Walter Mosley is a strong writer with a sense of humor. This book is the latest Easy Rowlins novel and the best one yet. It is easy to settle slowing into the grips of a Mosley novel. Suddenly one realizes you are trapped and do not want to put it down. I practically read this one right through. Mystery readers and those interested in L.A. in the 70's will be delighted with the novel. Keep writing Mosley!

Easy Rawlins, has a broken heart.

Wait....that doesn't quite do it justice.

Easy Rawlins is completely devastated, lamenting the loss of the one woman that seemed to bring stability to the crazy, mixed up world in which he finds himself.

Walter Mosley slides into his storytelling like a threadbare housecoat that looks like the devil...but feels like heaven. This time, its California, 1969...post Watts Riots but pre-understanding and acceptance.

And Easy?

Easy spends most of this novel chasing: chasing Mouse, chasing Christmas Black and, most importantly, chasing his own demons as he tries to pull himself back together.

I enjoyed the humanization of Easy this time around. Mosley inserts a jaggedness to his character that reflects a lot of the pain and confusion Easy has seen over the years. I walked away feeling as if I understood him a bit more deeply. His vulnerability and warring thoughts add a depth of character that was always there, but was more understated in the past.

While not the best Rawlins mystery I've read...Mosley pulls you into his world with vivid descriptions and insights into layers of racism that only an insider can give.

What happened to the Easy Rawlins I knew and loved? Those were my thoughts as I read the latest from Walter Mosley "Blonde Faith". It was a big disappointment for me as I expected Easy to kick the bad guys where it hurts in the name of justice or at least to go out in a blaze of glory. Instead the entire book was about the once bold Easy Rawlins wallowing in self-pity about his lost love Bonnie. There is very little action to speak of as the two most "dangerous men" Easy has ever known, Christmas Black and Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, don't even show up until the last few chapters of the book then don't do any thing more dangerous than grimace at each other. Easy slaps a pimp and tricks cops into killing the bad guys but most of the action in the novel takes place off scene. And why Walter Mosley named the book after a minor character is beyond me. The rest of the book is filled with a man feeling sorry for himself, having a mid life crisis. If you are an Easy Rawlins fan go back and re read Devil in a Blue Dress. Remember Easy as he was in the beginning.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the Easy Rawlins novels up until this one. The basic story was weak and the entire book was filled with more "all the troubles of the black American male can be blamed on the white American male" nonsense. I learned a lot about the "black experience" by reading the previous novels and felt great empathy for the black Americans as portrayed by Mr. Mosley. This volume is filled with the usual rhetoric one expects from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.

If this is the end of Easy Rawlins then good riddance as it is a shame he can't wake up and realize much of his misery is of his own making. "It's somebody else's fault" is a poor philosophy to live by. Mosely has simply given creedence to many racial stereotypes with this highly disappointing book. What a shame.

I've read the entire Easy Rawlins series. The writing has always been superb and the characters richly drawn. Mosely never lets you down and neither does Easy and Blonde Faith.

But you know it don't come easy letting go, and knowing that Blonde Faith might, could, possibly spell the end of one of the best written characters in american literature, it was a really tough read. I didn't want it to end the way I knew it had to. I didn't want to say goodbye to a character I've come to love, admire and, in a way, pity.

But wait...there is hope. OK, not much but hey, Walter Mosley might not be done with Ezekiel and his best friend Raymond (Mouse) Alexander. Mosley has given us a beaut of a cliffhanger to er, well, hang onto. I can only hope that we'll be seeing more of Easy and his LA friends at least one more time. There are issues yet to be resolved.

I've read almost all of the Easy Rawlins series and almost always forget how good they are until I pick one up again. This latest is no exception. It's not so much the story that grabbed me, but the way it was told. With just a few lines, Mosley can evoke LA in 1967, right after the Watts riot, when the US was still in the middle of the Viet Nam war. He makes me care about Easy, Bonnie and Faith, and many of the other characters. Yes, there were too many minor characters, who were hard to keep track of and I had to go back to previous pages to follow the plot at times. But none of that kept from from thoroughly enjoying the book. Mosley is the natural heir to Raymond Chandler, who also eloquently wrote about LA, 20 years before the Easy Rawlins stories take place.

