Book Review: Cinnamon Kiss

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Cinnamon Kiss     Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC
Walter Mosley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical
Series: Easy Rawlins # 9
Little, Brown & Co 2005

The best fiction of any genre takes the reader to another place, another time, another world. Walter Mosley is among the best at this - in his books featuring Easy Rawlins we visit post war Los Angeles beginning in the late 40's. In this latest entry Mosley returns to the "summer of love" in San Francisco when hippies strolled the streets and to the Los Angeles of the post Watts riot atmosphere.

Easy's young daughter Feather has been stricken with a mysterious illness (never identified well by Mosley) and he must come up with tens of thousands of dollars to fund her recovery in an upscale Swiss clinic. In an effort to obtain the cash for his daughter, Easy is drawn into a confusing game of tag involving several beautiful women, a missing cache of valuable bearer bonds, a fiercely single minded hit man, more than one dishonest attorney and the usual collection of eccentrics well known to readers of the Easy Rawlins tales.

Everyone is in pursuit of the bonds, and the motivation for a windfall payoff to the victor drives the hunt, but Easy's concern and determination to save his daughter keep him one step ahead of the rest of the search.

While he dishes up a suspenseful tale, the most enjoyable feature of Mosley's series is the portrayal of black Los Angeles of a generation ago. His characters live and breathe and never descend into stereotype.

For readers new to his books, it's worth the effort to seek out the earliest titles, beginning with DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS and follow the life of Easy Rawlins from his first appearance between the covers of a book.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM