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susannekennedy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
ebonygemini's review against another edition
Not holding my attention. Couldn't follow the story.
book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars (for violence)
I fell in love with Easy Rawlins after the first book, but now, I'm not so sure. I think I'm not comfortable with the "easy" killing in these books. Still, the writing is first-rate, and they definitely fit the noir genre. I'll keep reading.
I fell in love with Easy Rawlins after the first book, but now, I'm not so sure. I think I'm not comfortable with the "easy" killing in these books. Still, the writing is first-rate, and they definitely fit the noir genre. I'll keep reading.
janefstevens's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Better than the first one in the series. Def a slow burn series, but left me wanting to know what happens next.
bajandiva1's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laila4343's review against another edition
2.0
Normally I like to start a series at the beginning, but I couldn't get a copy of the first one and decided to just go with it. Mosley does a good job of filling the reader in on the back story. This one was interesting, very hardboiled/noir-ish, good setting in LA in the 1950s. Easy Rawlins is a complicated character, which I appreciate. It felt a bit sexist for me, though - all the women were "begging for it" a little too much. I'm trying to read more authors of color and I knew Mosley is a respected writer with a lot of novels. I might read another one sometime and see if I like it better - maybe it was just this particular novel I didn't like.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
4.0
I just really love Mosley's storytelling and characters. They all behave in such human and unexpected ways. A Red Death threatened a clichéd start but quickly turned interesting, and stayed enthralling through the end.
tittypete's review against another edition
2.0
Easy Rawlins really wants to have sex with his murderer friend's wife. And he really doesn't want to pay taxes. This puts him in a bind and bodies start dropping. Turns out. It was whitey all along.
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
More of the same from the author of Devil in a Blue Dress. In many ways that's good, because Mosely continues to spin a very effective and engrossing portrait of Black people living in Los Angeles, this time in the early '50s, with lots of complex layers. The novel has a great pace and as others have mentioned, it's really interesting to read Easy code-switching back and forth between different vernacular based on his audience and what he wants. Easy's a bit less honorable in this book than the last one, which I'm okay with, and he sleeps around a lot, which is fine but starts to get a little tedious when we get a long, descriptive sex scene in a story that's under 300 pages. There's a lot of sex, a lot of blood, a lot of dirt in Easy's world, and for the reader, that makes a compelling environment for a story.
Unfortunately this book's story, like its predecessor, doesn't quite work. Devil had an excellent premise that fell down by the end in a combination of too much exposition, coincidence, and confusion. This story isn't quite as hard to follow, but it also isn't as interesting. Moseley also has a bad habit of putting too many characters in the mix, and even if you read the book in a couple of sittings, as I did, you'll start confusing some of the tertiary figures for each other. That leaves it all much less satisfying than it should otherwise be. I also wasn't completely convinced that Mouse needed to be in this story - or at least, that he needed to get involved in Easy pushing back on those who tried to kill him. It felt, if not coincidental, a little too timely; I even found myself entertaining a brief theory that Mouse wasn't even real, just a schizophrenic incarnation of Easy's rage, Fight Club-style. (I don't think that's Moseley's intention, but...)
Criticisms aside, I still find the series immensely readable, and I'm looking forward to the next one. I'm just hoping the author tightens up his narrative a bit.
Unfortunately this book's story, like its predecessor, doesn't quite work. Devil had an excellent premise that fell down by the end in a combination of too much exposition, coincidence, and confusion. This story isn't quite as hard to follow, but it also isn't as interesting. Moseley also has a bad habit of putting too many characters in the mix, and even if you read the book in a couple of sittings, as I did, you'll start confusing some of the tertiary figures for each other. That leaves it all much less satisfying than it should otherwise be. I also wasn't completely convinced that Mouse needed to be in this story - or at least, that he needed to get involved in Easy pushing back on those who tried to kill him. It felt, if not coincidental, a little too timely; I even found myself entertaining a brief theory that Mouse wasn't even real, just a schizophrenic incarnation of Easy's rage, Fight Club-style. (I don't think that's Moseley's intention, but...)
Criticisms aside, I still find the series immensely readable, and I'm looking forward to the next one. I'm just hoping the author tightens up his narrative a bit.