Blonde Faith

Starred review from August 6, 2007
Set in 1967, Mosley's brilliant 10th Easy Rawlins thriller finds the middle-aged Easy still fighting some of the same battles he fought in his first outing, Devil in a Blue Dress
(1990), as an angry young WWII vet trying to make his home in postwar Los Angeles. His “family” has grown from none to many over the years, and now Easy is dealing with the loss of the love of his life, Bonnie, and his decision to make her leave him. Despite Easy's vulnerability and anguish, he's a staunch friend and a fierce protector of those he loves. Easy's two most dangerous friends, Raymond “Mouse” Alexander and Christmas Black, have both disappeared and both are being hunted. Easy must find them before those who want to destroy them do. Mosley knows his territory as intimately as a lover knows his beloved, and Easy's tortuous progression from man-child to man may have reached its climax in this searing and moving novel.

Starred review from July 1, 2007
Mosley's tenth installment in his groundbreaking Easy Rawlins series finds the L.A. detective in his usual stateup to his neck in blood, corpses, and, perhaps worse, family tribulations. The story is set in postWatts riots 1967, and Easy, now 47, is hired to track down two friends: Christmas Black, a former Green Beret who left his adopted Vietnamese child at Easy's house before disappearing, and everyone's favorite sociopath, Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, whom the police are out to kill. But Easy has his own problems. Emotionally volatile after losing his soul mate, Bonnie Shay, Easy is tortured by regret and self-doubt; he's on a collision course with his grief and must either change direction or crash. As he ages, Easy is a man groping for stability in an increasingly unstable world. More than one man's journey, Mosley's Easy Rawlins series is a chronicle of the shifting landscape of race relations from the 1940s to the 1960s and is destined to become part of the Americanand not just African Americanconscience. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/15/07.]Mike Rogers, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
Mosley, a smart and daring writer, has tried his hand at everything from political essays to erotica, but his most anticipated books are those featuring the sleuth that made him famous: Easy Rawlins. In the tenth series installment, its 1967 and Easy is emotionally on edge after learning that his true love, Bonnie Shay, plans to marry an African prince. A search for Christmas Black, a village-killing soldier and the adoptive father of an eight-year-old Vietnamese girl, and for the dangerous Raymond Mouse Alexander, Easys oldest friend, provides distraction (and some relief, in the form of willing women), but Easys need to reconcile his role in his relationships end seems to trump even mayhem and murder. One of the remarkable traits of this series has been its portrayal of the sleuth not as a loner but as a man intricately connected with family and community. For Easy, who ages and changes with each book, the past is always present. For once, however, this web of connection tangles the storytelling. Amidst the frequent historical vignettes and righteous asides, we want Easy to scramble free and act. When he finally does, the conflagration feels almost pro forma. And, as with Cinnamon Kiss (2005), theres less connection to the historical moment. Here its Vietnam, as Easy penetrates an army drug-smuggling ring unaccompanied by Mosleys usual penetrating insights. But if this extraordinary series is beginning to drift, there are indications that suggest Mosely may be thinking about wrapping it up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)