It does look bad for Rawlins at the end of Blonde Faith, but I like to think that he will somehow end up in northern California in the 1967 Haight Asbury, which we can read about in the next Easy Rawlins story.

Should Walter Mosley determine not to write any more Easy Rawlins mysteries - which seems a distinct possibility - then this fine series will end, like "Blonde Faith," on a blue note.

This story is all about missing persons. Easy's newfound comrade, Christmas Black, deposits his adopted Vietnamese daughter on Easy's doorstep and disappears. Ray Alexander has gone to ground, and his woman, Etta Mae, fears that the police have caught up with him or may soon do so because of his supposed murder of Pericles Tarr. Said Pericles, like the woman who lived in the shoe, has so many children he doesn't know what to do - other than also disappear, with no body left behind. It's left to Easy to find out where, and find out why.

And most importantly, missing from Easy's life is Bonnie Shay, the love of his life. Easy has pridefully pushed her away, and she's now engaged to another man.

The plot is complex and very fluid. Easy doesn't stay in one place - or on one trail - for very long. He goes through the standard motions of detecting, but inside he is grieving the loss of Bonnie, and is distracted from his profession. He encounters enticing women, among them the eponymous Faith, but they don't fulfill him. His children no longer seem to need him. The recurring characters we see - Mamma Jo, Etta Mae, Mouse, Primo, Jewelle, and Jackson Blue - all seem to have moved past him, leaving Easy sliding, sliding, and then in free fall.

The book's mystery plot is nicely and cleanly resolved. But what will become of Easy? That question awaits its answer - if any - on another day.

I am one of the biggest fans of the Easy Rawlins series and I hope that this is not the end. It would leave such a void not having an African-American in this genre. I throughly enjoyed this book as I have the others.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." That's what they say. I'm not sure that Easy Rawlins would agree in this tenth installment in the series.

Easy found out in Cinnamon Kiss that Bonnie had betrayed him sexually to help get treatment to save Feather's life (his adopted daughter). Easy couldn't handle the knowledge and cut off relations with Bonnie by sending her away. As Blonde Faith opens, Easy is not so easily living without her.

Easy has a private detective job in 1967 to find and talk to a teenage runaway. He succeeds in taking her off the streets after some pretty aggressive action with her "protector." Returning home, Easy finds that eight-year-old Easter Dawn has been left without explanation by the dangerous Christmas Black. Easy decides to find Christmas to figure out what's going on. A call to Etta Mae lets Easy know that Mouse is wanted for murder by the police and that Mouse is also missing. Etta Mae asks Easy to find him.

With a loaded plate that causes heartache, Easy also learns that Bonnie is about to marry her African prince. Although Easy shouldn't care, he does. From there, Easy is an emotional basket case who lives mostly by instinct rather than by wit. That's too bad because some dangerous characters are at play.

The trail to Christmas and Mouse leads Easy across some very beautiful and accommodating women. Can they distract him from his grief?

The beauty of this book is the nuanced way that Walter Mosley captures the subtle changes in white-black relations of those days as some white people are made more suspicious and resentful in the post-riot years while others genuinely want to ignore color in favor of doing the right thing. Easy is gifted with an ability to identify the orientation of others from a mile away, and he takes full advantage of both those he can and cannot trust. But sometimes, he's still too trusting.

This book shows a different side of Easy, a man being pushed to the edge. If you want the scared superhero Easy, you may not enjoy seeing him act more like a normal, fallible person. Like many of the best novels, this one raises more questions than it answers. If you don't like choices like "the lady or the tiger," you'll be less fond of this book than I was.

