Review of "Farewell, Amethystine: An Easy Rawlins Mystery" by Walter Mosley

 

 In this 16th book in the 'Easy Rawlins' series, the private detective's search for a missing man morphs into a complicated saga.

*****

It's 1970, and middle-aged Ezekiel (Easy) Rawlins has come a long way since his early days as a struggling private investigator in Los Angeles.



Now a financially secure private detective and real estate dabbler, Easy has a luxurious home, which he currently shares with his teenage daughter Feather - a swimming champion;



and his adopted son Jesus, along with Jesus's wife and baby daughter. Easy is a wonderful father and grandfather, and does his best to keep his work life separate from his family life.



Easy's successful private detective agency has three sleuths and a receptionist, and as the book opens, a new case walks in the door.



A beautiful alluring Black woman called Amethystine Stoller wants Easy to find her ex-husband, a White forensic accountant called Curt Fields, who's vanished. Easy is captivated by Amethystine, who reminds him of his first love Anger Lee, and he takes the case.

A Black man like Easy has to be careful in 1970s southern California. Los Angeles is a toxically racist city, and dark-skinned men are constantly at risk of being stopped by the cops - and beaten or arrested - for no reason at all. Truth be told, for Easy there might be a reason. Some of the sleuth's best friends are thieves and killers, and Easy is no stranger to deadly violence himself.



In any case, Easy reaches out to a White LAPD cop called Melvin (Mel) Suggs, who happens to be a friend, for information about Curt Fields.



Easy learns that Mel is in hiding to avoid arrest, having been accused of wrongdoing by a (corrupt) fellow officer. Easy needs to locate Mel to get information about Curt Fields, and the PI sets out to find the cloistered cop.

From this point on, the story gets VERY complicated. In a nutshell, the Curt Fields case is connected to Mel Suggs in a roundabout way, and the whole business involves prostitutes, blackmail, gamblers, Las Vegas casinos, various family members, and so on. People end up dead, and Easy contacts his best friends, the criminals Mouse Alexander and Fearless Jones, for help.





During his investigation, Easy visits various places in southern California; speaks to lots of people; has run-ins with police officers; gets drugged and beaten; has sex with several women (who apparently find Easy irresistible); deals with a dead body; and eventually resolves the cases.



On the bright side, Easy enjoys his lovely home; makes meals for his family; plays with his grandbaby; hobnobs with his friends; has fond memories of his first love Anger Lee; and more.



Author Walter Mosley is well-known for his gritty stories, authentic dialog, depiction of racial strife, etc. I liked the book from that point of view, but was less enamored with the byzantine plot. Still, I'd recommend the novel to fans of Elmore Leonard, and to readers who enjoy unflinching suspense tales

 Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Great Hippopotamus Hotel: A No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel" by Alexander McCall Smith

In this 25th book in the 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series - set in Gaborone, Botswana - the sleuths look into mischief at a popular hotel and a man having a midlife crisis. The book can be read as a standalone but familiarity with the characters is a bonus.





*****

Mma Precious Ramotswe is the founder of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and Mma Grace Makutski is the self-appointed joint managing director. The ladies acquired their sleuthing skills from a book called 'The Principles of Private Detection' by Clovis Anderson, whose wise counsel is sprinkled throughout the story.

One day, Mma Ramotswe is approached by a man called Quick Babusi, manager of the Great Hippopotamus Hotel.





Babusi explains that the establishment was doing well until things started to go wrong. Misfortunes include food poisoning in the dining room; guests' laundry going missing from the drying line; a carpet ruined by a bathroom flood; a lodger being stung by a scorpion in his room; and more. Babusi confides, "There were bad reviews, and once that starts it's very difficult to stop it."



Babusi goes on to say that the hotel had been owned by Mr. Goodman Tsholofelo, who ran it successfully for many years. Now elderly, Mr. Tsholofelo has given the hostelry to his three relatives: two nephews - businessmen named H.J. Morapedi and Pardon Morapedi;



and a niece called Diphimotswe - who owns a dress shop.



Babusi manages the hotel for this trio, and fears the demise of the hotel will threaten his position and the jobs of his staff.



As it happens Mma Ramotswe falls ill, and the hotel case is taken over by Mma Makutsi, who's happy to be temporary head of the detective agency.



When Mma Makutsi learns that Mr. H.J. Morapedi, who's married, has 'become friendly' with beautiful husband-stealing Violet Sephotho, the detective is appalled.



Mma Makutsi detests Violet, and believes Violet and H.J. are sabotaging the Great Hippopotamus Hotel for their own nefarious purposes. Mma Makutsi sets out to prove it, and as sometimes happens, Mma Makutsi's shoes talk to her about the matter. And this time, a little boy hears the shoes as well!

 

Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe helps her husband, mechanic J.L.B. Matekoni - owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors - with a tricky problem.



A Speedy Motors client, 60-year-old Mo Mo Molala, has asked J.L.B. to find him a red Italian sports car.





Mr. Molala plans to purchase the car in secret, and not tell his wife. J.L.B feels he has to help Molala because Speedy Motors gets a big chunk of business from Molala's brother, who runs the biggest car rental firm in the country.

Mma Ramotswe STRONGLY disapproves of the car purchase and the spouse deception. She recalls Clovis Andersen's principle: "Men do things to attract the attention of women. Once you understand that, you will begin to understand men." Thus Mma Ramtoswe feels she must set things right.



Things aren't always as they seem, and by the end of the book, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are satisfied with their work.

Much of this series' charm revolves around the insight and kindness of Mma Ramotswe, who loves Botswana and Botswanans, but acknowledges that people can go astray. In those cases, Mma Ramotswe feels wrongdoers should be guided back with a feather rather than a cudgel.



It's always a pleasure to visit with the series' recurring characters, including the mechanic Charlie, whose irreverent remarks (purposely) irritate Mma Makutsi; Mma Makutsi's husband, furniture store owner Phuti Radiphuti, who has good business sense; and Mma Potokwane, director of the Orphan Farm and baker of delicious fruit cakes.



As always, I enjoyed the book. My major grumble is that, with Mma Ramotswe sick and stuck at home, she and Mma Makutsi don't have their usual cups of tea and fun conversations.

Thanks to Netgalley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Pantheon for a copy of the book.

 Rating: 3.5 stars