Part of Easy Rawlins, book 9
First published 2005
The Watts riots have left Los Angeles in ashes, and Easy Rawlins finds police officers at his door. For once, they need his help rather than his head. A red-haired woman called Little Scarlet gave shelter to a man during the chaos. Witnesses spotted him running from her apartment building. Soon after, someone killed Little Scarlet in brutal fashion. Easy teams up with his dangerous friend Mouse to track down the fleeing man across the city. This suspect holds the key to the murder, but he represents just the starting point. Somewhere in Los Angeles lurks a killer whose burning fury matches the flames that consumed the neighborhood. Easy must navigate the aftermath of civil unrest while hunting a murderer whose violence threatens to ignite again.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Los Angeles, Watts
Period: 1960s
325 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Vision
Content warnings: violence