Book Review: Little Scarlet

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Little Scarlet     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Walter Mosley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical
Series: Easy Rawlins # 8

Mosley continues his popular Easy Rawlins series - with this latest entry set in Los Angeles during the weeks immediately after the 1965 riots in Watts. A woman has been found stabbed to death and sexually abused - and the police are anxious to locate the murderer soon and minimize publicity related to her death.

Rawlins is appointed as a kind of ex officio detective, with an impressive letter of introduction from a top police official. He begins to trace the movements of the dead woman in the early days of the riot, and quickly identifies a white man who took refuge in her apartment after he was attacked by the rioters. Working with a white cop who begins to feel a grudging respect for him, Rawlins identifies the murderer who has left a trail of crimes extending back several years.

LA is a sad, depressing backdrop for Rawlins investigations, and Mosley provides an insightful analysis of the changes in black white relations resulting from the upheaval of those weeks.

Woodstock - RAM

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