Every Man a King

King Oliver #2

by Walter Mosley

In this highly anticipated sequel to the Edgar award winner Down the River Unto the Sea, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he's asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up.

When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he’s got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller’s been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold.

This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller’s dealings, to understand Ferris’ skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez—no regular girl Friday—the machine King’s up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger.

Mosley once again proves himself a "master of craft and narrative" (National Book Foundation) in this carefully plotted mystery that is at once a classic caper, a family saga and an examination of fealty, pride and how deep debt can go.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Thriller, New York

Audiobook

First published February 21, 2023

About the author

Walter 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.

Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Oliver's morals and ethics are put to the test when he agrees to do a favor for (Roger Ferris) a friend of a close family member. He has been asked to find out if the murder charges against Xavier Quiller, an imprisoned white nationalist, are strong enough to send him away for good.

Ferris has personal reasons for wanting more information as to whether or not Quiller is guilty. He also knows that if anyone can get to the bottom of the matter, and discover the hard facts, it's King.

Every Man a King propels Oliver down many rabbit holes as he risks life and limb in his quest to unravel a dangerous web of lies and deceit. Unfortunately, no one comes out unscathed.

Note: Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right (King Oliver, #3) Scheduled to be released: January 28, 2025.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Mosley elements are here. A cast of characters, plot twists and turns, moral dilemmas, potential and real death situations and so much fun staying in lock step with Mosley, as you, the reader attempt to solve the latest case. We are puzzled when Joe King Oliver accepts a job from his beloved Grandmother’s boyfriend, billionaire Roger Ferris. The case involves trying to prove the innocence of Alfred Quiller, who is an avowed white supremacist. Hmm?

While King is researching and ramping up his work on the Quiller case, despite the protestations of his daughter, who bombards him with, “how could you, why would you” questions concerning working on behalf of Quiller. The interactions between King, and his daughter Aja, represents standout moments in the novel. “Aja’s eyes gauged my worth. It looked as if she found me lacking. That’s a moment that all fathers have to face…..If someone had asked me at that moment to explain my emotional state I would have said, Everything good and everything bad that makes me human.”

In the midst of all that is going on, King’s ex wife drops another case on him. She wants to get her current beau out of lockdown, he is being held without bail. Whew! So off we go, the setup gives Mosley space to riff on white supremacy, doing the right things, maintenance of relationships that prove worthy throughout lifetimes. The message seems to be, that things are not always what they seem and when we dare to look deeper, we may be surprised at what we find. I recommend for new and old Mosley fans! A true literary master.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Convoluted & Confusing
Review of the Mulholland Books Kindle eBook (February 21, 2023) released simultaneously with the Mulholland Books hardcover & Little, Brown & Company audiobook.

While waiting on the bus bench I got a call from Roger Ferris. “How’s it going, Joseph?” he asked me. “The sun is out and the game’s afoot,” I said, feeling good about finally being able to use the latter phrase. - a rare moment of levity in this book, as Joseph King Oliver is able to quote a classic Sherlock Holmes catch-phrase.

[2.5 but rounded up]
Private detective Joseph King Oliver returns after 5 years since Down the River Unto the Sea (King Oliver #1 - 2018) which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2019 and which I quite enjoyed. Five years between books is quite a length of time for a series character though. It is difficult to remember exact details from before, beyond that Joe's daughter worked as his secretary and his éminence grise & sometime ally was former criminal / now watchmaker Melquarth* Frost. In the first book, Oliver turns private eye after serving a brief sentence at Rikers before being exonerated. He has lost his job with the police and his wife has walked out in the meantime. The story then had him seeking out the dirty cops who framed him. So it was more of a struggle story for redemption.

In Every Man a King the number of characters pile up in a dizzying manner and it becomes difficult to follow and to believe the different story lines. Oliver is hired by a multi-billionaire who is the boyfriend of his 90+ year-old grandmother. The billionaire's children are asking him to step aside as head of his business empire. The billionaire asks Oliver to investigate whether a White Nationalist is actually guilty of what he has been arrested for. The White Nationalist has a mysterious Black wife who is guarded by his White Power associates. It turns out that the WN has a suitcase full of secrets which is the likely reason that the authorities and other parties are after him.

