Part of Easy Rawlins, book 8
First published 2003
Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins has found stability working as senior head custodian at Sojourner Truth High School. He owns a house with a garden, lives with a loving woman, and has children. He tries to appreciate this law-abiding life, but happiness eludes him as he grieves his best friend Mouse. The street life refuses to let Easy go. People who cannot trust the law to deliver justice still seek him out. A bomb explodes at his high school. A father's daughter disappears with his employee. A beautiful woman dies, and the man who loved her faces false murder charges. Easy trades favors and investigates cases involving arson, murder, and missing persons. He becomes involved in a killing that police might label murder. These seven stories show Easy as the person communities turn to when they need justice and retribution, even as he struggles to balance his desire for a quiet life with his compulsion to help those the system fails.
Genres: fiction, african-american, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: Sojourner Truth High School
Period: 20th-century
288 pages · Paperback · Atria Books
Content warnings: violence