I was particularly impressed by how well Mr. Mosley developed the theme of "love hurts" throughout the story and for so many of its characters.

The book's main weakness is a tendency to make many of the new characters into either angels or devils. People are a little more similar than that. As a result, this is more like reading an epic than a mystery novel.

This is Walter Mosley's 10th Easy Rawlins mystery, read and enjoy the first nine, and leave this one on the shelf. Walter Mosley seems to have joined Martin Cruz Smith and Robert B. Parker in losing the energy to recreate their outstanding characters' humor and strength. Blonde Faith repeats segments of previous stories in a sort of disjointed way, throwing in some pessimism foreign to Easy's principles and courage as he spends the entire novel in agony over whether to accept back his lover who slept with someone else. Finally in a burst of plot manipulation it appears that the plot and writer have finished off Easy, but perhaps he may be back, if Mosley can get the energy and courage for it.

Again, it's too bad that Mosley whose novels exhibit a unique truth and humanity should tire of this outstanding character, and let him go in period of fatigue.

This novel, while literally a cliffhanger, seems to be the last of the Easy Rawlings mysteries. Mosley begins with his usual "something has happened and the reader knows right away" but without the continued suspense and lingering moments that we like to read. I did not invest in these characters like I have with characters past. I do not get a sense that I want to meet these characters in a later novel. Mosley attempts to tidy up the matter of Easy's children, Jesus and Feather, which gives some clues that maybe Easy might be leaving the scene. In addition, Easy is utterly consumed with a private pity party that he laters reveals to other characters in the novel. The ending, however, gives me a little hope that Easy will return and I certainly hope so because I find that I cannot get into his black noirs on the subject of taboo sex.

I am an Easy Rawlins fan, have read all of the series. Each novel has been different in various ways but have had a theme of the intolerance of race and Easy's view of the world.

In the latest Rawlins novel, Easy is on the trail of missing people and that is the mystery of the book but it seems that the real theme of the book was devoted to Easy's misery and him going downhill in himself.

The author gave a lot more time to racism in this book than his earlier ones and at times I thought it became a little preachy but then again, I haven't lived in his shoes so I won't criticise.

Not wishing to give anything away but the ending is shocking.

I have read all of the Easy Rawlins series and this book was a huge disappointment. I'm not sure what Mosley's message was except that Easy was lost without his true love Bonnie. The plot was rather evasive, if there was one, and too many in the cast of characters. So maybe it's time to put Easy to rest and get back to writing a good thriller.

I was sad when I started reading this book knowing that it was the final in the Easy Rawlins series. Easy is like an old friend that you look forward to seeing every few months and knowing he would be gone after this made me want to read this last treat very slowly.

Unfortunately, as with all of Walter Mosley's books, slow is not an option. The characters and the pace were welcome old friends and the end was as satisfying as always.

I'll miss these old friends.

The final saga of an incredible series saddens me. Blonde Faith brings us to a new beginning for the Easy Rawlins character. Perhaps, the series has been so good I shudder to think that this is the end. However, I believe the book leaves Mosley with a perfect springboard to crank out one more story and hopefully take Easy into his retirement and good fortune. Think if you will: The Prince is overthrown and captured. Bonnie escapes the coup d'etat and solicits the help of Easy. Then, Easy gets his boys; Mouse and Christmas. Christmas is needed because of his military and foriegn affairs knowledge. Who knows, maybe they pick up Fearless Jones, too! He once was a military man. In the end, Easy helps his love, Bonnie and feels now he has flipped the script (the transference of emotion). He moves on to find Black Betty, my favorite, Pretty Smart or Tourmaline Goss, and fades into the horizan. Since he left his custodian's job at Sojourner Truth JHS, perhaps his office with the Amber Gate that reads: Easy Rawlins Research and Delivery "eases" him into his restful state. Just a thought! What do you think, Walter??