Oliver is also asked by his ex-wife to help free her newly arrested 2nd husband who has gotten mixed up with money-laundering with the Russian mob. Hired killers come after Oliver and a mercenary/bodyguard shows up to help protect him. The killers also attempt an assault on the billionaire's compound where his grandmother is shot (but survives). Who are the hired guns? White nationalists or Russian mobsters or mercenaries hired by the children? Oliver hides out in various ultra-secluded locations while periodically venturing out to meet with the two incarcerated men whose cases he is trying to solve. Are you following this? It is as convoluted as a Raymond Chandler novel, although that puts Walter Mosley in good company. Oliver solves it all in the end of course, but I could barely understand the purpose of a lot of it. Bottom-line, prepare to suspend your belief to allow for the various elaborate coincidences and conveniences.

I can forgive a lot in the writing of the author who invented Easy Rawlins (1990-2021-?), but this was just too convoluted and confusing. I read Every Man a King through the Amazon Kindle Deal of the Day from April 16, 2023.

Footnote [combined with Trivia and Link]
* Mosley himself appears to be confused as to the origin of this name, although he himself seems to have invented it. 'Melquarth' seems to have a completely fictionalized origin separate from the name of the original Phoenician god Melqart. At various times Mosley describes him as a "devil-spawn," "a man named after the devil," and "the man named after the devil's grandfather." Those are three entirely different generations aren't they?

Trivia and Link
Despite being nicknamed after the original jazz cornet player & mentor of Louis Armstrong King Oliver (1881-1938), detective Joe King Oliver doesn't seem to have any predilection for classic jazz music, as it is never mentioned. I did notice while reading the original jazz musician's bio, that he is credited with creating the wa-wa sound due to his manipulating the sound of his horn with various plungers and hats and objects. The phrase has come down to the present day with such effects as the wah-wah pedal used by electric guitarists. Soundtrack Wa Wa Wa (1926) by King Oliver and his Dixie Syncopators. The wa-wa sound is especially heard at the end of the track at 2'33".

[Susan Atherly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second book better than the first book in the series. The writing was stronger and the pacing was excellent!

[Bertha · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one expects from a book by Walter Mosley, the writing is exceptional and easy to read. The characters are a delight and memorable. The plot is convoluted and demands the reader’s full attention. Mosley offers a view into the world of a Black private investigator working in New York City. Meet Joe King Oliver (and if you missed the first book in this series go back and read it). He has contacts who inhabit the less salubrious parts of the City, some like Mr. Frost and Uncle Rags who are violent men yet in the best way possible have the back of King Oliver. Meet the Ferris family, Mattie and AX, ex-wife Monica and her thieving husband who is in over his head, and reconnect with daughter Aja-Denise and Grandma B. Be prepared to have some of your beliefs rattled. Learn what it means to live with rules of engagement. And most of all thoroughly enjoy this outstanding entry in Mosley’s oeuvre.

[Truman32 · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the book jacket for Every Man a King blares: "Few mystery writers can examine issues of race-how it divides and blinds people clearly and unflinchingly as Walter Mosely."While this sentiment is definitely true, I wish it had not been stated so glaringly. You see, I had taken this book to Orlando for a brief vacation to hit up Universal Studios.Because of this blurb, Many of the folks I passed mistakenly thought I was sneaking a book about critical race theory into the fine state of Florida to indoctorize  any young impressionable child I could get  my mitts on. One particularly cantankerous deputy tackled me, Fired multiple shots from his taser into my bathing suit area and then threw me unceremoniously into the hoosegow for a few weeks.The governor of Florida(if I recall correctly, his name is Governor Archie Bunker), was so angry he threatened to have me flown to New York at the expense of the Florida taxpayers! But EveryMan a King is a detective thriller with Mosley's new P.I. Joe King Oliver. Joe King, a black ex-cop, is asked to investigate the incarceration of a white nationalist by his grandmother's ultra-rich boyfriend. Is this a government kidnapping? While themes of race and class divide do arise, Mosley stays focused on the story, which is a crackerjack.After all as the massive quantities of shimmering and often jewel encrusted awards show, this is not his first rodeo.Like his other series, Mosley's recurring theme is the power of friendship. Treat each other well and help out those in need.By doing this,Joe king repeatedly is saved by his buddies. Every Man a King is great, fast moving and delightful. 

