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A review by saroz162
Black Betty by Walter Mosley
4.0
Reading these in publication order, this is easily the best Easy Rawlins book yet. The earlier three books are based around the richness of description and authentic voice that Mosley provides his historical world - to great effect - but the "mystery" aspect was hard to follow in the first two, and the third, White Butterfly, is made up of two concurrent plotlines that sometimes seem like they belong in different books. Black Betty also has two plotlines, but they are much more sympathetic to each other; crucially, the "mystery" ends up affecting Easy just as much as his troubles at home.
There's also a cool, classic noir vibe to this one - you can see a lot of Raymond Chandler in it - and it unravels at a good pace, without overwhelming the reader with exposition too badly toward the end. So far, this is the Easy Rawlins novel I would put in the hands of a new reader first.
There's also a cool, classic noir vibe to this one - you can see a lot of Raymond Chandler in it - and it unravels at a good pace, without overwhelming the reader with exposition too badly toward the end. So far, this is the Easy Rawlins novel I would put in the hands of a new reader first.