follow, it just isn't good enough to rush out and pick up the next one right away.
June 13, 2015
I continue to be in awe of Walter Mosley. He continues to offer superb books in both the Easy Rawlins and LT McGill series.
McGill is a PI of the coolest sort; friends with hoodlums, hackers, con artists, and honest cops. Mosley loves New York and shows off its meanest streets from Wall to Grand Concourse to full advantage.
Mosley throws so many balls in the air between McGill's multiple cases and multiple family dramas (including a cameo appearance by his believed-dead father). Somehow he catches them all smoothly at the end. It is not magic; it is just so skillfully done.
McGill is a PI of the coolest sort; friends with hoodlums, hackers, con artists, and honest cops. Mosley loves New York and shows off its meanest streets from Wall to Grand Concourse to full advantage.
Mosley throws so many balls in the air between McGill's multiple cases and multiple family dramas (including a cameo appearance by his believed-dead father). Somehow he catches them all smoothly at the end. It is not magic; it is just so skillfully done.
September 19, 2023
'Convoluted' would be an apt short review for "And Sometimes I Worry About You", 5th in Walter Mosley's Leonid McGill series. Plots, subplots, wives, lovers, hit men, cops, children, a returned absentee father, a massive criminal enterprise, a serial killer....throw them all together and you come up with a lot of threads to follow. Through it all we're treated to Mosley's twin fixations on colors and race.
The series' main character, McGill, is a black NYC PI, a recovering criminal with some age on him but still a badass, albeit one who's short in stature. He gets engaged in a few concurrent investigations, mainly a young woman who is being threatened, a young man who is involved in a gang of criminal kids, and a beautiful woman who is being followed and who manages to get McGill interested in protecting her. While all this is going on, McGill's long absent father reappears in his life, his PI-in-training son disappears, his institutionalized wife who'd attempted suicide relapses, and he is almost killed a few times. In the end, all is well as McGill solves everything for everyone, using his strength, smarts, and bevy of helpers.
I've read Mosley since ex-President Clinton recommended him back in the day. His early work was great mainly because it was fresh and he wrote about subjects rare in literature at the time. He still writes good stories but his shtick is getting a bit long in the tooth. He overuses hyperbole (his characters are all the strongest, baddest, most beautiful, most intelligent, most creative, etc.), he insists in describing the color of everything (once cute but is no longer), and he makes it relatively easy to figure out the good guys and bad guys since, in general, black=good and white=bad. This novel has all of those components of his "brand" covered and then some. It's still a good story but a bit cartoonish at times.
The series' main character, McGill, is a black NYC PI, a recovering criminal with some age on him but still a badass, albeit one who's short in stature. He gets engaged in a few concurrent investigations, mainly a young woman who is being threatened, a young man who is involved in a gang of criminal kids, and a beautiful woman who is being followed and who manages to get McGill interested in protecting her. While all this is going on, McGill's long absent father reappears in his life, his PI-in-training son disappears, his institutionalized wife who'd attempted suicide relapses, and he is almost killed a few times. In the end, all is well as McGill solves everything for everyone, using his strength, smarts, and bevy of helpers.
I've read Mosley since ex-President Clinton recommended him back in the day. His early work was great mainly because it was fresh and he wrote about subjects rare in literature at the time. He still writes good stories but his shtick is getting a bit long in the tooth. He overuses hyperbole (his characters are all the strongest, baddest, most beautiful, most intelligent, most creative, etc.), he insists in describing the color of everything (once cute but is no longer), and he makes it relatively easy to figure out the good guys and bad guys since, in general, black=good and white=bad. This novel has all of those components of his "brand" covered and then some. It's still a good story but a bit cartoonish at times.
December 23, 2017
Mosley usually delivers, but this was the best of his that I'd read in a while and the best of the Leonid McGill stories. All the modern noir tropes are there - the hero who fights better than anyone else, the friend who is the most feared hitman on the planet, the friend who can hack anything anywhere and the friend in the police who can get him out of any jam. And yet, there is something more about these stories. They're a little sexier than the Easy Rawlins ones and McGill's problems seem more real and more heartbreaking. I still have a deep fondness for Easy, but this was just more fun than I've had with one of Mosley's books in a while.