[Ronald Roseborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Every Man a King, Walter Mosley’s character, Joe King Oliver, seems to be mellowing out, adjusting to being an ex-cop, ex-convict. He still plays things close to the vest, but he is not as much on edge, not as gritty. When he gets a request from his grandma’s ninety-one year old rich boy friend to look into a case for him, King takes it in his stride. Grandma, doesn’t see it that way and tells King not to take the case. It could be too dangerous. Normally he would listen to the woman who just about raised him, but he figures if she cares enough about that rich man to live with him, then King will take on the case regardless whether she wants him to help or not. The relatively simple investigation takes a deadly turn when armed assailants break into the supposedly safe mansion his grandma is staying at. Bullets fly and grandma, the only one harmed, ends up with buckshot in a very tender place. King is upset, but doesn’t think the attack has anything to do with his investigation. Something else is going on and King is determined to find out what it is. We meet some old friends of King’s in this book, as well as make some new friends and enemies. The pace of this book is a bit slower than the earlier Joe Oliver King novel, Down the River Unto the Sea. This book was provided for review by #novelsuspectsinsider and Grand Central Publishing.

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second read of Mosley’s (the prequel to this book was my first, Down the River Unto the Sea), and I am now a solid fan. The two books are linked obviously but note this can also be read as a standalone. I loved the case as well as the characters, Joe King Oliver is such a great protagonist that is both vulnerable and closed off, he has a wall up for most except his family, which is necessary for the work he does. He is asked by a family friend to take a case involving a white nationalist, which he is not thrilled about, but has no choice other than to accept. The audiobook for this was excellent, the narrator did a great job with the story, helped to hold my attention the entire time, and I absolutely enjoyed how this one ended.

Thank you to Novel Suspects and Mulholland Books for the advanced copy to review.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how I feel about this book. I admit that a lot of it went over my head. Sometimes I felt that Mosley was daring me the reader to try and follow the plot, which I found difficult to do. In some ways the plot did not matter, Mosley just used the narrative to enable him to go to various denizens of NYC and Atlanta and create wonderful scenes with great dialogue with great characters. It also gave us a chance to see Mr. King flex his muscles. Those scenes were entertaining and through them Mosley commented on many different social challenges our nation faces. I loved that almost all the characters address one another in formal ways - always Mr. or Miss so and so. Mosley has a lot to say about race. I really do not understand his portrayal of Quiller, nor could I relate to him. How could he be so wise, yet harbor or traffic with people with such deep prejudices and racist attitudes and believers of conspiracy theories that make no sense. Yes, it appeared that Quiller was indeed changing his attitudes due to his relationship with his wife. I can not understand how his wife could accept Quiller for who he was. I am not sure that I understand why Joe King was willing to put his life on the line for these 2 jobs he was working. I had trouble with the notion that in both cases that Joe was working, the victim was being held secretly in a prison. I look forward to reading other people’s reviews here in Goodreads.

[Jo Dervan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sequel to the Edgar award winning, Down The River Into The Sea. Joe King Oliver, a former NYC police officer and currently a private detective, was asked by a family friend to find out why a white nationalist was arrested and is hidden in a NYC jail.
Joe found the jailed man’s ideas repulsive but took the job anyway. Then his ex-wife and mother of his daughter, wanted Joe to get her wealthy husband out of jail as well.
Once Joe starts investigating, he finds himself a target for violence. He enlists the help several associates whose methods are questionable but who get results. Most of the action takes place in the boroughs of NYC. The truths that are exposed are not what Joe, his ex wife or his billionaire friend, expect.
This is a well written book and should be popular with readers of urban mysteries.
I received this ARC from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the many authors I enjoy, Walt Mosley is a favorite and like his others, this book is on par if not better.

