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Title details for Charcoal Joe by Walter Mosley - Available

Charcoal Joe

#14 in series

by Walter Mosley
Michael Boatman
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Walter Mosley’s indelible detective Easy Rawlins is back, with a new detective agency and a new mystery to  solve.
Picking up where his last adventures in Rose Gold left off in L.A. in the late 1960s, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins finds his life in transition. He’s ready—finally—to propose to his girlfriend, Bonnie Shay, and start a life together. And he’s taken the money he got from the Rose Gold case and, together with two partners, Saul Lynx and Tinsford “Whisper” Natly, has started a new detective agency. But, inevitably, a case gets in the way: Easy’s friend Mouse introduces him to Rufus Tyler, a very old man everyone calls Charcoal Joe. Joe’s friend’s son, Seymour (young, bright, top of his class in physics at Stanford), has been arrested and charged with the murder of a white man from Redondo Beach. Joe tells Easy he will pay and pay well to see this young man exonerated, but seeing as how Seymour literally was found standing over the man’s dead body at his cabin home, and considering the racially charged motives seemingly behind the murder, that might prove to be a tall order.
     Between his new company, a heart that should be broken but is not, a whole raft of new bad guys on his tail, and a bad odor that surrounds Charcoal Joe, Easy has his hands full, his horizons askew, and his life in shambles around his feet.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Easy Rawlins

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 14, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780735208759
      • File size: 287499 KB
      • Duration: 09:58:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 25, 2016
      MWA Grand Master Mosley’s 14th Easy Rawlins mystery finds the unconventional, now middle-aged PI at the tail end of L.A.’s Swinging 60s, struggling with a broken heart (his wife-to-be opts for a return to her former partner), racist cops, crooked cops, murderous mobsters, deceitful informants, and a number of beautiful women eager to seduce him. Lucky for Easy, the author’s other series character, Fearless Jones, arrives to assist with charm and smooth efficiency. Reader Boatman, no stranger to Easy’s attitude—knowing, wry, and just a bit shy of sarcastic—adds that and more to the sleuth’s first-person narration. His Fearless has the lift of joyous optimism that comes from being able to accomplish just about any task. Mosley’s plot is more complex than Raymond Chandler at his most perplexing, but, as in Chandler’s books, there are enough unique characters and entertaining scenes to compensate for that. Boatman’s well-planned voices, pacing, and cool delivery make this a must for Easy fans. A Doubleday hardcover.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      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
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 4, 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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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