Easy Rawlins is persuing the American Dream. After serving his country in WWII, he returns home, moves to L.A., gets a good job, and buys a small home. Things are going swell, till Easy suddenly finds himself out of a job, and the mortgage is due in a week.
So Easy jumps at the chance to earn a quick hundred bucks. All he has to do is find a girl for a repentant lover. Oh! I forgot to mention, Easy is a black man. He's looking for a white girl. And this is 1948 Watts. Easy finds himself caught in a mealstrom of extortion, graft, racism, and murder -- and that's just the mild stuff!
I read the book in one day. The reader will find it hard to put down as every page if full of action. A definite "must read".
So Easy jumps at the chance to earn a quick hundred bucks. All he has to do is find a girl for a repentant lover. Oh! I forgot to mention, Easy is a black man. He's looking for a white girl. And this is 1948 Watts. Easy finds himself caught in a mealstrom of extortion, graft, racism, and murder -- and that's just the mild stuff!
I read the book in one day. The reader will find it hard to put down as every page if full of action. A definite "must read".
Barbara B. (littleoldlady) reviewed Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins, Bk 1) on + 36 more book reviews
Easy Rawlins books always provide a rollicking read. The book has wonderful atmosphere and grimy characters that become so real you can see them. I enjoyed the book very much.
Great start to a great series of books.
I have always enjoyed Walter Mosley's style and re-reading Devil in a Blue Dress was like catching up with an old friend. If you like mysteries, you can't go wrong with Easy Rawlins.
"The social commentary is sly, the dialogue fabulous, the noir atmosphere so real you could touch it. A first novel? That's what they say. Amazing. Smashing! -- LOUISE BERNIKOW, COSMOPOLITAN
Easy Rawlins is way cool and way noir!
Roberta K. (yourhonor) -
The first in the Easy Rawlins mystery series. We are introduced to the main character as he enters into his first detective "job." He comes out of it less than "squeaky-clean." I had a hard time liking this fellow, until about the third book. Now I'm getting ready to read Black Betty, and looking forward to it.
This is a great first novel....Easy Rawlings is asked to find a beautiful blond woman who loves to frequent the black jazz clubs in 1948 LA
John O. (buzzby) -
Sam Spade-esque mystery. Takes place in LA in 1948, although written in the 90s
this was certainly a different kind of mystery
Walter Mosley is a genius at describing locations and settings and weaving them into his stories. With Easy Rawlins stories, that usually means L.A. Devil in a Blue Dress is the first chronologically and it sets the stage, acquainting the reader with post-war Los Angeles and the features of Easy's life. The story isn't Mosley's best, but it's still an exciting read. The shortness of the book makes you feel like you need to study each little detail before moving onto the next. And paying attention to the details just makes the journey that much more interesting.
This is the classic who dunnit. Walter Mosley begins the series with a character you root for the entire book. I really liked Easy Rawlins. Great beginning to a great series. Highly recommended.
Thefts, affairs, deceptions, double crosses, and murders abound as detective Easy Rawlins winds his way through the mystery of the Devil in a Blue Dress. Walter Mosley set the book in the 1940s and used it as a social commentary on race relations that is unfortunately still relevant today. Ultimately, this is not really the book for me (or rather I am not the reader for this book), but it was an interesting introduction to a genre I don't normally read.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/11/devil-in-blue-dress.html
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/11/devil-in-blue-dress.html
I've tried reading many of Mosley's books and just don't like them, this one I only got to about page 76 and just plain gave up on it! UGH!!!