July 30, 2015
It took me only a short time to read this book as I raced through page after page to discover what would happen next. LT has some very interesting connections whether that be with the various women in his life, his family or his ‘underground’ friends who are always willing to lend a hand or give information/advice as and when required – usually for a fee, but then we all need money to live. LT himself is a very likeable character and someone who you would like to have in your corner as Marella discovered early on. Having not read any previous books by Walter Mosley I was glad that LT’s history was covered so that I could understand his viewpoint. I won’t recant the whole story for you but needless to say I really enjoyed this book which is full of grit and the realities of life. This book has made me want to read more by Walter so I will now try to go back to start with the ‘Easy Rawlins’ books.
I was very lucky to receive a free copy of this book from ‘Goodreads First Reads’.
I was very lucky to receive a free copy of this book from ‘Goodreads First Reads’.
May 20, 2016
Disappointed in this Mosely. So overblown and ridiculous that only his skilled writing stopped me laughing out load at how silly it was. Very unlike the excellent easy Rawlins series and much more like a James Lee Burke Dave Robichaux story with all the attendant overdescription. Won't bother with another Leonid McGill.
May 13, 2015
Yes. More yes. This is the book to read if you want a very human, very philosophical, and very cerebral mystery. By the end, you like some characters, hate others, but you feel like you understand them all. Not approve or disapprove, necessarily, but understand. I enjoyed the hell out this book.
January 5, 2016
Leonid Trotter McGill’s New York City office now officially answers its phone “McGill and Son detective agency,” a recent development. One of his sons, Twilliam (usually just “Twill”), is a new addition. His relationships with just about all his nearest and dearest being fraught with complexities: He hasn’t seen his father, Clarence, the charismatic revolutionary who calls himself “Tolstoy” McGill, in years; his wife has recently attempted suicide. His “blood son” and daughter are Dmitri and Tatyana; Twill and Shelly are the two sired by other men but who Leonid raised exactly the same as his own offspring. And then there is Gordo, his mentor, boxing trainer, and the man who he considers “his true father.”
Those relationships, and the assorted women who cross his path, either professionally or otherwise, (with several of whom he falls in love or lust, or both) are a major part of this novel, the balance of which are the several cases that come to him. These multiple plot lines arise in different parts of the book, which is as complex as these may make it sound. But with this master storyteller, that is not a deficit. The first of these is introduced in the first pages of the book, and she is a gorgeous woman named Marella Herzog, who fits both definitions: Client and lover. Their first meeting, when he is aware of a scent she is wearing, causes “a strong reaction in a section of my heart that had almost been forgotten.” He describes his secretary as having “gray-blue eyes [which] carried all the sadness of the last days of autumn and her voice was so soft that it could have been a memory.” Another sometime lover is the “color of pure gold that hadn’t been polished for some years,” with hair that was “naturally wavy and darkly blond.”
He thinks “sadness had as many striations as a rainbow - - only in grays.” The writing is replete with lines like these: When McGill visits his wife in the hospital, he thinks “I wanted to say something kind, to slap her and tell her to snap out of it. I would have torn out my hair if I wasn’t already bald.” McGill, 55, is self-described as an “old, off-the-rack straphanger;” and “it has always amazed me how a woman’s eyes and her words can find a direct line to my animal heart;” when he speaks to a waitress, she smiles at him, and he muses “as had been its purpose since humans became a species, the smile socialized me.” I briefly had a difficult time recognizing the quote that provides the title of the book, but the author kindly reminded me: “Sometimes I think that everybody in the world in crazy, except for me and you - - and sometimes I wonder about you.” The writing throughout is wonderful, but then we expect nothing less from this author, who carries the reader along swiftly on the ride through his newest, 49th novel, and it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.
Those relationships, and the assorted women who cross his path, either professionally or otherwise, (with several of whom he falls in love or lust, or both) are a major part of this novel, the balance of which are the several cases that come to him. These multiple plot lines arise in different parts of the book, which is as complex as these may make it sound. But with this master storyteller, that is not a deficit. The first of these is introduced in the first pages of the book, and she is a gorgeous woman named Marella Herzog, who fits both definitions: Client and lover. Their first meeting, when he is aware of a scent she is wearing, causes “a strong reaction in a section of my heart that had almost been forgotten.” He describes his secretary as having “gray-blue eyes [which] carried all the sadness of the last days of autumn and her voice was so soft that it could have been a memory.” Another sometime lover is the “color of pure gold that hadn’t been polished for some years,” with hair that was “naturally wavy and darkly blond.”
