Helpful Score: 1
First came Devil in a Blue Dress. Next came A Red Death and now comes White Butterfly. This is a msmerizing tale fo two men, each of whom destroys what he loves most in the world--one because of his secret shame, the other because of his secret pride.One of the two is a killer...Who could it be?
I did not know what to expect. This novel had been on my wish list for so long, I'd forgotten who recommended it to me.
I enjoyed reading it. I found it interesting and a learning experience in seeing how our culture was in California in the early 1950's.
I enjoyed reading it. I found it interesting and a learning experience in seeing how our culture was in California in the early 1950's.
Hmmm..interesting a different kind of mystery,read it in a day
Walter Mosley won acclaim as the most exciting new mystery writer in America with his first two novels, Devil in a Blue Dress and A Red Death. Now comes White Butterfly, a powerful, mesmerizing tale of two men, each of whom destroys what he loves most in the world - one because of his secret shame, the other because of his secret pride. One of the two is a killer. The other is Easy Rawlins, the man who tracks him down.
The police don't show up on Easy's doorstep until the third girl dies. It's Los Angeles, 1956, and it takes more than one murdered black girl before the cops get intersted. Now they need Easy. As he says: "I was worth a precinct full of detectives when the cops needed the word in the ghetto." But Easy turns them down: He's married now, a father - his detective days are over. Then a white college coed dies the same way, and the cops make it clear that if Easy doesn't help, his best friend is headed for jail. So Easy's back, walking the midnight streets of Watts and the darker, twisted avenues of a cunning killer's mind, in the most explosive Easy Rawlin's mystery yet . . .
The police don't show up on Easy's doorstep until the third girl dies. It's Los Angeles, 1956, and it takes more than one murdered black girl before the cops get intersted. Now they need Easy. As he says: "I was worth a precinct full of detectives when the cops needed the word in the ghetto." But Easy turns them down: He's married now, a father - his detective days are over. Then a white college coed dies the same way, and the cops make it clear that if Easy doesn't help, his best friend is headed for jail. So Easy's back, walking the midnight streets of Watts and the darker, twisted avenues of a cunning killer's mind, in the most explosive Easy Rawlin's mystery yet . . .
different perspective from other detective novels, and even from Mosley in that he doesn't make Easy 100%, or even 90%, likeable
easy rawlins is a great detective and this is another fab addition.
a great mystery
The descriptive: "Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story" is misleading. This is an entire novel! And one vital to the backstory of Easy Rawlin's life. It describes his failed marriage to Regina, fills in details of Easy's boyhood and past, and tells the story of how Feather became a part of the Rawlins family. Easy's relationship to the police is chronicled and illustrates the difficult position he was in as a black man trying to be legitimate but still entangled with his criminal past. If you like Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins books, then this volume is required reading. The pleasure you obtain from doing so enriches your understanding and insight into the Easy Rawlins saga.
Third Easy Rawlins mystery. Takes place in 1956 without much historic verisimilitude, could have been set in 1992 when it was written. Ordinary entry in unimpressive series. TPB