This is the tenth Easy Rawlins mystery that I have read. As I look back over the series, the details of the stories all tend to blur into the same story. Easy searches for a beautiful woman. Easy has the help of his killer friend, Mouse. Easy has a troubled home life. Easy is haunted by his demons. White authority figures either try to impede or manipulate Easy. Story ends with an interesting and violent conclusion. Walter Mosely has a succesful formula and he wisely sticks with it. Time moves forward in the series but Easy Rawlins and his friends essentially never age. Their characters are cast in stone and sadly they never really evolve.

So what keeps me returning to the series? For me, the appeal is being able to see the world through the eyes of a heroic, black character. Easy Rawlins' world is foreign to me. Like many great fiction writers, Walter Mosely allows me to see my own contemporary world through the eyes of the other. The beauty of the Easy Rawlins series is that the books not only entertain but they also educate.

Even though the author was interviewed for a newspaper article, and he suggested that the Easy Rawlins series is over, I think the ending in "Blonde Faith" left room for a "near fatal" accident for Easy.

Let's face it, although the author has written other books, it was Easy Rawlins that made him a household name.

Sadly, if he is serious, I'm afraid the author will lost me and others as loyal followers of his work.

Easy Rawlins is back again with more trouble than he bargained for. His friend Christmas Black has left his daughter at Easy's house without an explanation. The drama doesn't stop there when Easy learns that his close friend Mouse has disappeared and is wanted for murder. In the midst of all of this, Easy's longtime lover Bonnie decides to leave him to marry another man. Easy is running away from his own pain while trying find and save his friends. He's on a race against time as corrupt officials and other unsavory characters are standing in his way. But a woman named Faith may have the answers that will help Easy save his friends and himself.

Blonde Faith is an enthralling novel by Walter Mosley. Mosley once again pulls readers into the complex world of Easy Rawlins. This story is full of drama and raw emotion. Readers will feel the pain of Easy as he tries to get over the fact of Bonnie leaving him. You will also feel the sense of urgency of Easy as he tries to find and save his friends before the police get involved. This story is full of drama, intrigue, and interesting characters that will keep you flipping the pages. By the way this story is told, Mosley definitely let you know that this is the last Easy Rawlins novel. Blonde Faith is a fast-paced and exciting novel that doesn't disappoint.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

Easy Rawlins treks through this 10th novel in the series brooding after the love of his life (I wonder how he knows, since there never is a woman he doesn't want to bed) who he kicked out of his home months previously. He goes from danger to danger and woman to woman wondering what he should do about Bonnie, whom he can't live without (or, apparently, with). So he plots along soul-searching, seeking a resolution to his dilemma.

But just to keep busy, Easy has to face a bunch of other problems, including a presumed police plot to kill his dangerous friend, Raymond (Mouse) Alexander, who is missing. Mouse is accused of murdering Pericles Tarr, who also is missing. Easy is asked to find both of them and sets out on the task. Along the way a sinister plot involving military or ex-military personnel emerges with bodies all over the place.

The novel is filled with all kinds of musings and observations on the fate of the Black Man despite the efforts of the Constitution and various laws meant to treat citizens with respect and equality. The discourses take the form of lectures and probably are disconcerting to the average reader. Mosley makes it look easy with sparkling dialogue and a fast-moving plot. But it ain't that easy, just an interesting mystery.

"Easy Rawlins returns in another story about southern California, the Mouse, and the real meaning of grace and redemption. Start the petitions now to beg Mosley not to end the Rawlins series."

So, I think "Devil" was 1990, No? I've read the 17 reviews now available on Amazon, and also every Rawlins/Mosley in publication order. Blonde Faith is as good as any Rawlins. No more formulaic than the 87 87th precinct novels. I enjoyed it as one reviewer said as better than 90% of what searching through Borders will reveal. Some questions though. So little focus in the reviews on the End???? And why was Blonde Faith in the story, let alone the title? Easy's long history has left him with so many complicated relationships that I think Mosley is tied in a knot with no place for Easy to go next. His "children" age, he does not. Anyway, while we wait for Connelleys, Leonards, and Hiaasens, it's great to find a Mosley. Don't miss any of them - Rawlins or not. Talented author. Thoughtful muse.

