Black Betty: An Easy Rawlins Mystery

Easy Rawlins ROCKS!

If you haven't yet read Walter Mosley you have something to look forward to. Smart intrigue, suspense and clever dialogue in a sort of mix between Dashiell Hammett and Michael Connelly.

Ezekiel (Easy) Rawlins lives in a world where you could be walking into a bullet anytime you knock on a door. The inhabitants of this world have strange names like Mofass, Mouse, LaMarque, Odell and Juice. It's the unsettled era of Kennedy, Khrushchev and Martin Luther King. And it's L.A., where black people thought twice before stepping into white neighborhoods.Easy is handling several problems at once in this novel. Someone hires him to find a woman known as Black Betty, and pain and death seem to follow him everywhere on his search. Meanwhile his best friend Mouse, in jail for murder, just got out and wants to kill the man who turned him in. And Easy's got financial troubles too, involving some property that's slipping through his fingers.The search for the missing Betty is particularly disturbing. When Easy was a boy, he was obsessed with Betty, who "had something about her that drove men wild." She was generous with her charms, but when a man's pockets were empty, she was gone. When Easy was twelve years old she kissed him for fun, and after that he followed her everywhere, her faithful errand boy and admirer.By now he's lost track of Betty for years, but he likes the idea of finding her again, for his own sake, not just for the fee. At the same time he's conflicted, not wanting to bring any harm to Betty. The people looking for Black Betty won't tell why they want her.This is my second Easy Rawlins book, and I find myself reading it less for the story than for the atmosphere simmering with danger, the poetic cadence of the language of the streets - and Easy's complex humanity.

I have read Black Betty twice over the last twenty years and still love it and plan to read it a again. Walter Mosley can really tell a story and make you feel involved and actually part of the fabric of the LA Streets.

As always Mosley took us on a very colorful ride into the life of Easy Rawlings. I read this book out of sequence so some of the things and people I already knew what was to become of them, however I like how Mosley always gives a recap of sort as a in case you missed it or did not know to his audience. I thought the story line took a while to set up, and then seemed a bit rushed to its conclusion as to tie everything up and set up the next novel. All in all I enjoyed the book but for me personally it did not have that excitement flow of some of the other works.

This novel deals with racial issues and must be approached with an open mind. It is presented from the viewpoint of a black investigator, Easy Rawlins. The setting is the Los Angeles area in the early 1960s. Civil rights are just getting into motion.Easy is a wannabe real estate mogul who is short on cash. He needs to support himself and two children that he has taken in (unofficially adopted). He needs money, and has been approached to find Black Betty - the nickname of a woman whom he knew in Texas when he was a child. He has a reputation for being able to find people.It is a complex case. There are questions about just why people are looking for Black Betty. A number of people are killed along the way, and relationships are established as the story moves along. There are some very ugly people, including racist police officers. This was well before the time of Rodney King when events could be picked up on video.Things do not necessarily end well. You will get a good view of some of the underside of society and people's social attitudes. There are some side plots. Some guilty people are punished, sometimes in ways they would not have expected.

That was fun! I especially enjoyed how Mosley connected so many different storylines without sacrificing his signature character development. The history is always refreshing and spot on, and this story certainly had a vibe that the previous ones in the series didn’t quite capture as nicely. You learn more about Easy and you sympathize with his plight. I learned a lot in this one.

Just read one of his books. Any one. His protagonists are real, like no other. Do yourself a favor. Mr. Mosley will be your favorite author too.

First of the series I’ve five starred.Having said that....The genre is generally fast paced.Leading to these sleeve reviews ‘so explosive left me breathless’ etc etcThis isn’t a book go crashing through, like gulping wine.The complex beauty of so much of the writing needs to be savoured like a very fine wine.I still (as in the previous books), found some of the plot barely understandable/reasoned/resolved. But only a small quibble.A great book to take your time over.Avoid if just want a quick holiday read.

my second easy Rawlins book, absolutely cracking!the character of easy Rawlins is very well thought out and you instantly begin to root for him along his cases.the plot has many many twists and turns, but they are well written so you can follow them.I have only read 2 easy rawlins books, but I now know I could pick up any and would thoroughly enjoy them!

It's OK and I'm sure there are a lot of fans out there of this author and his character Easy Rawlins. I just found it a bit tedious and not 'up my street'. That's why I haven't finished it.

If you like Raymond Chandler - especially his Philip Marlowe, then you will love all the Easy Rawlins books.Smart, snappy dialogue, great period feel and serpentine plots, plus a lot of well fleshed and interesting characters.Enjoy!