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caramay's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this book but I couldn’t keep track of who was who, their connections to each other, their involvement (or lack thereof) to the conspiracy at large so because of that I’ve lost something in the reading experience.
larobertson's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
afro8921's review against another edition
3.0
I wish Mr. Mosley would move the center in regards to his female characters.
alisa4books's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid outing featuring Leonid McGill, private eye trying to stay on the right side of the law and make up for past wrongs. This time things get a little closer to home and that has consequences for all the McGills. A little convoluted plot wise but enjoyable nonetheless.
scoodle42's review against another edition
5.0
No one can write a cast of criminals better than Walter Mosley. His trips into the depths of men are winding and twisty, but filled with self-awareness and strength. Leonid McGill is masterful in his fourth story, threading through the path of redemption and the call of crime with so much ease, his shoes tracked with the grime of his sins, his thirst for life to fill his ever ready to die soul tripping him up time and again. What a great adventure.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
The fourth Leonid McGill novel by Walter Mosley proves once again that Mosley is really one of our finest novelists. If you haven't read any of the Leonid McGill books in the past, it's not that difficult to dip into the series at #4. Leonid is a private detective with a "bent" past who is trying to make up for his past misdeeds. He has done some downright criminal things and is always being watched by the police, but always manages to elude them.
In an excellent NPR interview and discussion of the book, it is referred to as a "book of atonement." That's exactly what it is. McGill is feeling guilty for having helped set up a woman named Zella who shot (non-fatally) her boyfriend when she found him in bed with her best friend. A woman McGill has done some work for in the past asks him to plant some incriminating evidence in Zella's storage locker. As a result her sentence is a lot longer than it would have been, plus she is forced to give up her child. Now McGill is trying to help her through his attorney.
Of course there are ALWAYS complications, and this one's complications just keep multiplying. I love Mosley's language and this book is no exception. "Men were trying to kill me, but so what? I was reborn. A born-again agnostic risen from the ashes of faith." THIS kind of writing is why I LOVE Walter Mosley!
In an excellent NPR interview and discussion of the book, it is referred to as a "book of atonement." That's exactly what it is. McGill is feeling guilty for having helped set up a woman named Zella who shot (non-fatally) her boyfriend when she found him in bed with her best friend. A woman McGill has done some work for in the past asks him to plant some incriminating evidence in Zella's storage locker. As a result her sentence is a lot longer than it would have been, plus she is forced to give up her child. Now McGill is trying to help her through his attorney.
Of course there are ALWAYS complications, and this one's complications just keep multiplying. I love Mosley's language and this book is no exception. "Men were trying to kill me, but so what? I was reborn. A born-again agnostic risen from the ashes of faith." THIS kind of writing is why I LOVE Walter Mosley!
marystevens's review against another edition
1.0
Dialogue is too cryptic, hero is too cynical for his hopefulness to be believable, the plot is too awkward. I'm done with Mosley.