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zmull's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn't explain the whodunit of this book if I tried. Still fun though.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
3.0
Another solid, if fairly standard entry in the Easy Rawlins series.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
I've enjoyed every book enough to give them all A 4 star rating. But it took me far to long to pick this next book up. Need to try to read the rest sooner rather than later. Very enjoyable and we'll written series that never gets dull
axmed's review
Just thirty or so men living in cages underground. Like livestock waiting for some further shame to be laid on them. Like sharecroppers or slaves living in shanty shacks on the edge of a plantation.There was evil in that room, and on that plantation too. Because, as I knew too well, if you’re punished long enough you become guilty of all charges brought against you.
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“Yeah,” Jackson said. “But they had senators too. You know, the Greeks started democracy but the Romans made law. They had elected officials too. Ain’t that right, Easy?”
“Yeah, just like America was. They had senators and they had slaves.”
---
”It was almost funny. Me the one threatening violence and Mouse calmly trying to find solutions.
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“Yeah,” Jackson said. “But they had senators too. You know, the Greeks started democracy but the Romans made law. They had elected officials too. Ain’t that right, Easy?”
“Yeah, just like America was. They had senators and they had slaves.”
---
”It was almost funny. Me the one threatening violence and Mouse calmly trying to find solutions.
happeningalmond's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mrsr_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
johnnyb1954's review against another edition
4.0
While Easy Rawlings is not a detective, he gets enmeshed in crimes involving multiple characters and interlocking twisted plots that rival the cases of Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe. But Easy is different because he's just a citizen, but also because he's a three-dimensional person with kids and a job and real life concerns in the real world. Oh, and he's black, which puts a hard edge on the problem of being at odds with the police and the crooks, something Marlowe and Spade never had to deal with. This book and the previous one, Black Betty, are my favorites. Because Easy has a real life, it's important to read all the books in order, which you don't have to do with Hammett and Chandler.
monty_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
It's 1963 LA. Easy Rawlins is playing it straight. He's left the street life behind and is working as a custodian at Sojourner Truth Elementary School. Life is quiet and perhaps sometimes it's boring, but Easy is satisfied with the trade. He's a single father to his two adopted children, Jesus and Feather. Then one day he arrives at school to find one of the teachers there much earlier than normal. Ida is beautiful and seductive, telling him a tale of an abusive husband who has threatened to kill her dog, Pharoah. Then Ida disappears leaving the dog behind, and a corpse shows up in the school's garden. The investigating police officer wants, more than anything, to pin this murder on Easy because he is well known by the department. Soon, Easy finds himself back in the life he left behind. However, it's not the same world he knew. It's darker and even more dangerous. Mosley brings this era back to life - a time when, if you wanted an ambulance, you told them that a white man had been shot near your home. Published in 1996, this could have been written in the present with a few small changes. Mosley is one of the best American writers in my opinion.