Rating: 
Summary: Mystery novel as work of art
Review: "White Butterfly" is in my opinion Mr. Mosley's best work. This is from a devoted fan of his writing. I've read nearly everything he's written and this work stands out for its intrigue, suspense, character development and its microcosmic journey into the harsh realities of American's fixation on race.Intelligent, subtle treatment of the tension which can exist given America's juxtaposition of race, sex, and murder on the life of strong black man struggling with his desire to live the American Dream not the American nightmare- even though there are dream ghosts and phanthoms everywhere. Great, classical work.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Mosley's best work.
Review: "White Butterfly" is in my opinion Mr. Mosley's best work. This is from a devoted fan of his writing. I've read nearly everything he's written and this work stands out for its intrigue, suspense, character development and its microcosmic journey into the harsh realities of American's fixation on race. Intelligent, subtle treatment of the tension which can exist given America's juxtaposition of race, sex, and murder on the life of strong black man struggling with his desire to live the American Dream not the American nightmare- even though there are dream ghosts and phanthoms everywhere. Great, classical work.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Plot Strong Characters
Review: ... Mosley gives us a male character who isn't afraid to cry and when he gets angry he doesn't get violent but does get even. The mystery surrounding the death of the white stripper is cleverly written into the plot and when the clues reveal the killer they all make sense. This series improves with each novel and Easy is turning into a complex person who has demons of his own to battle.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting Thriller
Review: Mosley delivers an exciting mystery novel that once again, centers around the life of Easy Rawlins. Easy is recruited to find the murderer of a young white coed, who happens to be the daughter of a prominent LA Asst D.A. She was also found dead in a mostly black area of Los Angeles and LAPD detectives coerces Rawlins into assisting them with their investigation. Only problem is that Easy is now married with a daughter and has to put his family situation in jeopardy if he decides to offer help. He goes through his usual questioning of witnesses and as usual, he discovers a few surprises in the process. A good thriller but like most Mosley novels, he has too many characters to keep track of. Also, Easy is a borderline alcoholic in this one as he is always coming out of the liquor store or some kind of bar filled with scotch. It's a wonder how he's able to question his witnesses without slurring his speech or staggering all over the place since he's drunk throughout most of the book. A good novel but not one of Mosley's best efforts.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting Thriller
Review: Mosley delivers an exciting mystery novel that once again, centers around the life of Easy Rawlins. Easy is recruited to find the murderer of a young white coed, who happens to be the daughter of a prominent LA Asst D.A. She was also found dead in a mostly black area of Los Angeles and LAPD detectives coerces Rawlins into assisting them with their investigation. Only problem is that Easy is now married with a daughter and has to put his family situation in jeopardy if he decides to offer help. He goes through his usual questioning of witnesses and as usual, he discovers a few surprises in the process. A good thriller but like most Mosley novels, he has too many characters to keep track of. Also, Easy is a borderline alcoholic in this one as he is always coming out of the liquor store or some kind of bar filled with scotch. It's a wonder how he's able to question his witnesses without slurring his speech or staggering all over the place since he's drunk throughout most of the book. A good novel but not one of Mosley's best efforts.
Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: My first Mosley and still my favorite, though I have enjoyed every single one - through Walkin The Dog, Gone Fishin and the Socrates stories. It's interesting how Devil In A Blue Dress and Always Outnumbered translated beautifully into movie/TV presentations. Perfect actors, perfect ambiance. Mr. Mosley must be gratified. I'm always on the lookout for more Easy Rawlins...and Mouse.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Continuation of the Series
Review: The third Easy Rawlins book catches up with the proud black hero in 1956. Fairly prosperous due to his hidden real estate holdings, he's got a pretty young wife and a beautiful baby daughter added to his Los Angeles household. The tension between his shady "street" past and his attempts to domesticate himself is a running theme, as Easy struggles with what it means to be in a trusting and open relationship. One morning the police come knocking, and ask for his help regarding a series of murders. Several black "good time girls" have been killed in recent weeks, but now a white woman is dead too. The police like to use Easy as a kind of unregistered undercover agent in the black community (although given the number of times they troop in and out of his house, you would think people might start to wonder about him). There's the standard stuff about racism that one has come to expect from the series (the police never cared about the murders until a white girl was involved), which doesn't make it less true, just a little less powerful. This time, there's even a black police officer involved in the case--although by the end, he admits to Easy that the notion of working to change the system from within is a lost cause (perhaps a statement of Mosley's own sentiment on American society?). As always, the police aren't really asking for Easy's help, so much as telling him he'd better help.
The investigation leads him back into the street life he's been trying to avoid, and inevitably, there's a bit of a fall that pushes him and his wife further apart. He's not a good communicator, and his binge drinking only causes more problems. Indeed, he drinks so much in this book that it's hard to imagine him actually being able to carry out the investigation as well as he does. The plot grows steadily more convoluted, as evidence of police conspiracy mounts, a trip to Oakland with Mouse uncovers even more murders, and Easy's personal life spirals more and more out of control. The resolution to the murders is kind of a lame letdown, but the drama of Easy's own life makes up for this somewhat. A very bitter book, but one that leaves you wanting to start the next in the series immediately to see how Easy is going to handle the changes in his life.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery novel as work of art
Review: This is a wonderfully crafted novel that takes Easy Rawlins into uncharted emotional waters. I give it four stars instead of five only because I felt the resolution to the mystery aspect of the story was a little too pat. However, the moving and unexpected emotional crisis faced by Easy near the end was truly heartbreaking. As with all the Easy Rawlins books, author Walter Mosley has taken the tried-and-true mystery genre and turned it into a commentary on race and class. Taken together, these books constitute an American masterpiece, and White Butterfly is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Plot Strong Characters
Review: This was my first Mosley/Easy Rawlins mystery and I enjoyed it immensely. It had depth of character and interesting plot twists and turns. I also liked the fact that it was a story about African Americans in 1956 Los Angeles and it didn't rely on the 'N' word for shock value (unlike Ellroy and a few others). I think it was a great introduction to the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction...
Review: This was my first Mosley/Easy Rawlins mystery and I enjoyed it immensely. It had depth of character and interesting plot twists and turns. I also liked the fact that it was a story about African Americans in 1956 Los Angeles and it didn't rely on the 'N' word for shock value (unlike Ellroy and a few others). I think it was a great introduction to the series.
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