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"Terrific private investigator tale"

In 1965, the riots have devastated Los Angeles, but Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins knows that atrocities will follow as some of the mom and pop storeowners will lose more than their livelihood in the aftermath. As he tries to keep a friend Theodore Steinman safe, LAPD Detective Suggs demands that Easy come with him or face arrest for practicing private sleuthing without a license, not that a Negro will be granted such a permit. Though he insists that he is just a custodian at Sojourner Truth JHS who also does Research and Delivery, Easy knows he has no choice but to accompany the cop.

Suggs, Captain Fleck, and Deputy Chief Jordan show Easy the corpse of scarlet haired Nola Payne, whom they claim is victim #34 of a killer. The cops also say that the suspected culprit was seen entering the apartment building where the murder of Little Scarlet occurred. Because of the riots, the brass wants white cops to keep their presence to a minimum to avoid inciting further disturbances. Thus, Jordan drafts Easy to find the culprit before others are killed.

LITTLE SCARLET is a terrific private investigator tale that is enhanced by the insightful look at the 1965-Watts riots. The story line moves fast along two interconnecting plots as the audience follows Easy with Mouse's assistance search for the vanished prime suspect to a backdrop of a raging populace that come to life as only Walter Mosley can achieve. It is the historical perspective that makes for a gripping tale that readers will appreciate and have to come expect from one of the best authors of any genre over the five or so.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 6, 2004

"Easy Rawlins returns to solve a mystery set amid the flames of the hottest summer L.A. has ever seen." "Just after devastating riots tear through Los Angeles in 1965 - when anger is high and fear still smolders everywhere - the police turn up at Easy Rawlins's doorstep. He expects the worst, as usual. But they've come to ask for his help." "A man was wrenched from his car by a mob at the riots' peak and escaped into a nearby apartment building. Soon afterward, a redheaded woman known as Little Scarlet was found dead in that building - and the fleeing man is the obvious suspect. But the man has vanished." "The police fear that their presence in certain neighborhoods could spark a new inferno, so they ask Easy Rawlins to see what he can discover. The vanished man is the key, but he is only the beginning. Easy enlists the help of his longtime friend Mouse to break through the shroud. And what Easy finds is a killer whose rage, like that which burned in the city for weeks, is intrinsically woven around deep-set passions - feelings echoed within Easy himself." Rawlins's hunt for the killer reveals a new city emerging from the ashes, with the promise of a new life for Easy, Mouse, and his old friends Jackson Blue and Jewelle.