Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mystery series is one of my favorites, and I always grab up the next one as soon as it hits the shelves. Rawlins is a sort-of private detective whose cases are set against the backdrop of real events, starting in post-war Los Angeles to the current entry, Los Angeles shortly after the Watts riots (which featured heavily in his last work). With his hardboiled plots and socio-political backdrops of a time and place, I find Mosley's work an engaging mix of Ross Macdonald and Chester B. Himes.
This crackling story has Rawlins fighting a war on two fronts, trying to free his loyal friend (and genial sociopath) Mouse from a police frame-up while also finding out what happened to a new friend, Vietnam vet Christmas Black, who brought a lot of baggage (and a Vietnamese orphan) back with him. Steady readers of the series will get updates on all of the usual characters as well as a few new ones, including the mysterious Blonde Faith of the title.
I have nothing but praise for this notable series and look forward to what's next. I checked this one out from the Morrison-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it at a good clip.
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Dude! 18! I thought I was on fire, having finished 17 this week. I bow to your greatness!!!
Oh, and thanks for giving me a dog-eared copy of Berlin Game some years ago. Mexico Set was my 17th. Great stuff.
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