Part of Easy Rawlins, book 1
First published 2002
Easy Rawlins sits in his friend's bar, unemployed and worried about his mortgage payments. The black war veteran lost his defense plant job in late 1940s Los Angeles. A white stranger in a linen suit approaches with a proposition. The man offers substantial payment for a simple task: find Daphne Monet. The missing woman is blonde and beautiful. She spends time at black jazz clubs around the city. Easy needs the money badly enough to take the job. What starts as a straightforward search becomes something more dangerous. The case pulls Easy deeper into Los Angeles's racial tensions and criminal underworld. He must navigate between black and white communities while searching for a woman who may not want to be found. Easy discovers that survival requires more than just finding Daphne Monet.
Genres: historical-fiction, african-american, mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, survival
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 1940s
263 pages · Paperback · Washington Square Press