Walter Mosley is not just one of the finest African-American authors currently writing, he is simply of of America's best authors, period. As a result of his periodic excursions into Science Fiction and erotica, Mosley is not taken as seriously as he should be, but the Easy Rawlins, Fearless Jones and Socrates Fortlow novels number amongst the finest depictions of the African-American experience of the last two decades. The accessible and ever-reliable Easy Rawlins private eye books, of which Blonde Faith is the latest, is also a very enjoyable mystery. Not quite 5 stars, but closer than anything else in this genre this year.

Reviewed by Lauretta Ali

After reading Blonde Faith, I felt the need to be tied to a chair, preventing me from racing to my nearest bookstore! I now want to get my hands on every copy of Easy Rawlins books. I must catch up and the thirst is real and actual.

Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins must be the man of my dreams. A dedicated and determined private eye, he faces a day in infamy. Not that his time is ever his own, here is a man that just wants to come home from work and relax for a minute.

Easy is trying to recover from losing the love of his life, Bonnie, who committed the unthinkable. It's how Easy deals with this loss and the raw emotion the author conveys, that makes me yearn to learn all I can about a man who is anything but easy. He's hired to find a man's runaway daughter. Yet, Easy has a troubled relationship with his daughter Feather. This particular evening, Easy comes home to find that one of his closest friends has left his daughter Easter in their care. Her father would never leave Easter unless he was in danger himself. Now Easy is on a mission to find Christmas Black before others find him first. What he discovers along the way will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Walter Mosley is a master storyteller. I was routing for Easy Rawlins like I knew the man personally! I bonded with him as he struggled with his love for the women in his life. I melted as he tenderly handled those closest to him. I cringed as he met danger face on in rugged abandonment. Putting this book down wasn't easy.

It is with blind faith that I will begin my collection of this author's work. I found my favorite author of all time, after reading Blonde Faith!

Armchair Interviews says: If you love super storytelling with great characters, this is for you.

Once again.Walter Mosley has written an exciting,can't put the book down Easy Rollins whodunit.If you have read any of Walter's Easy Rollin's intriging stories before, you will find yourself truly caring for Easy and the colorful cast of characters.Now that we know Easy and have seen him previously in film in "Devil in the Blue Dress", I can only hope this will be the next Easy Rollins, hold your breath, don't let it end mystery.

Wonderful, wonderful book. However, this one was VERY... um.... emotional-intellectual. Easy seems to be doing a lot of inner searching as he's doing searching for clues to his lastet neighboorhood enigma. This is classic Mosley and definately one for us all.

I am a long-time Walter Mosley fan. His character, Easy Rawlins, touches me, every time he thinks, acts, moves. He/Mosley gives me the illusion that I know a bit about what it was like, in Easy's time, to live in Los Angeles, where I, too, live. As a white person, I feel the distance that Mosley communicates, letting me know that I will never know what it is really like to be Black in America, but I so want to bridge that distance. The only time I thought we bridged it as a nation was after 9/11. I felt for a good long moment as if the nation pulled together, all the races, facing a common enemy. I felt that while we might never understand our various backgrounds, the devastating present put most of that history in second priority.

I stopped reading Blonde Faith because I do not want to finish it.
It is so good I am cherishing the last 50 pages. I have read
all of Mr. Mosley's Easy Rawlins series and this one is absolutely the best.
Mr. Mosley is coming to terms with a culture that has no regard
for human dignity particularily anyone that is different than those
who are in power. Combine that with the devastating difficulties in understanding what love is. The plot is moved along by Mouse's daring
personna and his illegal activities against the establishment.
Mouse is Robin Hood to Easy's confusion on who Easy is.
The struggle to find and know himself within this crazy culture makes
Easy an easy character to empathize with. The eternal quest to know why we act the way we do. Most of us are not going
to rob a bank or be a detective but it's comforting and exciting to know
that we all share the same distress. Mr Mosley honesty is startling and
freeing. Now lets get into the l970's. Self realization is a continual story.

Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley is the eleventh book in the Easy Rawlins mystery series and it is the book to read!

At the start of Blonde Faith, we find Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, private eye, lost so to speak. What is a man to do when he has lost the love of his life to a prince? When Easy learned his former long-time girlfriend Bonnie had an affair with a prince, he pushed her away from his life and kicked her out of their home without fully resolving their situation. Now that Easy has learned Bonnie is to be married to the prince, Easy has to deal with his lingering feelings for her. He wants her back but his pride will not let him communicate his feelings for her. Now, if the emotional strain of his situation was not enough, Easter Dawn, child of Christmas Black, is placed into his care with no explanation of what to do with the child or what is going on. To add to that, his best friend of many years, Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, is wanted for murder by the police and they really want justice against the long-time killer who got away so many other times. So begins the journey of Easy Rawlins, off to save those in need but in the end, who will save Easy?

Walter Mosley makes number eleven shine with a sparkle that only he can create through prose. Blonde Faith is an intense mystery written magnificently. What readers will enjoy about this book the most, on top of Easy Rawlins doing what he does best, is the fact that there is such an emotional connection to Easy. There is a sense of the reader wanting him to focus on himself primarily more so than saving someone else. Easy is given chance after chance to save others and he will die trying to do this but when it comes to saving himself from emotional woes and getting back the woman he loves, he hesitates. Perhaps, it has to do with him not placing himself first, at least sometimes or when it is most needed. The ending of Blonde Faith was masterfully written and will definitely leave readers dangling in suspense for more! This book is recommended to fans of mystery novels, fans of the Easy Rawlins series, and fans who love to read good damn books.

Reviewer, Chantay W.
APOOO BookClub

I was introduced to Walter Mosley about 6 months ago and have had the distinct pleasure to read his books one after the other. His writing always leaves me feeling richer for having read it.

So having very recently read the previous books in the series, I found this one different. Easy's character seemed less interesting, less likeable, and diminished overall in terms of his thought process and his relationships with everyone. I was expecting that Easy would regain strength and return to being someone I could care about. But he didn't. Had this been the first Walter Mosley book I read, I don't think I would have felt any urgency to track down and read his other books.

I have read all of the Easy Rawlins Mysteries - and this is my least favorite. Mr. Mosley has found a formula - but it is time to change it. Enough of the racism and repetition. It's time for Mr. Mosley to write a real thriller. Thanks.

Blonde Faith is one of my favorite in the Easy Rawlins series. The writing is outstanding. There are some passages that I went back and read over several times because they were written so beautifully. The ending was somewhat of a surprise and I'm starting to feel a little bit like Annie Wilkes (was that the Misery character's name??). I am so hoping that this is not the last Easy novel, but if it is, Mr. Mosley did a great job in ending the series.

Although this is the last Easy Rawlins novel. Blonde Faith was an excellent finish. The novel starts with Easy losing the love of his life Bonnie who is marrying someone else. His best friend Mouse is missing and also Easter Dawn is dropped off at his house when Christmas Black takes off. It's up to Easy Rawlins to get to the bottom of things. If you are a Walter Mosley fan this is one for the library.

I have read the all the books in the Easy and Fearless Jones series. This one is my second favorite behind "A little yellow dog".

I especially appreciate the skillful way he depicts the conflict Easy faces when dealing with his feelings for Bonnie. How it affects his actions in every day unrelated activities, is a lesson.

Walter Mosley's skillful writing pulls you into the lives and problems of the characters and you leave both enlightened and entertained.

This was a really great read.

