Charcoal Joe: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley

Easy thinks his life is settling down finally.  He's got his own detective agency with two other private investigators.  He's going to ask his girl to marry him.  And then life will be great.  Unfortunately, when he goes to his girlfriend's house he finds out she came back from her trip with a new husband.  He's in a wheelchair and not very healthy but she's staying with him because he needs her.  So much for Easy's plans...

Doubleday and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 14th.

This is a series that Mr. Mosley hooked me on long ago.  Easy is not an easy man to be around.  He has friends on both sides of the law.  He does what he must to solve his cases but sometimes there are consequences both for him and because of him.  He's asked to get a young man just out of college out of jail by proving his innocence.  He was in the house looking for his mother and ran across two dead bodies.  The cops  show up next, rough him up and get blood on him, and then accuse him of murder.  There was no weapon but he's black so he's right for the crime.  He talks to the cop he knows and finds out the young man will take the fall unless a killer is found.  Easy doesn't have an easy job.

The story is set in the early 60's.  The world Easy lives in has gangsters, drug runners, money launderers and more.  As he interviews people he finds that most don't care about the dead men.  They care about the money they were stealing that is now missing.  He has to be careful where he steps.  Making any of these men an enemy will result in death.  Even the women aren't safe.

This is another mixed up tale with more than one story being told.  Even Easy's friends are deadly.  Mr. Mosley's stories aren't boring.