A Little Yellow Dog: Amazon.ca: Walter Mosley: Books

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From Amazon

The saga of Easy Rawlins that began in 1990 with Devil in a Blue Dress, continues in A Little Yellow Dog. Working as a janitor at Sojourner Truth Junior High School, Easy is asked to care for a small dog owned by the attractive Idabell Holland, a teacher at the school. When Idabell's husband is murdered, Easy finds himself mixed up with a gang of criminals engaged in looting Los Angeles schools and smuggling heroin from France. Idabell and Easy fall into a sexual liaison, but in the wake of it, Idabell is found stabbed to death in the passenger seat of Easy's car. While at first Easy thinks the murders are a "simple falling out of thieves," a surprising twist on the level of "The Maltese Falcon" reveals the truth. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"You had to kill someone white to get any kind of news splash in the '60s," Easy Rawlins says of Los Angeles. In this fifth installment in the Easy Rawlins series, Mosley has allowed his character to evolve with age (the first book in the series took place in the mid-'40s). Tired of the street life, ex-hustler Rawlins has carved out a life on the straight and narrow, working for a public school and trying to raise his two adopted children. When the police suspect him of murder, he relies on his old street connections to help him out. Mosley is a master of dialogue and his quick-witted narrative is full of Chandler-esque twists. Weinberger is a natural Easy. With a voice that has the gravel of Jack Webb (minus the stiffness) and the confidence of Morgan Freeman, Weinberger takes listeners on what should be a smooth and exhilarating ride. However, the narration is riddled with so many small but distracting errors and slight misreadings that it shatters the suspension of disbelief. With a little more attention in the post-production phase, this fine, nine-hour foray into drama, intrigue, sex, hustling and murder could have been great.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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WHEN I GOT TO WORK THAT MONDAY MORNING I KNEW something was wrong. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews

5 star:		(18)
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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A woman, a murder, a dog, Jun 24 2004

By

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Yellow Dog (Hardcover)

In Mosley's fifth Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins mystery it's 1963 and streetwise, brooding Easy has established a "straight" life for himself and his two adopted street children. The supervising custodian of a school in Watts, Los Angeles, he arrives for work to find Mrs. Turner, a young, lovely teacher, distraught because her husband wants to kill her dog.

A couple hours later there's a dead man in the school yard, the teacher has disappeared and Easy's stuck with a yapping mutt while the police fit him - a black man with a shady past and an attitude - for murder.

Rawlins is a man of few words, keeping most of his dialogue interior. Mrs. Turner is beautiful, alluring, available.

"'Call me Idabell,' she said.
Call me fool."

Easy has his weaknesses but understands them. He's proud and as the bodies mount up, he evades the cops and pursues his own investigation - as much for the excitement as to save his own skin.

Mosley's style is all personality - strong, eloquent, streetwise, stubborn, vivid and determined. Easy tracks his quarry with savvy and cynicism - if he doesn't get the murderer, the cops will get him.

Mosley's latest is a tightly plotted, fast-paced and thoughtful read. Pure pleasure.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, April 5 2002

By

Barry D. Smith (Troutdale, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Little Yellow Dog: An Easy Rawlins Mystery (Paperback)

By no means would I call myself a big fan of mystery novels, but I really enjoyed this book. Walter Mosley did a superb job of developing very interesting and memorable characters who really a lot to the story. Also, Mosley did a wonderful job with the plot. Despite what "A reader from Oregon" claims, the story does not "lag, drag, and fizz out." This novel has an exceptionally captivating plot, even for a non-mystery fan such as myslef. There were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing until the end!

I normally do not read many mystery novels, and this is actually my first Walter Mosley novel. And even now, I wouldn't say that I am "hooked." But I will likely read more of his novels and maybe even read the whole Easy Rawlings series. If you are a fan of Mosely and/or mysteries, you will surely enjoy this!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner From Walter Mosley, May 16 2000

By

N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Little Yellow Dog (Paperback)

Can a book have atmosphere? If it can, then this book has it. The descriptions of the school yard took me back, in a flash, to my elementary school in Long Beach, California years ago. Do you remember school rooms in bungalows? And tetherball? Mosley is absolutely THE master of dialogue. Sometimes too much of one author can get tiresome, but not in this case. I read BLACK BETTY just before this book and the dialogue continues to be fresh and sparkling. I enjoyed the dry humor sprinkled throughout the story. It suits Easy very well and I'd like to see more of it in future books. The foray into the culinary experience was another new addition that I liked a lot. The main story line held together well and moved along almost effortlessly. I finished this book yesterday and I still don't know how I feel about the ending. I'm sure it will stay with me for a long while. Walter Mosley is one of the best authors around today, in my opinion. I eagerly await the next installment in the saga of Easy Rawlins.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars But why is he... I had to keep asking
Here's a guy who is just trying to keep his life clean, after having a questionable past. He is obviously not involved in this killing, yet he continuously puts himself in... Read more

Published on May 23 2004 by Troy Edwards

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Does It,, Again!
Easy Rawlins is the most unique protagonist in the mystery genre. He is always trying to get ahead without drawing unfavorable attention to himself. Read more

Published on May 9 2000 by Donald Mitchell