It is somewhat of a surprise to come to the realization that BLONDE FAITH is Walter Mosley's 10th Easy Rawlins thriller. It seems there have been more, far more. Rawlins quietly became an icon even as Mosley became both a role model for minority writers and an argument against giving African-American authors a separate but equal genre classification that intentionally distinguishes their work and unintentionally marginalizes it from a larger potential audience.

This is easily the best book in the series, which screams to be read in one sitting thanks to its flowing, unstoppable narrative. Mosley's storylines have always reflected the complexity of the life of his protagonist, a black man living in the southwest United States in the mid-20th century. With this new novel, Mosley streamlines things a bit, keeping the plot basic without sacrificing the richness of the tale.

BLONDE FAITH takes place in Los Angeles in 1967, where a city and political power structure remain uneasy in the aftermath of the Watts riots. Rawlins's life, somewhat turbulent even in the best of times, becomes more so when his two best friends suddenly go missing. Christmas Black, a Vietnam veteran, drops off his adoptive daughter at Rawlins's house without warning or explanation and is apparently on the run. Meanwhile, Rawlins's friend Mouse is being sought by the police for murder, and Rawlins is convinced that, due to Mouse's longstanding antagonistic relationship with the police, the authorities will not be taking any prisoners.

Even as Rawlins begins the dual tasks of finding Christmas and rescuing Mouse, he finds out that Bonnie, his longtime but estranged lover, is on the verge of marrying another man. This knowledge haunts and distracts him, even as he begins tracing Christmas's whereabouts and slowly but surely learns that the man who Mouse is accused of murdering is in fact alive and well and on the run himself. Rawlins comes to realize that his best shot at saving Mouse is locating the man Mouse supposedly murdered.

What is most interesting about this book is the manner in which Mosley quietly demonstrates to his audience (if not to Rawlins himself) that the things that have the potential to bring Rawlins his best chance at happiness are in his immediate grasp.

The conclusion is easily the most unique and shocking of any featured in Mosley's work thus far. Fairly unambiguous but leaving just a bit of wiggle room for a sequel, this is sure to be one of Mosley's most controversial novels to date, particularly among his longtime fans. It is for this reason, and all that comes before, that BLONDE FAITH is a must-read.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

The story is a little unfocused, but Walter Mosley is such a good writer that it's still a cut above 90% of anything else in this genre. While I can't say if his is an accurate depiction of black life in L.A. at the time, it sure "feels" accurate. I've always felt that Mr. Mosley has granted me a window into the black experience, and I'm grateful for that.

I also want to say that there are passages in his work that are so profound and elegantly stated that they leave me awestruck. The only other writer I can say that about is James Lee Burke, and that's pretty good company.

My first issue with Mosley's latest mystery is with the cover of the book. Walter Mosley's name is larger than the title, Blonde Faith. Has Walter tasted so much success that he is now bigger than his art? I am a fan of Easy Rawlings and have read the entire series. This is a sorry attempt at recreating Easy's world. The writing is stilted and seemes labored. Walter Mosley shouldn't have written unless his heart was into it. Easy derserves more and so do his fans.

In post Watts riot Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins knows he must be very careful working as a private investigator as that is against the law for a black man. However, when he comes home he finds eight years old E.D. Black waiting for him. The Vietnamese child says her daddy Christmas dropped her off. Easy fears that his close friend is either in deep trouble or dead.

Easy plans to find Christmas, but he meets black army Captain Miles and two MPs who also want to find Christmas. The Captain hires Easy on behalf of the military, but by their involvement the sleuth knows whatever is going on ties back to when Christmas served in Viet Nam. Easy follows clues that lead to BLONDE FAITH Laneer, who he believes is in the same trouble as Christmas is. He also cannot turn to friend insane Raymond "Mouse" Alexander for help as the police have a bounty to kill him. Already upset with his beloved Bonnie Shay planning to marry someone else and feeling all alone and ancient as he nears fifty he doubts his sleuthing skills while struggling to find a way to save Christmas in order for the detective to obtain some redemption and self esteem.

The latest Easy Rawlins historical mystery is an excellent tale that shows how complex a protagonist the hero is. He has major doubts that he can still do the job and feels guilty over his failed relationship with his soul mate. However, in spite of his anguish and angst, he still must do everything he can to help his buddy. Fans of the series already know how great these novels are; whereas newcomers will scramble for the backlist as few if any authors tell the American black saga during the pre, early and late Civil Rights era better than Walter Mosley consistently does.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (9/07)

"Blonde Faith" is set in Los Angeles in 1967 where racism is running rampant. Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins is a private investigator who is pining after his former girlfriend Bonnie, who he threw out of their house when he discovered she was having an affair with a prince. Now that Bonnie has announced that she is getting married, Easy has difficulty dealing with his regrets. On top of this, he has been left to raise their two adopted children and a good friend leaves his young daughter with Easy after he has run into trouble. However, his problems do not end there. As a recovered alcoholic, he constantly must fight to maintain control. When the military comes looking for information from him regarding a murder thought to have been committed by his friend, Easy becomes involved in an effort to save this friend's life.

Walter Mosley does an excellent job of developing the character of Easy Rawlins. His bitterness about how he was treated in the past because of his race is prominently featured throughout the book. His passion for uncovering the truth irrespective of any possible danger to himself makes him into a respected hero among those around him. His concerns for his friends and family make him human in a sometimes inhumane world. The unexpected ending was an appropriate culmination of the demons that Easy faced.

At times, the pace of this story was too slow. There were also too many minor characters who seem to have no purpose in advancing the story line. It was also confusing because characters were sometimes referred to by their given names and other times were called by nicknames. (I kept forgetting which characters had which nicknames.) I was also somewhat dismayed at how Pericles' children were constantly referred to as "ugly."

"Blonde Faith" is a story about loyalty, friendship and the quest to find the truth. It should be read by adults since it contains some profanity and adult situations. Upon completion of this book, the reader will be left with deep feelings about the situations Easy Rawlins encountered and possibly with a resolve to make things right in the world when presented with such opportunities.

Blonde Faith
Walter Mosley
Little Brown and Co., 2007
ISBN: 13:978-0-316-73549-2
Reviewed by Amelia Emerson for ReviewYourBook.com, 9/07
Easy Rawlins returns...
4 Stars

Easy Rawlins is back in the tenth book of this series. Walter Mosley entwines a multitude of threads to form an intricate tale. It is 1967, Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is a certified private investigator.

Easy regretted his decision to kick Bonnie Shay out of his home the year before, He still loved her and wanted her to come home but his pride prevented him from calling her; now it is too late, she was planning on marrying someone else. However, he is not so torn up that he is not tempted by Tourmaline Goss or Faith Laneer.

Christmas Black is a former Marine, a government trained killer. Christmas has disappeared after leaving his adopted, 8 year old, Vietnamese daughter at Easy's home; he leaves no explanation. Easy suspects the missing man is dead or soon will be. The military is also searching for Black. In his Easy encounters drug dealers and murderers.

Raymond "Mouse" Alexander is Easy's oldest friend and considered the area's most dangerous man. When Etta Mae begs Easy to find her husband, Easy cannot say no. The police suspect Mouse has murdered Pericles Tarr, the father of twelve. Easy's task is to find the man and prove him innocent.

Blonde Faith grabs the reader's attention by beginning with Easy's search for Chevette, a 16 year old runaway. She was working the streets for Porky. Easy won my admiration with the way he interacted with the teen. The talented author interlaced the story of the two missing men and Easy's personal life to give the readers a complicated tale. The focus shifts repeatedly from one investigation to the other to thoughts of Bonnie. Blonde Faith is a page-turner, I eagerly read the whole night, unable to stop until I had finished the story. Easy is a complex character, growing and developing throughout this series. Fans of mystery and suspense will not want to miss Blonde Faith .