Mulholland
Published September 16, 2025
Reviewed by Mary-Jane Oltarzewski
Each of the novels in Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series, going back to 1990’s Devil in a Blue Dress, stands alone as a compelling murder mystery, populated by a colorful (pun intended) cast of characters. Taken together, however, they are, as Mosley says, “kind of like a twentieth-century memoir, a fast-paced unspooling of events that came from a people … that had been fighting for liberation and equality longer than any living soul could remember,” who have “worked hard, suffered terribly, and despite all that, made this country a shining example, a beacon of freedom in the face of freedom denied.” This description, while absolutely accurate, overlooks an important aspect of the “memoir” : the development and maturation of Ezekiel Rawlins, from an embittered loner stalking the dark streets of post-war L.A. , to a man deeply committed to protecting his own family, and other families as well.