Walter Mosley

1990's Devil In A Blue introduces the character Easy Rawlins.  In 1948 Easy or Ezekiel is an African American war veteran, factory worker from Texas who moved to Los Angeles to escape his friend Mouse. Read the book and you'll find out why.  After losing his job and needing money to pay his mortgage, Easy is solicited by a obviously malignant individual to find a white woman name of Daphney Monet.  Of course the initial search opens the door to a full blown mystery of unanswered questions, beat downs, and murder.  The 1995 movie starred Denzel Washington as Easy, Don Cheadle as Mouse, and Jennifer Beals as Daphney.  Unfortunately there were no movies made after the first one.

Mosley wrote ten more books featuring Easy Rawlins as he evolves into a full time detective.  2007's Blond Faith was to be the last book in the Rawlins series, but I hear that's not what's going to happen.

I met Walter Mosley briefly when he was at the Baltimore Book Festival in September of 2007 or 2008?  Memory fails me, but I do remember standing in line for about thirty minutes for a few seconds with Mosley so he could sign a book for my son.   

Gushing and giggling I said, "My son started reading your books when I introduced him to the Easy Rawlins mysteries."

He said something like, "He needs to read more than that."

I moved on thinking, "Asshole."

He should have been grateful that my son loved his books and its characters.
He should have been proud he had a positive influence on a non-reader.

I found out later that Mosley was being pressured by readers to bring Easy Rawlins back although he had created newer novel with interesting characters. Mosley was irritated but did agree to write two more Easy books.  The first is to come out in 2013.  Doubleday must have met his price, you know how it is.  I just hope it's not like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's continuation of The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries after he had killed off Sherlock Holmes.  The Adventure of the Empty House is weak, lame and disappointing. Readers can almost hear Doyle struggle to come with a convincing reason why Holmes did not die.

Personally I'm expecting a book as interesting and well written as the other ten books.  Walter Mosley don't let your fans down.

This month I'm reading two non-Rawlins books. They're The Last Day of Ptolemy Grey and The Right Mistake.  I feel your pain Mosley, (yeah right.) but mostly I just like and respect your writing.