Narrator Michael Boatman is no stranger to Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mystery series. His comfort with the author's style and the title character's swagger make CHARCOAL JOE a captivating listen. This time out, Easy's asked to clear a young black man accused of killing a white man. Easy knows from the start the case will be an uphill battle, but he's not prepared for the level of danger he steps into. Boatman illuminates all of Mosley's little gems. The author’s wit and sarcasm are enhanced by a narration that envelops the listener in 1960s Los Angeles. Both longtime Mosley fans and new ones will take another drive or walk around the block just to listen a little longer. J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

★ 04/04/2016
Set in 1968, MWA Grand Master Mosley’s excellent 14th Easy Rawlins mystery (after 2014’s Rose Gold) finds the favor-dealing L.A. PI working as a partner in the WRENS-L Detective Agency, which combines his initials with those of his two partners. A dangerous friend of Easy’s, Raymond “Mouse” Alexander, introduces him to Rufus “Charcoal Joe” Tyler, who wants Easy to clear Seymour Brathwaite, a 22-year-old doctor of physics doing postgraduate work at UCLA. Seymour was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a couple of crooks at a beach house in Malibu. Easy can’t get the whole truth from Charcoal Joe or Seymour, and he soon finds himself embroiled with deadly foes in a quest for missing money and jewels. Easy gets help from such series regulars as police captain Melvin Suggs and Fearless Jones, but Easy does his own heavy lifting in dramatic fashion. As always in this series, racism in all its insidious forms is central. As Easy observes, “Life was like a bruise for us back then, and today too.” This is a must for Easy Rawlins fans and anyone who appreciates fresh, powerful prose. Author tour. Agent: Gloria Loomis, Watkins Loomis Agency. (June)

You don’t hop in the car with Easy Rawlins for the destination. You ride shotgun for the trip.” —The Washington Post

“I'd know that voice [in Charcoal Joe] anywhere. It's the seductive drawl and lowdown dirty laugh of Walter Mosley's mellow private eye, Easy Rawlins.”
—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“Incomparable. . . . Easy quickly finds himself in a mess. . . . But as ever, [he] finds a way to rise above such circumstances”
— Chicago Tribune
 
“These memorable characters are strong, shrewd, purposeful and humorous.” —Los Angeles Sentinel

“Much like Raymond Chandler did in his portrait of Southern California for his fictional private eye Philip Marlowe, or Dashiell Hammett did with Sam Spade, Mr. Mosley takes readers into the worlds of everyone from psychopathic criminals to business magnates, along with the minor players such as con men, tipsters, career criminals and cops.” —Pittsburgh Post Gazette

01/01/2016
In this new Easy Rawlins mystery, Easy is setting up a detective agency with money from his latest case (see Rose Gold, 2014) when he meets Charcoal Joe, whose friend's son, stellar Stanford grad Seymour, is in deep trouble. Seymour is accused of killing a white man, and since he was found standing over the victim's body and had racially motivated reasons for revenge, it looks bad.

Narrator Michael Boatman is no stranger to Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mystery series. His comfort with the author's style and the title character's swagger make CHARCOAL JOE a captivating listen. This time out, Easy's asked to clear a young black man accused of killing a white man. Easy knows from the start the case will be an uphill battle, but he's not prepared for the level of danger he steps into. Boatman illuminates all of Mosley's little gems. The author’s wit and sarcasm are enhanced by a narration that envelops the listener in 1960s Los Angeles. Both longtime Mosley fans and new ones will take another drive or walk around the block just to listen a little longer. J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine