Rating: 
Summary: Brown is Bad ¿ and That's Good!
Review: "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" features the long-anticipated return of one of mystery fiction's best characters, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, the hard-living amateur detective who was last seen in "A Little Yellow Dog" (1996). Easy has settled down, living with the woman he loves and his two adopted children, and making a comfortable living as a custodian at the Sojourner Truth Middle School. He doesn't need to do "favors" for friends from L.A.'s South Central community like he once did. But old habits are the hardest to break, and when his pal John comes to him for help, Easy can't resist.John's stepson Brawly has gotten mixed up with a group of radical black activists who are determined to foment revolution - or maybe they're a gang of common criminals looking to make a big score. Either way, Easy knows the territory better than anybody else and is just the man to find out what's going on. Mosley's books have never relied solely on their plots, as the main attraction has always been the sense of time, place, and character which the author so brilliantly weaves. In that sense, this book is no different. Even if the new, domesticated Easy isn't nearly as interesting as the old one - a point which isn't helped any by the absence of his old friend and partner, the murderous Mouse - he still remains a man who draws our fascination like few fictional creations can. Part of the allure of this series has always been the chance to view a troubled, ever-changing America through the eyes of this flawed, but noble black man. Even if the mystery of "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" fails to pique the reader's interest, it is still recommended as a social and historical gem. Reviewed by David Montgomery...
Rating:
Summary: Easy is becoming Bourgeois
Review: "Bad Boy" is a traditional Easy Rawlins mystery, taking place in the 60's. Frankly, I liked the earlier Rawlin's books cuz the character had more energy and had a more licentious life-style. Easy's realization that Chesterfield's were killing him and he should stop smoking (despite their therapeutic effects after tight situations) is interesting, but reminds me too much of my own whitebread life.
Rating:
Summary: Easy is becoming Bourgeois
Review: "Bad Boy" is a traditional Easy Rawlins mystery, taking place in the 60's. Frankly, I liked the earlier Rawlin's books cuz the character had more energy and had a more licentious life-style. Easy's realization that Chesterfield's were killing him and he should stop smoking (despite their therapeutic effects after tight situations) is interesting, but reminds me too much of my own whitebread life.
Rating: 
Summary: Not he Best Murder Mystery Detective Story
Review: ... Mosley decides to write more about aethetics than about he actual mystery...I felt that the book was very very slow and very particular to details about items that looking back are all too unimportant. The Lt, the plain clothes cops etc, the phoen calls from no where. Boring and drawn out ... No excitement in this sleuths life...
Rating:
Summary: not one I would race to the store for
Review: After reading the rest of the reviews I was like did I just read the same book as all these people? This book wasn't as fast paced as the others would have you believe - or atleast I didn't think so. This book was ok and that's the best way to explain it - not something I would rush out to read - but not something that you regret wasting your time with either - the storyline about a man helping out his friend and through that dealing with his own feelings of guilt and grief were different approach to a mystery but it just wasn't heart stopping - hands sweating good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome Back!