He thinks “sadness had as many striations as a rainbow - - only in grays.” The writing is replete with lines like these: When McGill visits his wife in the hospital, he thinks “I wanted to say something kind, to slap her and tell her to snap out of it. I would have torn out my hair if I wasn’t already bald.” McGill, 55, is self-described as an “old, off-the-rack straphanger;” and “it has always amazed me how a woman’s eyes and her words can find a direct line to my animal heart;” when he speaks to a waitress, she smiles at him, and he muses “as had been its purpose since humans became a species, the smile socialized me.” I briefly had a difficult time recognizing the quote that provides the title of the book, but the author kindly reminded me: “Sometimes I think that everybody in the world in crazy, except for me and you - - and sometimes I wonder about you.” The writing throughout is wonderful, but then we expect nothing less from this author, who carries the reader along swiftly on the ride through his newest, 49th novel, and it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.
September 16, 2016
Walter Mosley can still write a passable mystery, but his present day NYC isn't nearly as well drawn and convincing as his vintage portraits of black life in LA in the early Easy Rawlins novels. But then, Leonid McGill is no Easy Rawlins! The tone of the book reveals him to be an almost laughably transparent Mary Sue, as the following typical passage will demonstrate:
"I woke up early after a night of hard drinking, convinced that my friend Paco needed me down at the gym once again. I was in my mid fifties, and I drank a lot, but because of my superior discipline and amazing mental attitude I was still able to out think, outpoint, and out punch any of the young fighters at Paco's gym. Paco called me all the time in order to teach the promising young contenders my amazing skills.
But when I picked up the phone, it wasn't Paco. It was Mariella, the amazingly deadly femme fatale who'd begged me for protection on the train last week. "I need you, Leonid," she crooned. "I need a short, fat, bald black man with amazing love making skills who never gets tired of making women happy."
"I'm on it," I said. So many of the most dangerous women just want a short, fat, aging black man. Just then my charming yet psychotic son banged on the door. "Dad, there's a mean white man with an army of children trapped down below the subway tunnels. Only you can save them!"
I decided to shake down some rich white people for money, take my latest femme fatale out on the town, out box a few young contenders, and lecture the horrible racist police on the evils of excessive force -- but first I had to lecture my reformed communist father on his parenting failures. After all, my own children all turned wonderful even though I hadn't been around in years."
This book shouldn't be called AND SOMETIMES I WONDER ABOUT YOU.
Mosley should have called it DIG HOW COOL I AM!
"I woke up early after a night of hard drinking, convinced that my friend Paco needed me down at the gym once again. I was in my mid fifties, and I drank a lot, but because of my superior discipline and amazing mental attitude I was still able to out think, outpoint, and out punch any of the young fighters at Paco's gym. Paco called me all the time in order to teach the promising young contenders my amazing skills.
But when I picked up the phone, it wasn't Paco. It was Mariella, the amazingly deadly femme fatale who'd begged me for protection on the train last week. "I need you, Leonid," she crooned. "I need a short, fat, bald black man with amazing love making skills who never gets tired of making women happy."
"I'm on it," I said. So many of the most dangerous women just want a short, fat, aging black man. Just then my charming yet psychotic son banged on the door. "Dad, there's a mean white man with an army of children trapped down below the subway tunnels. Only you can save them!"
I decided to shake down some rich white people for money, take my latest femme fatale out on the town, out box a few young contenders, and lecture the horrible racist police on the evils of excessive force -- but first I had to lecture my reformed communist father on his parenting failures. After all, my own children all turned wonderful even though I hadn't been around in years."
This book shouldn't be called AND SOMETIMES I WONDER ABOUT YOU.
Mosley should have called it DIG HOW COOL I AM!
May 20, 2015
A Detective Story with Many Angles
Leonid McGill is having a bad day. On the train from Philly to New York, a beautiful woman sits next to him. They connect, but there's a catch. She's being followed by a man sent by her ex-fiance. In the the elevator leaving Penn station, McGill is forced to save her almost killing the man. For that he connects $1500 and a date with the beautiful woman.
