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FEAR ITSELF is the second Fearless Jones and Paris Minton mystery. It is the 1950s in Los Angles and the country is still segregated with the black man being the immediate and obvious suspect. Within this mystery, this situation rings true. Fearless and Paris have had something of a troubled past together; Fearless frequently turns to Paris for help that involve both of them getting into a lot of trouble. When Fearless knocks on Paris’s door in the middle of night with a tale, Paris’s first response is to slam the door in his face. Instead Paris lets him in and finds his life turning into another roller coaster ride. Fearless has been asked to find his former boss “the watermelon man” by the man’s wife. This simple request quickly turns into a morass as Paris finds himself involved with the police, a rich black woman and a white man’s empire, not to mention murder, blackmail and kidnapping. Just about everyone he meets in this case wants to pay him for finding something, while several of them also want him seriously injured or dead. It takes a lot of investigation but Paris is finally able to piece together the answers everyone wants; his only goal is to stay alive long enough to get any one of his promised rewards. Mosley’s work is immediately attention grabbing. By placing his book in the 1950s and including the racism that was rampant during this period, Mosley takes a calculated risk. To a younger modern reader, who did not live through this period of history, the terms used and situations described are painful. The racism is not overwhelming yet it colors the actions of all of the characters. Paris and Fearless would not have found themselves in the situation they did if they were white men and this knowledge can be difficult to take. Unfortunately, even if the book were placed in 2003 LA, it would be difficult to know if their situation would have differed all that much. Although a minor element and by no means the driving force of the book, the question of racism and the idea of a modern enlightened time, are subliminally questioned. Another interesting element that confronts the modern reader is the promiscuity of the characters. Although none of these characters had to deal with the threat of AIDS/ HIV and other threatening diseases, they did not have all of the means of birth control that now keep people “safe.” Whether this is suppose to be part of the stereotype that blacks are more lascivious or not is uncertain; however, it is interesting when compared with the more dignified view currently held of this time period. Once the culture shock of a different time period and society is overcome, FEAR ITSELF proves itself as a powerful mystery. The plotting is tight, the characters are interesting and the motives are intricate. Although the book does have incredibly dark moments, at the end there is always a chance for salvation. Walter Mosley is not the type of author that is going to appeal to every reader for the above mentioned reasons (i.e. the historical period he is writing about); however, once he gets a reader hooked, they will be a fan forever.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, June 2003
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