Review: Easy is Back! Brawley Brown is missing and Easy Rawlins is hired to find him. It seems so simple but if you know Easy like I know Easy, nothing is ever that simple. So now Easy is back in "Bad Boy Brawley Brown." by Walter E. Mosley. After the death of Easy's partner and the entrance of a new love interest, Easy is working hard and fighting demons. When his friend John calls him and asks for a favor, Easy is a bit hesitant but agrees because John was a long time friend. He was asked to find John's wife's son, Brawley. It seems simple enough but after Easy finds Brawley's father lying dead in the doorway of his aunt's house it goes down hill from there. Taking place on the streets of Los Angles during the 1960's, Easy finds himself in the midst of a Black Revolution, the mafia, and we all know that the police at that time were no real friends to the "Negro". Easy relies heavily on his quick wit and knowledge of the streets to look for Brawley, leading him to solve crimes that he had no intention of knowing about, and saving his own life in the process. Bad Boy Brawley Brown shows us an older Easy that still has all of his instincts but is carrying even more burdens. The absence of "Mouse" is evident throughout the book and as a result it seemed to move a bit slower. I still found myself wrapped up in the storyline and Mr. Mosley has a way of adding elements that really give you an idea of the shady kind of people that Easy always deals with. Despite those few exceptions, I have to say over all I enjoyed it. As a person who has read all of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, except for two (and they are sitting right next to me waiting to be read), I am excited that Easy is back. Kotanya
APOOO Bookclub
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling characters in 1964 Watts--excellent
Review: Easy Rawlins has a real job now, but he still helps his friends, and when his friend John calls on him, Easy means to come through. John's step-son Brawly has vanished and may be running with the wrong crowd. John asks for Easy's help tracking down the young man and making sure that he's safe. But for an African-American in Los Angeles in 1964, little is safe. Revolution is in the air and Brawly is caught up in the movement. Easy suspects that there is more to this particular movement than schools and free lunches--especially when he stumbles over the body of Brawly's father. From then on, Easy has to manage to discover the truth while keeping himself alive. Author Walter Mosley combines a compelling view of black society in Watts and America with an outstandingly well drawn and sympathetic character in Easy Rawlins. Rawlin's world view is simultaneously cynical about the big picture and filled with hope for the small but important things of life. Mosley paints pictures with language, opening the reader's eyes to an understanding that goes beyond simple matters of black and white into real insights into what it means to be human in America. BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN is another outstanding work by Mosley. Fans of the series will find that it delivers everything they expect. Those new to Mosley or to Easy Rawlins will find it easy to start here--and will want to look for the earlier novels in the series as well. Well done.
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Summary: Easy Rawlins Returns!
Review: Easy Rawlins is a hardscrabble, part-time private eye (although he would never call it that) in 1964 Los Angeles. Easy lives the black experience, from the gutter to black men trying to make something of themselves. In this novel, the sixth book of the series, Easy still has his custodial management job at Soujourner Truth public school but part of him will never leave the streets and the danger and he knows it. He has a better life than he could ever have believed possible with his son and daughter, Jesus and Feather, and his woman, Bonnie, who is still new to him. But when he gets the call from an old friend to search for a missing son that may be tied up in the Urban Revolutionary Party, a black group that may be interested in living up to its name, Easy slides gracefully and willingly back into the night's shadows and strides through the dangerous underbelly of 1960s Los Angeles. In no time at all, Easy has run afoul of powerful men. Black and white, cop and criminal, Easy's adversaries are legion and deadly. In no time at all, two men are dead. Both men are tied to the young man that Easy is looking for: Brawly Brown. While searching for Brown, Easy comes face-to-face with several issues of the changing world and the problems that are only now coming to a head in his own life. While his friend John is potentially losing his step-son to the violence starting to break out in the streets, Easy is struggling to keep his own son in school or find a way to make a success of him. Still, the danger and the struggle are stimulus that the streetwise part of Easy Rawlins can never walk away from. Walter Mosley has written five previous Easy Rawlins mysteries, including, DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS which was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington, A RED DEATH, WHITE BUTTERFLY, BROWN BETTY, LITTLE YELLOW DOG, and a prequel of sorts called GONE FISHIN'. He's spawned another series about an ex-con named Socrates Fortlow that features short stories gathered into two volumes so far, ALWAYS OUTNUMBERED, ALWAYS OUTGUNNED and WALKIN' THE DOG. Lawrence Fishburn brought Socrates Fortlow to life in an HBO special. His writing includes SF works such as FUTURELAND and BLUE LIGHT. RL'S