When he get to the office, a man is waiting to see him. Hiram Stent is a vagrant, but he has been offered a cut in the million dollar inheritance if he can locate the missing woman who is to receive the money. Leonid refuses to take the case, and the man is murdered. Now McGill feels honor bound to take the case to get justice for Stent.
These are not his only problems. His wife is in a sanitarium after a suicide attempt. His son, Twill, is out of the office working on a dangerous case of his own. The women in his life all have their own problems.
Mosley has created a compelling character in Leonid McGill. A man with a horrific past, family problems, and love affairs who is able to think about himself and his circumstances with insight and candor. His ruminations were some of the best parts of the book.
The book has several subplots, but it's easy to keep them apart and each adds to the overall story. The background is well described from the seedy sections of New York to the elaborate residences of the rich.
If you're a fan of Chandler and Marlowe, you'll find much to like in Mosley's latest book.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.
Leonid McGill is having a bad day. On the train from Philly to New York, a beautiful woman sits next to him. They connect, but there's a catch. She's being followed by a man sent by her ex-fiance. In the the elevator leaving Penn station, McGill is forced to save her almost killing the man. For that he connects $1500 and a date with the beautiful woman.
When he get to the office, a man is waiting to see him. Hiram Stent is a vagrant, but he has been offered a cut in the million dollar inheritance if he can locate the missing woman who is to receive the money. Leonid refuses to take the case, and the man is murdered. Now McGill feels honor bound to take the case to get justice for Stent.
These are not his only problems. His wife is in a sanitarium after a suicide attempt. His son, Twill, is out of the office working on a dangerous case of his own. The women in his life all have their own problems.
Mosley has created a compelling character in Leonid McGill. A man with a horrific past, family problems, and love affairs who is able to think about himself and his circumstances with insight and candor. His ruminations were some of the best parts of the book.
The book has several subplots, but it's easy to keep them apart and each adds to the overall story. The background is well described from the seedy sections of New York to the elaborate residences of the rich.
If you're a fan of Chandler and Marlowe, you'll find much to like in Mosley's latest book.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.
May 27, 2015
Leonid McGill is a private eye who stays one step ahead of everyone. He is very careful in his professional life. In fact it takes seven keys just to open the outer door to his receptionist’s office, not to mention the seventeen number pass code on the keypad to unlock the metal door to his inner office. His personal life is not so well secured. When Leonid was thirteen, his Dad left the family to pursue a life as a Communist revolutionary in South America. Leonid’s wife, Katrina has been in a mental hospital since trying to kill herself. The woman Leonid loves, Aura, has been out of the picture for a while. Only one of the three children he has raised as his own is his biological child, although he will lay down his life for any of them in a heart beat. On this day, the drop dead beautiful woman who just sat down beside Leonid on the commuter train is about to cause a train wreck in his life both personally and professionally. His son Twill, who Leonid is training to be a private investigator like himself, has gotten himself into trouble with a criminal mastermind, who controls a city wide gang of thieves and killers comprised of kids raised to a life of crime. To top it all off, someone has blown a hole in the wall of McGill’s office in order to gain access to his files. Walter Mosley gives us a full cast of characters who are so real you could cut them with a knife. Mosley’s, P. I. Leonid McGill may be reaching fifty, but his boxer’s body still hasn’t lost it’s speed, sharpness, or deadly force. A great read. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine.
October 21, 2015
I was late to the Mosley game, having just read "Devil in a Blue Dress" a few years ago. I adored it. I had found another detective series to love. I was excited about all the books in the series that awaited me - such a backlog on which to catch up - what a quality problem! It doesn't happen often anymore but when it does, it's fabulous!
Unfortunately, "And Sometimes" didn't have the same effect. While the writing, at least initially, was as insightful and wonderful as "Devil" ("He's kinda like a ghoul-there in his body but not in his eyes" and "Specific problems have always been my stock-in-trade" or "In my experience, beautiful strangers rarely give as much as they take and they almost always ask for more."), I found the characters, esp. McGill, to be one dimensional and trite. All the women are fabulous, beautiful and in love with McGill. And he's half in love with all of them. I found the plot convoluted and lost track of it, and most of the characters, at a little more than halfway.
I am reminded of other authors who seem to suffer from the same fate - John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell and Janet Evanovich to name a few - wherein their books/characters/plots, etc. become one big cliche. Over the top, unrealistic and boring. It's almost offensive that they expect us to read this schlock. And SO disappointing. Maybe I'll go back to the book after "Devil"...or maybe not.
