Little
Scarlet(Easy
Rawlins Mysteries),
by Walter Mosley and Michael Boatman (Narrator)
AUDIO
BOOK
UNABRIDGED: 7½ HOURS ON 7 CDs
In 1965, the race riots in the Watts area
of LA were in their fifth day, and things were beginning to
simmer down when a white man was pulled from his car by an angry
mob and beaten. He escaped into the neighborhood and became
the chief suspect when a young black woman was found brutally
murdered. The police, concerned that this murder of a young
black woman might incite more rioting, convinced a black man
who was well known to the Watts people to help them find the
killer. Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, an amateur sleuth
familiar with the neighborhood, was recruited by the police
to help solve the murder because they knew that no white detectives
could conduct an investigation amidst the violence and racial
tension of the riots.
By the title, one would not expect the story
to involve race riots in Watts in the '60s, but the murder
victim was a young black woman who was known as "Little
Scarlet" because of her reddish hair. This is Mosley's
eighth Easy Rawlins thriller, and with each mystery Easy discloses
more and more of what drives him to live and work the way
he does. The backdrop of the volatile race relations of the
'60s gives Easy the opportunity to voice the pain, anger and
frustration felt by men and women as a result of discrimination.
Mosley's excellent writing and Michael Boatman's
sensitive narration combine to create a vivid portraitof a difficult time in U.S. history. Through Easy's reactions
to the things he sees and the people he meets, we hear Mosley
teaching us what it was like to be an intelligent African
American man in an insane world.
In addition to being a study of Watts in
the time of the riots, this story is a cliffhanger that keeps
the listener tuned in to hear the final results. I liked hearing
the insights of people who could actually have been in Los
Angeles in 1965, and it gave me a greater understanding of
the plight of the people at that time and their reasons for
rioting. I recommend this book both as a thrilling nail-biter
and as a thoughtful history lesson.