Joe "King" Oliver is a black, former NYPD detective turned P.I. A chameleon, he's able to switch gears, names and appearance dependent upon the case. When Roger Ferris, the multi-billionaire boyfriend of his Grandmother requests a visit to his palatial home, the reader is pushed into a labyrinth of deceit, games and redemption. The entry point is when Roger hires Joe to investigate Xavier Quiller, a racist accused of selling confidential information to the Russians in addition to murder and currently held in Rikers Island prison. From here the story spirals like a rocket launch taking the reader into the depths of the labyrinth.

Mosley's ability to create an array of unusual characters with oddball names is unrivaled, and this story is no exception. As the story plays out, we meet new ones in nearly every chapter, each with a unique back story and plot element. Truth be told, I lost track nearly half way through, but Mosley does a masterful job of assembling the jigsaw toward the end. Of all the characters, Oliya, a female bodyguard is a favorite but you'll have to judge for yourself.

I often found myself chuckling from tongue-in-cheek humor when Joe's threatened or intimidated, or how he pontificates using intellectual dialog that matches or betters his rivals. This is what great character development is about!

As with any of my reviews, I prefer to leave characters, plot and details out especially when its a multi-faceted mystery like this. Why spoil a good thing anyway?

Paced to perfection, the story is engaging and filled with plot twists, the hallmarks of great mystery writing. This being the second Joe Oliver story, I'll be reading the first one shortly. Very highly recommended especially if you enjoy P.I. stories!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read, I don't know, twenty Mosley novels by now. He's inspired an entire school of imitators like Joe Ide and Stephen Mack Jones whose novels almost trope-by-trope follow Mosley's found-family template, even down to the mandatory hacker character. He can, out of nowhere, gut you with a random philosophical/religious jaunt: "And there I stood, naked as Adam--or a youthful Cain. In spite of appearances, the majesty of nature is just a fancy blanket draped over the malevolence of the creatures of earth....There I stood, a member of the most depraved species." I imagine he's written song lyrics for someone, or for himself, just because he can, so powerful is his gift for concise aphoristic flasges.
And yet...does any of his editors point out, hey, you can't use "hailed" that way? Why is the verb "sneered" repeated more than a dozen times? What is it with his weird tic of never repeating a character's name, so they're called "the self-educated receptionist" the next time around, and then something else, and then something else? What's with names like D'Artagnan Aramois and Augustine Antrobus and Melquarth Forth and Bexleigh Terrell?
Mosleyland is an odd place, or has become one, is what I mean--I should go back and reread Devil in a Blue Dress and see if all of that was happening when he started, or if it's somehow encrusted his style as his career has developed.
Oh, the plot? A Peter Thiel-like, but worse, but also better, "race realist" is thrown in prison on maybe trumped-up charges, and our narrator gets hired to look into it. It's of course more complex: there are Russian oil smugglers, private-prison operators, side trips to Atlanta and Brooklyn and Van Cortlandt Park, a bunch of evil guys heading shady organizations, and more...but at this point I've almost stopped paying attention to the plots. (Weirdly, I can still remember what happens in Devil, though. Amazing Don Cheadle performance as Mouse in the movie version, too. Tragic they never made more.)
I enjoyed it, in sum, but there's a generic weirdness to Mosley's work by this stage of his career.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent Mosley read. Though it’s really tough to distinguish the structure and substance of these books from Mosley’s much more interesting Leonid McGill ones. King Oliver is an interesting character but at this point, I’d just as soon Mosley go back to McGill for his New York tales. Either way, if you liked the first, you’ll like this one too.

[Arlene♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 200 pages, ramblings and I just couldn’t get with it. Very sad to say.

