The Lenoid McGill mysteries by Walter Mosley

[Thumper]

Hello All,

I just finished Walter Mosley's new novel, Known To Evil, the second book in the Lenoid McGill mystery series. I loved it! I know in an earlier thread Crystal wasn't too pleased with it and I'm feeling her on that. I came to the same conclusion about being in mourning from the ending of Mosley's Easy Rawlins series. I did not realize that I was in mourning until I was 3/4 through with The Long Fall. I did not realize how MAD I was at Mosley for that. I know that I did not read any of his books after the last Easy book. What's that old saying about never missing the water til the well runs dry. I wasn't fully conscious that I felt so strongly for those characters and those stories. That notion dawned on me during The Long Fall and Crystal solidified it. Then I knew that I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I have to give it up to Mosley for being the exceptional writer that he is. Because, I'm afraid, Crystal, that Mosley got me hooked again with Lenoid McGill.

While the Lenoid McGill mysteries is Mosley's latest serial, there are a few MAJOR similarities to the Easy Rawlins series. First, the central characters are loners with messy relationship issues. Second, Easy and Lenoid are black men who has Daddy abandonment issues. Third, both men are raising children that are not their own. Fourth, both have a DEADLY best friend in the mix. Easy had Mouse. Lenoid has Hush. But, even with these major similarities; Lenoid is completely unique. There is no way anyhone can confuse Lenoid with Easy. The Long Fall and Known to Evil have a completely different vibe from the Rawlins series, starting with the setting of the stories, Lenoid is in the borough of Manhattan.

Crystal, it's OK to forgive Mosley. He didn't mean to hurt our feelings like that I'm sure.

[Crystal]

Yeah, he’s got me hooked too Thumper. Known to Evil got my attention much more than The Long Fall did. I need to re-read that one to see what I missed. Maybe I should slow down. I still find Mosley just fun to read. These stories do remind me of Easy just a lot darker, meaner, harder. In the Easy stories I felt like I knew or knew of or would like to know someone who was like some of the characters. In the McGill stories I don’t want to know most of those folks. Take the Mouse/Hush thing. I could hang with Mouse a bit but would seriously try to avoid Hush. And in the Easy stories he referenced the bad things that went on but in the McGill stories he TELLS you what those bad things are. Sometime in more detail than I wanted to know. And yeah, he’s still got that woman thing going on. Katrina? My son was all “hell naw” early on in the story.

In that last Easy story I was saying to someone [or was it on this board?] that it seemed different. Easy seemed harder. Maybe Mosley was preparing us for McGill. Welcome to the 21st Century. Makes me kind of sad but, whatever. I’m in.

Crystal

[Linda Chavis]

I agree with you both. I'm loving the McGill character and look forward to the next one. I think we need a movie? Forrest W. as McGill..??

[Crystal]

I can see that Linda. Who'd be Twill? Tiger's wife could be Katrina.

Crystal

[Chrishayden]

My opinion of Mosley is that he is out of gas. It is very difficult to maintain any enthusiasm for a character or setting after you have written more than three or four books about him/her--essentially what you are doing is writing the same book over and over again.

I had given up on his detective series awhile ago. He was making some progress with his SF work, but abandoned it--no doubt at the urging of his publisher and agent, who never wanted him to do it in the first place. He was not helped by the fact that PRINT SF (as opposed to FILM SF) is about dead.

How can ANY writer compete with the Star Wars Trilogy or the Matrix? I ain't seen nobodyyet.

Anyway, based on what I read here I checked out the McGill books.

Mosley is out of gas. Happens to all of us. Carpenters. Cops. Writers.

If he wants to stick with it he needs to get more James Ellroy. Read some Urban fiction. Maybe Frank Miller's Sin City. His Private Dicks with a family and a heart don't cut it.

I understand he has a submission to present positive black male role models--at least as postive as you can with characters who are lying, killing, stealing and breaking into folks' houses and butting their noses into crap that ain't their business.

He's a bright man and very industrious. I think he is bored with it and should move on to teaching and non fiction.