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BAD BOY BRAWLY BROWN by Walter Mosley Little, Brown & Company, July 2002 311 pages $24.95 ISBN: 0316073016 Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

This is the seventh of Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels, dealing with Rawlins' search for a boy in trouble. Easy is looking for Brawly Brown, a boy who has got into a lot of trouble with a secretive black group, working to reject white leadership and laws. Easy quickly discovers that that the trouble Brawly is in is only the tip of the iceberg and it is not long before his own life is in danger.

In Easy Rawlins, Mosley has created a complex character. Setting his novels in the LA of the Sixties is one challenge, but to develop a freethinking, profound black man who is willing to work with the whites is an even greater one. Mosley writes in dialect, spelling the words as they are pronounced and whilst this may be disconcerting at first, it adds authenticity to the novel.

There is a whole cast of characters, including Mouse Alexander, who may or may not have died at the end of the previous novel. Mosley craftily keeps the reader guessing in this respect, perhaps wondering if there is a possibility of his return in a future novel. The great mix of interesting characters may make some readers confused, due to the swiftly changing locales and intricate plot. However, Rawlins' aim is clear – to find the boy, get away from crime and back to his normal life.

It makes a change to read a book set in the near past and the story works well, portraying a society where the black man has yet to achieve equality and the white man is still very much in control. Mosley has powerful talent as a storyteller and his fans will love this latest addition to the Rawlins' collection. For first-time readers, however, it is advisable to read the series from the start in order to avoid spoilers.

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Reviewed by Luke Croll, January 2003

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