Devil in a Blue Dress: Walter Mosley

Not Raymond Chandler, but I really enjoyed this mystery by Walter Moseley set in LA in the same period as Chandler's later works. Easy Rawlins, the protagonist, is an alternative take on the stereotypical hardboiled gumshoe and his milieu: Easy is an African American WW2 vet and emigre from Houston trying to make a better life for himself in a prospering postwar LA where racism remains endemic. After losing his factory job, he becomes a detective by accident, to make ends meet. Someone's girlfriend has gone missing and Easy takes the not-so-easy job of finding her, the femme fatale who gives the book its title.

The Devil in the Blue Dress is a noir tale full of racial and sexual tensions set in the post-war Los Angeles. The strengths of the novel are the characterisation, contextualisation, and sense of place and time. Easy Rawlins is an interesting lead character: a man who wants to pull himself up into the middle class but finds himself scrabbling around in the underworld to keep that dream from slipping by; he's familiar with death from his time fighting across Europe, but he has little appetite for the murderous situation he finds himself in. As such, his moral compass is generally pointed in the right direction, but he's prepared to let it waver, especially as he lives in a community where right and wrong are various shades of grey and he has to negotiate the racist attentions of powerful white men. To complement him, Mosley fills the story with a set of colourful, dangerous characters. The tale is particularly good at portraying the racial geography of the city, its seedy nightlife and petty crime, and dropping in small historical references. The plot was interesting, but felt a little opaque at times given the number of characters and their shifting allegiances, and some elements didn't seem to quite sit right. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining read, told in a style that is all tell and no show, and is full of noirish atmosphere.

For my crime fiction group. Not yet discussed.

Really enjoyed this book, some excellent imagery that reminded me F. Scott Fitzgerald at times. Good plot with moments delivered so well that they made me smile. Interesting racial dynamics add to the story and its location - Los Angeles, 1948.Characters are convincing and the way in which Mosley creates them even makes the bad guys charmingly believable.Only downfall for me (having not read any crime fiction before) is that the ending was rather complex and hard to keep track of due to the amount of characters involved in the outcome of the plot - made my head spin a little and slightly detracted from an otherwise incredibly enjoyable read.Strongly considering reading the other books in the series, I'm sure I will do at some point.

It is a detective novel (though the lead character doe snot knwo at the start that he will become a detective) set in the 1940s and it does read as it could have been a contemporay novel of that time. The roles and treatment of women in the novel is quite shallow and sexist, though I think that is what adds to help create the effect of it being a novel of that time.This is the first in a series and I am tempted to read the others.

Have just finished Michael Connellys series of ‘Bosch’ books.Present day police/crime thriller in LA.....A lot of times history seems so ‘far away’ it seems untouchable and virtually unbelievable.Mosley makes Easy ‘live’ just as Bosch has been made to be. This is great fiction. Set in a different world but only 50+ years ago.It’s hard to understand that events described were happening. Especially where people had such appalling views of others, simply because of their colour.Great pacing, action and dialogue.Look forward to the rest of the series.

To be honest I just expected a run of the mill investigation type of story & whilst it is in some ways in other ways it offers up a whole lot more & it show you how things used to be between black & white. Some might say nothing’s changed but have a read & make up your own mind.

Amazing, such a pleasure to be introduced to this author's pen with Easy Rawlings.Loved the plot,reality, rawness,and reading a black hero in a time of racial hardship for people of colour. I'll read the rest of the series, I recommend this book.

All good

All good Came on time

A good read with a strong lead character.

Brilliant writer. The recreation of the USA in 40s is brilliant. The pace and the characters are almost live...visible. I finished it at one go.

Decisamente un ottimo noir, teso e con una vision razziale non banale. Fantastico il personaggio di Mouse, l'alter ego di Easy Rawlings in questo e altri libri.