P.S. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
Unfortunately, "And Sometimes" didn't have the same effect. While the writing, at least initially, was as insightful and wonderful as "Devil" ("He's kinda like a ghoul-there in his body but not in his eyes" and "Specific problems have always been my stock-in-trade" or "In my experience, beautiful strangers rarely give as much as they take and they almost always ask for more."), I found the characters, esp. McGill, to be one dimensional and trite. All the women are fabulous, beautiful and in love with McGill. And he's half in love with all of them. I found the plot convoluted and lost track of it, and most of the characters, at a little more than halfway.
I am reminded of other authors who seem to suffer from the same fate - John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell and Janet Evanovich to name a few - wherein their books/characters/plots, etc. become one big cliche. Over the top, unrealistic and boring. It's almost offensive that they expect us to read this schlock. And SO disappointing. Maybe I'll go back to the book after "Devil"...or maybe not.
P.S. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
May 12, 2015
And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley- If you're like me, and have studiously read every Easy Rawlins adventure as soon as they came out, you will be equally impressed and entertained by the exploits of Leonid McGill of New York City. McGill is different than Easy; a former criminal and low-life who has turned his life around and now runs a successful Private Investigation office. He is trying walk the straight line but the world, his family and an amazing number of ladies are trying to sway him. In this book, the fifth in the series, McGill is set on a course by a dead man who McGill turned down when he asked for help. What he finds behind a simple missing person case escalates into a whole series of encounters and showdowns, and McGill must use all his criminal knowledge to stay alive and keep his family safe. Never boring, this, like most of Mosley's books is a good read and raises the classic Private Eye genre to a new level.
May 12, 2015
I really enjoyed this book told in an old timey mystery kind of way. It was like the old TV shows of the '50's and '60' in my mind. Although at first I thought I was going to have to make a spreadsheet due to all the characters and their aliases. However, I found the author would give me a little hint as to who they were if they hadn't been in the story for a while.
This was easy reading and very enjoyable and I truly liked it.
Thank you Doubleday Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this e-galley.
This was easy reading and very enjoyable and I truly liked it.
Thank you Doubleday Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this e-galley.
June 6, 2015
Another great Mosley read.
Any fan of Walter Mosley should read this book. Best of all there appears to be promise of more Leonie McGill to come.
Any fan of Walter Mosley should read this book. Best of all there appears to be promise of more Leonie McGill to come.
January 8, 2016
This was the best Leonid McGill so far.. Loved it!!
January 20, 2021
Eminently readable. Loved the multiple threads weaving in and out of LT’s week. Terrific storytelling with black experience woven in subtly. Painful when Boston cops harass LT sitting at a bus stop.
February 6, 2016
Don’t worry about spoilers, I intend to avoid putting you through that minefield.
Walter Mosley has written over 40 books and five of the more recent ones star Leonid McGill, private eye. These books take us through most of McGill’s past six years since LT (as he is known to some intimates) turned a moral corner and shed as much of the dark side as he could.
For those who have followed Mosley through signature characters such as Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow, you may be thinking , as I am beginning to do, that LT is a particular favorite of this author. Mosley is always about the inequalities of the human condition and how we make our choices in the midst of how we are being treated. There is no doubt that he can draw on a long and deep line of documentation when we are talking about the legal system and African-Americans.
McGill, with his straddle of the underground world, his interracial marriage, his fierce concern for children (his and others), his balancing of the physical and intellectual, and his gourmand enjoyment of food, drink and sex (whether it be a long term relationship or a cup of coffee in a cardboard cup), makes me think that Mosley has a lot beyond plot that he wants to convey.
LT is a contemporary urban P.I. who uses all his connections and their techno-savvy to augment his own ability to see deep into the people he deals with (clients included) and go beyond the facades they show to the world. He is a quite flawed person, due to many factors ranging from his early survival on the streets to the deeds he has committed and wishes he could take back. Because of his past, he is known to many of New York City’s police and endures continual confrontations and provocations, many of those are understandable from the constabulary’s point of view.
Here is how Mosley describes him in an interview: “Leonid is a guy who, in the 20th century, committed all these crimes. He was a criminal. He did all these awful things. And now, in the 21st century, he realized that he was wrong, and now he’s trying to do what’s right. And doing what’s right is incredibly difficult for him, you know, because he’s—everybody knows him as this bad guy—the police, the criminals, everybody else. And also, everything he knows has to do with this criminal life he lived. And so, for me, it’s an incredibly political novel, though I never overtly talk about politics at all. I just talk about this guy who was one way in the 20th century, and he’s another way in the 21st…his father was an anarchist, who mistakenly thought he was a communist, who was involved in—you know, in all kinds of political movements. He goes down to South America to fight in the revolution and never comes back. Leonid’s mother, you know, trained Leonid at home 'til he was age of 12. You know, at the age of 12, he's reading Hegel. You know, he’s reading Emma Goldman. And he knows that stuff. He knows it even still today. But his mother dies. His father is gone. He lives on the street. He becomes a criminal. He uses this knowledge to inform his criminal life, rather than to inform any kind of political life.”
There is a satisfying grittiness to Mosley’s Manhattan. He accomplishes this as much through his characters as through any location description. Certainly reminiscent of his ability to give us Los Angeles with all its warts, it also resonates with Max Allan Collins, Ross McDonald and, no surprise, Raymond Chandler. If I have just read one of the McGill’s, any visit to NYC serves to heighten my sensitivities to my surroundings.
In And Sometimes I Wonder About You, Mosley is fast out of the chute with a noir plot that has LT coming to the rescue of a beautiful woman (of questionable ethics) on the Amtrak Regional from Philly to NYC. With the dexterity of a Cirque du Soliel juggler, Mosley keeps adding to the plot at a fevered pace picking up pieces from the previous stories: LT’s wife’s attempted suicide; his office manager’s imprisoned father; LT’s desire to track down the father that abandoned him; the cops trying to tie him to an assault; and, what his youngest son (who he has taken into his P.I. work) is up to on his own. It also includes assignments to track down two women and a man and find out who broke into his office and who murdered a client. And this is only the start (within the first seventy pages)! Mosley deftly manages to make this smoothly transition from one element to the next.
But the pleasure isn’t confined to either plot or character. Mosley must love language because he can do so many amazing things with it. Examples:
“It struck me that our conversation was like an aged wine rather than a freshly squeezed juice.”
“I was looking at the closed door, thinking that everything was possible but little of that possibility was likely. Life was like a rat’s maze tended by some insane god that tortured and shepherded us for some reason he (or maybe she) could no longer remember.”
“She smiled and brushed past me. At that proximity I got a whiff of something both acrid and sweet, like some ancient forests I’d been in. It was a mild scent that caused a strong reaction in a section of my heart that had almost been forgotten.”
“All those years working out in Gordo’s boxing gym had honed my reflexes until they almost had minds of their own. I couldn’t go ten rounds anymore but in a profession like mine survival was rarely about endurance.”
Every character gets a full physical description from LT followed by his insights into their personality. The descriptions are full of wonderful details: “Tall, maybe five-eight, and thin, she had brunette hair and skin that took to the sun; a white girl no more than twenty, her face was plain and pretty by turns with eyes promising intelligence, patience, and empathy… While she hesitated I studied her couture. The silk blouse was blue with an underlying patina of gray. Her black pants looked to be cashmere as did the emerald sweater she had draped on her shoulders. No purse. Not much makeup either.”
There is a lot of care given to the dialogue --care that reflects each character’s education and station in life in its cadence and vocabulary. This is part of the delight in reading these books. And, this one doesn’t disappoint with its plot twists and tension and thought-provoking encounters.
Walter Mosley has written over 40 books and five of the more recent ones star Leonid McGill, private eye. These books take us through most of McGill’s past six years since LT (as he is known to some intimates) turned a moral corner and shed as much of the dark side as he could.
For those who have followed Mosley through signature characters such as Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow, you may be thinking , as I am beginning to do, that LT is a particular favorite of this author. Mosley is always about the inequalities of the human condition and how we make our choices in the midst of how we are being treated. There is no doubt that he can draw on a long and deep line of documentation when we are talking about the legal system and African-Americans.
