In 1990, Walter Mosley invited us into black Los Angeles in Devil in the Blue Dress. Sam Spade now had a black counterpart in Watts named Easy Rawlins. Spade operated in the 1920's and Easy Rawlins occupies a black underworld in the 1940's in L.A.
Blonde Faith, Mosley's 11th Easy Rawlins novel, brings us forward a few years from Devil in a Blue Dress, and Easy's life still ain't easy. He understands women even less (his latest, Bonnie, marries another man) and his family makes no sense but Easy is still solving crimes for his luckless friends and neighbors..
Here's the down and dirty on the women: Tourmaline wears form-fitting white. Pretty Smart wears red and is "short, built to populate the countryside." Faith wears a shapeless charcoal dress, but there's nothing shapeless about her figure. Lynne wears a short red silk kimono with nothing underneath. Anyway, you get the idea.
Easy's dangerous associate, Mouse (aka Raymond Alexander), is in true form. "'I knew a dude got himself buried in his Caddy,' Mouse said jauntily. 'He weighed six hunnert pounds. There was five women cryin' at his grave, too. Some men just lucky, is all.'"
Easy seems a bit tired, a bit old, and just plain fed up with the world. But it's a good visit to a part of LA this white girl never saw. Worth the ride...
At least that's what we think in mysterious New Mexico.
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