DREAM is the mainstream story of an aging blues man. FEARLESS JONES created another 1960s black private eye. And he's contributed two nonfiction volumes discussing the black experience: WORKIN' ON THE CHAIN GANG and BLACK GENIUS. Mosley's writing is easy to read, and his relationship with his readers as he introduces complicated and deep characters is awesome. A reader that picks up one of the Rawlins novels will find and get to know a kindred spirit in no time flat. Although Mosley guides the reader through the alleys and dives in the seamy streets of Los Angeles, he makes certain to reveal the successes and possibilities of other lives that aren't steeped in evil and desperation. The mystery in BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN comes as much from the social changes going on at the time as it does from the dark side of men that has been around since civilization evolved. Although the story is deep and the characters are rich, Mosley tells the tale at a leisurely pace that is reader friendly even to people that are consuming the book while on the go. Read a little or read a lot, Mosley keeps the pages turning and makes certain his readers stay along for the ride. One of the particular delights of this novel was the confrontation between Easy and police officers from the LAPD, and his own recognition of what he does as an unofficial private eye. Although the question of whether Raymond Alexander was actually dead was never answered in this novel, long-time readers will be mostly satisfied with the way Mosley has delayed the revelation. However, the ending came together almost too quickly. A little more tension and spinning out the events would have been welcomed. And the question of Jackson Blue, who stole money from Jesus, Easy's adopted son, wasn't quite answered although the tools to settle the issue were in place. BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN, like any of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, is highly recommended to readers of James Lee Burke, Robert Crais, and Robert B. Parker. Mosley adds a rich and textured surface to the world of his quasi-private investigator that can't be gotten anywhere else.
Rating:
Summary: Back with a Vengeance
Review: Easy Rawlins is back with a vengeance. He is not the same person though; he has lost his closest friend and feels that he will never recover from the hurt. Easy has settled into life as a family man, with a normal 9-5 job and a paycheck at the end of the week. In his opinion, his days as the unconventional private detective Easy Rawlins are well behind him. One day out of the blue Easy gets a call from his old friend John, it turns out that John's stepson Brawley Brown has disappeared and is running with members of a radical political group. Brawley's parents feel that he is entangled in a web of violence and will be harmed in the process. John has always helped Easy without question, so even though Easy doesn't want to look for Brawley, he does. As Easy begins his investigation, he finds himself in the midst of danger. He also discovers that this case is about much more than locating Brawley and returning him home. People in this novel are not always who or what they portray themselves to be. Life for Easy goes beyond being a private detective. In addition to the difficult case, he is dealing with potential problems brewing at home concerning his children. Also the loss of his best friend is on Easy's mind daily and sometimes overwhelms him. Bad Boy Brawley Brown is an intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing. Just when you think you know who the villain is, author Walter Mosley throws a curve ball that will have you thinking otherwise, and in my opinion that makes for the best stories of mystery. I must confess this is my first Walter Mosley novel, but it will not be my last because I enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book. Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!!!!
Review: Easy Rawlins is still trying to accept the alleged death of his long time friend and companion, Raymond " Mouse" Alexander. For three months, Easy is haunted by his own thoughts and doubts - "He's dead becuase of me" and he is in a deep depression. Until he receives a call from John, a freind from Houston who simply wants him to find his step-son, Brawley. In his search for Brawley, Easy enters the world of the Urban Revolutionary, a political group that wants to make life better for the residents of Compton. But there is somehting else going that only Easy can uncover. Through his investigation, readers become reacquainted with Mofass, Jewelle, Odell, Jesus, Feather and the little yellow dog. As Easy searches the dark streets of Compton he recalls lessons he has learned from Mouse and surprisingly one from Fearless Jones that helps him understand the man that he has become. There are plenty of concurrent themes throughout the novel - father/son relationship, foster children, children growing up without parents, grief, depression, child abuse, greed and a parents love for their children. Mosley tied them all together to give his readers a wonderful, suspense novel. What can you say about Walter Mosley! Not enough! He is an extraordinary writer and we are glad to have him and Easy back! You'll find each page is a cliff hanger. Mosley has a way of giving you just enough to make you turn the page to find out more. But pay attention - because as soon as you think you have it solved - you realize that you Mosley is and will always be the Master of mysteries. Peace and Blessings!!
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