19 March 2007

Too Easy

Consistent excellence is often overlooked. I've been reading Walter Mosley since 1994 and I forget to mention his name when asked "who do you like to read?" The latest installment of the brilliant Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins series Cinnamon Kiss is another superbly crafted "hard-boiled" mystery that continues the characters and colorful titles that began with Devil in a Blue Dress. Like John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, Easy is a philosopher and social critic as well as a rugged adventurer and problem solver for those whose problems go too far outside the law. Mr. Mosley has a clean, straightforward style, stripped of literary affectation, yet powerful and polished to a high art. If you like SF, Mosley has contributed to that genre as well, and has also written more "mainstream" novels. One of his latest, The Man in My Basement, is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read, yet thoroughly gripping and deeply satisfying. To borrow from a writer I greatly admire, M.C. sez "check him out."

No comments: