Part of Easy Rawlins, book 2
First published 2004
Easy Rawlins sits across from a tax officer who has done his homework. The man knows about three properties Easy acquired between 1948 and 1952. He knows Easy's reported income could never cover those purchases. The offer comes wrapped as a choice, but Easy recognizes blackmail when he hears it. The government wants him to infiltrate First African Baptist, his own church, and watch the local radicals. Easy thought he had left the private detective business behind, but the IRS has other plans. He takes the assignment, but bodies start dropping. The Los Angeles Police Department decides Easy makes a convenient suspect. They care little about the survival of freelance investigators, especially black ones. Easy must navigate between federal handlers who own him, local cops who want him gone, and a community he is secretly betraying.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, investigative-journalism
Setting: First African Baptist, Los Angeles
Period: 1948-1952
284 pages · Hardcover · Serpents Tail
Content warnings: death, murder, racism