Devil in a Blue Dress

An Easy Rawlins Mystery

By: Walter Mosley

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

Hear more of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries.

©2002 Walter Mosley (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Mystery and Suspense, 2010
• Top 100 Mysteries of All Time (Mystery Writers of America)
• 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century (Independent Mystery Booksellers Assn.)

"Richly atmospheric....Devil in a Blue Dress honors the hard-boiled tradition of Hammett/Chandler/Cain in its story line and attitude, but Mosley takes us down some mean streets that his spiritual predecessors never could have.... A fast-moving, entertaining story written with impressive style." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"Ezekiel 'Easy' Rawlins, a young, tough black veteran living in 1948 Los Angeles, only wants respect and enough money to pay his mortgage. When fired from his factory job, however, he undertakes some paid errands for a shady white mobster who wishes to locate a light-haired, blue-eyed beauty. As Easy plumbs his usual hangouts for clues, he relays information to the mobster, runs afoul of the police, meets the mysterious woman, discovers a murder, then investigates in self-defense. An unusually refreshing protagonist...talented prose, and evocative, realistic descriptions of speech, manners, and social life make this an exceptional and welcome addition." ( Library Journal)

Well Done Hardboiled

Easy Rawlins has just lost his factory job and needs to find a way to make money before the the mortgage payment comes due for his home within just a few days. This is the late 1940s and Ezekiel, an African American has returned from the war battle worn and with few illusions, and his house is the one stable thing in his life for which he's willing to fight in order to keep. When a suspicious white man enrols him to find a white girl called Daphne Monet, last seen in one of the illegal bars in the company of a well-known gangster, Easy knows he can't trust the man and questions his motives for wanting to find Daphne in the first place. But money is money and this job pays well... though is he prepared for the most dangerous character in the story, in the shape of a very beautiful and sexy Daphne? This first novel in the Easy Rawlins series has a lot going for it, not least of which the descriptions of a bygone nitty gritty downtown Los Angeles where walking into a bar could be more dangerous than walking the streets at night. The hardboiled atmosphere is palpable and Ezekiel is easy to like, which means I'll more than likely be revisiting this series in near future. Having read this very shortly after the first book in the Harlem Cycle by Chester Himes, I feel confident in saying that Mosley was more than likely influenced by his predecessor, and that can only be a good thing.

Riviting narration, compelling characters

I bought this on a whim and was astounded by what I heard. Michael Boatman’s performance is one of the top 5 among my 300+ Audible books. He made the most of already captivating material. Looking forward to more by both Boatman and Mosley.

Fantastic

Great book. Riveting - keeps on amazing with its twist and turns. I will listen again

I loved it!

Was thinking that I wished it hadn't finished so soon. But the surprise ending was very well done. I highly recommend this book.
(Adult content and language)

GREAT Job to All Involved

A good story. Very interesting, intriguing characters. Going to listen to it again. Enjoyed immensely

Beautiful every time I read or listen!

Boatman is one of the best at truly capturing the feeling and emotion in each of Mosley's characters. his use of inflection and accents as well as having an innate timing for the tone of the dialogue is a breath of fresh air while listening.

Great story, great reader!

Wow! This was such a fun mystery with lots of twists and turns! The story was fast paced and kept me guessing. I loved the historical setting.

The narrator is fantastic! He does very distinct voices for each character, swapping not just the pitch, but different accents and inflections. There are at least two dozen different speaking characters and and they are all completely distinct.

Will definitely be reading more in this series, as long as Boatman is the narrator.

Excellent

Very, very good story, now the rest of the series! The characters are unforgettable.

Better than the Movie

Loved every minute of this novel. It was way better than the movie. Breath taking!

A Special Piece of Detective Genre!!

After seeing the movie by the same name I was not sure I wanted to read the book.....after reading the book, Walter Mosley now has me hooked!! Easy Rawlings is a familiar character if you grew up "Black" in the 60's and 70's....it's "Shaft" in a more modest and real form. I loved "Devil" and cannot wait to continue the journey with Easy!!