From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Set in 1967, Mosley's brilliant 10th Easy Rawlins thriller finds the middle-aged Easy still fighting some of the same battles he fought in his first outing,
Devil in a Blue Dress (1990), as an angry young WWII vet trying to make his home in postwar Los Angeles. His family has grown from none to many over the years, and now Easy is dealing with the loss of the love of his life, Bonnie, and his decision to make her leave him. Despite Easy's vulnerability and anguish, he's a staunch friend and a fierce protector of those he loves. Easy's two most dangerous friends, Raymond Mouse Alexander and Christmas Black, have both disappeared and both are being hunted. Easy must find them before those who want to destroy them do. Mosley knows his territory as intimately as a lover knows his beloved, and Easy's tortuous progression from man-child to man may have reached its climax in this searing and moving novel.
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From Booklist
Mosley, a smart and daring writer, has tried his hand at everything from political essays to erotica, but his most anticipated books are those featuring the sleuth that made him famous: Easy Rawlins. In the tenth series installment, it's 1967 and Easy is emotionally on edge after learning that his true love, Bonnie Shay, plans to marry an African prince. A search for Christmas Black, a "village-killing" soldier and the adoptive father of an eight-year-old Vietnamese girl, and for the dangerous Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, Easy's oldest friend, provides distraction (and some relief, in the form of willing women), but Easy's need to reconcile his role in his relationship's end seems to trump even mayhem and murder. One of the remarkable traits of this series has been its portrayal of the sleuth not as a loner but as a man intricately connected with family and community. For Easy, who ages and changes with each book, the past is always present. For once, however, this web of connection tangles the storytelling. Amidst the frequent historical vignettes and righteous asides, we want Easy to scramble free and act. When he finally does, the conflagration feels almost pro forma. And, as with Cinnamon Kiss (2005), there's less connection to the historical moment. Here it's Vietnam, as Easy penetrates an army drug-smuggling ring unaccompanied by Mosley's usual penetrating insights. But if this extraordinary series is beginning to drift, there are indications that suggest Mosely may be thinking about wrapping it up. Graff, Keir
by Walter Mosley
by Walter Mosley
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