[Michael Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

preposterous story

So many characters and change of venues makes this novel confusing. The story itself is bizarre and the primary person is so out of proportion to the real world that he becomes insignificant even though the story is about him.
Mosley’s description of all of the inhabitants of the novel come with a palette of colors, either skin tones or wardrobes.
Joe King Oliver has the wisdom of Socrates, the wiles of Sherlock Holmes and the ability to defend himself in every way imaginable.
One thing is for sure, Joe is a lover of women and enjoys the flirtations and love making even while his life is in danger.
His love of family is a primary feeling and dictates his actions in this story. His employer and his grandmother who are romantically involved are hard to imagine as people in real life as are most of the other characters.
A discombobulated read!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Mosley has a distinct writing style. It can be beautiful and for me it can also feel to wordy. As always Mosley brings in issue of race and it felt poorly executed. Just never felt like I got some of the answers as to why. Which may have been a deliberate choice. Mosley also throws two mysteries together and realism was way thrown out the window. I know he is bringing new characters into new times but I miss easy and fearless and the others.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Walter Mosley is slowly morphing into Percival Everett. This book is similar to previous Mosley novels in its use of language, large cast of characters, and highly complex plot. It is different in that the setting is kind of irrelevant. NY is not a character. Like an Everett novel, it is a surrealist exploration of power at this point in history. But then again, the characters contain real reflections of today's power players, including Epstein, Musk, Blackwater, etc. Truth is stranger is fiction at this point. Mosley is obviously an amazing writer. I don't think I enjoyed this one as much because it was less atmospheric and more intellectual.

[Suzanne Cogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Totally disappointing

Confusing story, convoluted plot, boring and unpleasant characters. I have been a fan of Walter Mosley since Devil in a Blue Dress but this was a huge disappointment.

[Thomas R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, very timely, storyline involving Billionaire, racism, and The Prison System. The author understands the powers that Billionaires have, the part that Racism plays in our modern day Prison System.

[Noelle Kukenas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoy and appreciate Walter Mosley's writing and I love the character Joe King Oliver, but try as I might, I just couldn't get into this story enough to finish the book; way too convoluted.

[Monzell Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't as good as the easy Rawlins books I've read. A lot of different characters some not really necessary I thought. Haven't read the first one of these King Oliver stories.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey look! A Walter Mosley series I'm going to read every book of!

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mosley continues to kill it with the Joe Oliver books. In this one, Joe’s involved in clearing the name of a possibly-repentant imprisoned white nationalist, who he forms a strange bond with, as well as his ex-wife’s second husband, a guy who just suuuuuuuucks.

The plot’s so twisty and Byzantine that it almost doesn’t matter what’s going on; it’s really about the turn of phrase and the way the various characters muse and philosophize about life. Joe thinks about his own brief wrongful imprisonment and how it thoroughly scarred him, as well as how it ties him to both these men and their own levels of remorse for what they’ve done.

It’s also about how things like guilt and fear and anger keep us imprisoned; Joe frequently has to throttle himself from killing somebody who treats him like nothing, whether the disparity is based on class or skin color.

Really excellent, definitely recommend.

[Jess Manners · Rating 3 out of 5]

I clearly shouldn't have read this one back-to-back with the first, because the twists were just as twisty, but in my head, I was trying to tease out four cases instead of two...I like that in both these novels, the two cases are linked, thematically and/or literally, but these are books to read with a character map at hand...or at least physical, visible words at hand. Everytime Joe interviewed someone, it took me until like 3/4 of the way through the conversation to figure out which case it was and how that person was connected to the whole thing...if I figured it out at all. That feels very much like a me-problem, though. Like I said with the first one, I fully believe that all of these threads untangle cleverly and tie neatly...it's just too much for an audiobook.
I think I liked these cases more than the last? I also like the various themes that were made a bit more explicit--Joe helps people just because helping is the right thing to do, regardless of how he feels about them, or what he hopes to get in return, and because he helps, and he walks, and he talks, he has this whole network of Characters with a capital C willing to help him out of the million tight spots he finds himself in...that's a nice world view for a noir!

[Peter Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first Mosley book and likely my last. You would think that an author of his experience would have avoided far too many characters, too many convoluted plot twists, too many tedious philosophical musings.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

You probably know that Walter Mosley is the most important writer of mysteries working today. If not, I'm telling you: Walter Mosley is the most important writer of mysteries working today. [Please forgive me that sentence. "Mystery writer" reads as if he were wearing a mask.]

