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Executive Times |
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2008 Book Reviews |
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Blonde Faith
by Walter Mosley |
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Rating: |
*** |
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(Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Dependable The
tenth Easy Rawlins mystery from Walter Mosley is titled, Blonde
Faith. The quality of writing remains strong in this novel, and first
time readers and fans are likely to enjoy Blonde
Faith. Fans of this series are likely to be pleased with the steady way
in which Easy deals with everything life throws him. New readers can start here,
get hooked, and read the earlier books. Here’s an excerpt, from the beginning
of Chapter 3, pp. 17-19: I hadn't imbibed any alcohol
whatsoever in years. But since Bonnie left I thought about sour mash whiskey
every day. I was sitting in the living room in front of a dark TV, thinking
about drinking, when the phone rang. Another
symptom of my loneliness was that my heart thrilled with fear
every time someone called or knocked on
the door. I knew it wasn't her. I knew it, but still I worried
about what I could say. "Hello?" "Mr.
Rawlins?" a girl
asked. "Yes." "Is
something wrong? You sound funny." "Who is
this?" "Chevette." It
hadn't been a full day since I'd almost murdered a man over
the woman-child, and already I had to reach for her in my memory. "Hi.
Something wrong? Is pig man botherin' you?" "No,"
she said. "My daddy told me that I should call and say thank you. I
would have anyway, though. He says that we gonna move to Philadelphia to live
with my uncle. He says that way we can have a new start back there." "That
sounds like a great idea," I said with poorly manufactured enthusiasm. Chevette
sighed. I
got lost in that sigh. Chevette
saw me as her savior. First I took her away from her pimp and then I allowed
her to see her father in a way he could never show himself. I
got lost trying to imagine how I could see myself as that child saw me: a
hero filled with power and certainty. I would have given anything to be the
man she had called. "If
you have any problems, just tell me," that man said to Chevette. The
front door swung open, and Jesus came in with Benita Flagg and Essie. "Okay,
Mr. Rawlins," Chevette said. "My daddy wanna say hi." I
waved at my little broken family. "Mr.
Rawlins?" "Yeah,
Martel. She sounds good." "I'm
movin' us all out to Pennsylvania," he said. "Brother says there's good
work at the train yards out there." "That
sounds great. Chevette could use a new start; maybe you and your wife could
too." "Yeah,
yeah," Martel said, treading water. "Is
there something else?" I asked. Essie
started crying then. "You,
um, you said that, uh, that the three hundred dollars was for the week you
was gonna spend lookin for Chevy." "Yeah?"
I said with the question in my voice, but I knew what was coming next. "Well,
it only took a day, not even that." So? "I
figure that's about fifty dollars a day, excludin' Sunday," Martel
argued. "You could get another job to make up the difference." "Is
Chevette still there?" I asked. "Yeh.
Why?" "I
tell you what, Martel. I'll give you two hundred and fifty dollars if Chevy
could come spend the next five days with me." "Say
what?" I
hung up then. Martel couldn't help it. He was a workingman and had the logic
of the paycheck wedged in his soul. I'd saved his daughter from a life of
prostitution, but that didn't mean I'd earned his three hundred dollars. He'd
go to his grave feeling that he'd been cheated by me. One
thing that keeps me ready Walter Mosley’s novels is the way in which he
unwraps human nature in the simplest episodes of life, as in the excerpt
above. Blonde
Faith is an enjoyable mystery novel with a complex central character,
fine dialogue and a well-structured plot. Mosley is a dependable author who
brings readers great pleasure. Steve
Hopkins, January 22, 2008 |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the February 2008 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/Blonde Faith.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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