McGill, with his straddle of the underground world, his interracial marriage, his fierce concern for children (his and others), his balancing of the physical and intellectual, and his gourmand enjoyment of food, drink and sex (whether it be a long term relationship or a cup of coffee in a cardboard cup), makes me think that Mosley has a lot beyond plot that he wants to convey.
LT is a contemporary urban P.I. who uses all his connections and their techno-savvy to augment his own ability to see deep into the people he deals with (clients included) and go beyond the facades they show to the world. He is a quite flawed person, due to many factors ranging from his early survival on the streets to the deeds he has committed and wishes he could take back. Because of his past, he is known to many of New York City’s police and endures continual confrontations and provocations, many of those are understandable from the constabulary’s point of view.
Here is how Mosley describes him in an interview: “Leonid is a guy who, in the 20th century, committed all these crimes. He was a criminal. He did all these awful things. And now, in the 21st century, he realized that he was wrong, and now he’s trying to do what’s right. And doing what’s right is incredibly difficult for him, you know, because he’s—everybody knows him as this bad guy—the police, the criminals, everybody else. And also, everything he knows has to do with this criminal life he lived. And so, for me, it’s an incredibly political novel, though I never overtly talk about politics at all. I just talk about this guy who was one way in the 20th century, and he’s another way in the 21st…his father was an anarchist, who mistakenly thought he was a communist, who was involved in—you know, in all kinds of political movements. He goes down to South America to fight in the revolution and never comes back. Leonid’s mother, you know, trained Leonid at home 'til he was age of 12. You know, at the age of 12, he's reading Hegel. You know, he’s reading Emma Goldman. And he knows that stuff. He knows it even still today. But his mother dies. His father is gone. He lives on the street. He becomes a criminal. He uses this knowledge to inform his criminal life, rather than to inform any kind of political life.”
There is a satisfying grittiness to Mosley’s Manhattan. He accomplishes this as much through his characters as through any location description. Certainly reminiscent of his ability to give us Los Angeles with all its warts, it also resonates with Max Allan Collins, Ross McDonald and, no surprise, Raymond Chandler. If I have just read one of the McGill’s, any visit to NYC serves to heighten my sensitivities to my surroundings.
In And Sometimes I Wonder About You, Mosley is fast out of the chute with a noir plot that has LT coming to the rescue of a beautiful woman (of questionable ethics) on the Amtrak Regional from Philly to NYC. With the dexterity of a Cirque du Soliel juggler, Mosley keeps adding to the plot at a fevered pace picking up pieces from the previous stories: LT’s wife’s attempted suicide; his office manager’s imprisoned father; LT’s desire to track down the father that abandoned him; the cops trying to tie him to an assault; and, what his youngest son (who he has taken into his P.I. work) is up to on his own. It also includes assignments to track down two women and a man and find out who broke into his office and who murdered a client. And this is only the start (within the first seventy pages)! Mosley deftly manages to make this smoothly transition from one element to the next.
But the pleasure isn’t confined to either plot or character. Mosley must love language because he can do so many amazing things with it. Examples:
“It struck me that our conversation was like an aged wine rather than a freshly squeezed juice.”
“I was looking at the closed door, thinking that everything was possible but little of that possibility was likely. Life was like a rat’s maze tended by some insane god that tortured and shepherded us for some reason he (or maybe she) could no longer remember.”
“She smiled and brushed past me. At that proximity I got a whiff of something both acrid and sweet, like some ancient forests I’d been in. It was a mild scent that caused a strong reaction in a section of my heart that had almost been forgotten.”
“All those years working out in Gordo’s boxing gym had honed my reflexes until they almost had minds of their own. I couldn’t go ten rounds anymore but in a profession like mine survival was rarely about endurance.”
Every character gets a full physical description from LT followed by his insights into their personality. The descriptions are full of wonderful details: “Tall, maybe five-eight, and thin, she had brunette hair and skin that took to the sun; a white girl no more than twenty, her face was plain and pretty by turns with eyes promising intelligence, patience, and empathy… While she hesitated I studied her couture. The silk blouse was blue with an underlying patina of gray. Her black pants looked to be cashmere as did the emerald sweater she had draped on her shoulders. No purse. Not much makeup either.”
There is a lot of care given to the dialogue --care that reflects each character’s education and station in life in its cadence and vocabulary. This is part of the delight in reading these books. And, this one doesn’t disappoint with its plot twists and tension and thought-provoking encounters.
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