Many writers use the mystery as a plot device. Indeed, it's one of the most dependable plot devices.
Your protagonist's motivations are right there: someone gave him the job. He goes from lead to lead, has a little romance, some fisticuffs, some revelations. A few hundred pages later, the villain gets his comeuppance and the hero, bruised but unbowed, pours himself a drink and gets ready for the next case.

To be sure, Mosley writes mysteries as well as anyone ever has - and I'm including Chandler, Hammett, and Christie. He writes as if he invented the form, rather than mastered it. But here's why you should be reading Mosley today: Mosley takes the form, elevates it with the power of his prose, and uses it to examine intractable tensions baked into the American system: tension between the wealthy and everyone else; tensions between races; tensions among races; and the tensions that arise whenever imperfect human beings try to operate with dignity in an imperfect society. Mosley writes genre fiction. Mosley writes literary fiction. To him, there is no distinction. He isn't just one the most important writers of mysteries working today. He's one of the most important writers, period.

You may thinking, "That's high praise for a 4-star, as opposed to 5-star, review." You're right. Because I'm not a professional literary critic, I leave room for my personal enjoyment level while reading or listening to a given text. 'Every Man a King' kept me up at night, but I never did parse how the novel's two intertwining mysteries commented on one another beyond, "Here's what happens when people try too hard to get." Further, the world here is so unrelentingly bleak that closing the book felt like coming up for air. I know, I know: I recently raved about 'Dungeon Crawler Carl,' a novel that opened with the murder of roughly 80% of mankind. But that book had jokes!

Still, if you're looking for hard-boiled detective fiction that double as serious, Big L, Literature, you'll find what you're looking for with 'Every Man a King.' Have at it.

[Dave Minehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hit "Random, Available Now, Popular" on Libby and got this, so it should be forgiven for being not-my-tempo.

If I'd read a dozen (worse) Fantasy Private Investigator novels, I'd probably think this one is pretty good! But as it stands, it's a breath of stale air in my recent library...

Joe "King" Oliver (horrendous name, this cant be real??? Joe King???) is good at everything and knows everyone and is smart but also strong and from the wrong side of the tracks and he's been to prison but also he's a cop and also the world is against him so he's a fugitive but also beloved and he knows how to fight and play Chess and Go and is always drinking whisky of supreme quality plus he has a WAY WITH THE LADIES.

It's wish fulfilment to the highest order (Soviet Spies, International Mafia, 4Chan Racists and New York Thugs all crumble under Joe Kings interrogation) but despite that, I still had an okay time! The idea of a person who's superpower is "friends in every suburb of every city in the world" is really cute to me.

I don't know who this book would suit, but I hope they enjoy it a lot. 🕵️‍♂️🥃

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe gets involved in two cases dealing with arrested men. One involves a white supremacist being held secretly by the federal government at Rikers Island. He’s asked by his grandmother’s billionaire boyfriend to check on this guy under the guise of his rights being violated. The other involves his ex wife’s husband being jailed for money laundering and working for the Russian mob.

It gets rather confusing. Lots of intrigue. At times it resembles a John Wick movie or a John Le Carre novel with secret clubs, hiding places, and mysterious conspiracies. Lots of irony too.

Joe is handed an opportunity for great power but chooses to keep it in reserve. It will be interesting to see where the next installment goes.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy Walter Mosley's writing and some of his books are among my absolute favorites. This one? Not so much. Like many of his other works, it is still a page turner. But thoughts of how absurd some of the plot points are, or how an extreme character who goes way beyond the realm of realism, interfered with my enjoyment throughout the book. How does an ex-cop turned private investigator happen to have friends with such unique skills or resources? Once, I can accept. Over and over again gets a bit hard to take.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe King is approached by a family friend to look into the charges against a white nationalist being held without charge in Rikers. His ex-wife's husband is also in custody for a number of crimes, but jail might be the safest place for him since he has gotten himself entangled with the Russian mob --just the normal, daily stuff for King. Lots of twists and turns as King tries to sort out not only what has happened - but also why. I was confused a couple of times, but I love Mosley's characters and dialogue so much that I don't really care. He can always keep me turning the pages.