DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (Easy Rawlins Mysteries)

A 'pretty good' noir novel. The 1940s African American setting (Watts) and characters make the story a bit out of the norm. My major complaint is that I found the reading slow (a stylistic or brain thing, I suppose). I suspect many noir detective genre fans will find this a better book than I did.

For a book in a genre that relies on convention and pastiche, this is an incredibly fresh and, most strikingly, lean work.

"[She] was death herself. I was glad that she was leaving. But I would have taken her in a second if she asked me too."

With an atmosphere flowing smooth as West Coast jazz, there's a strong sense of time and place, although Mosley doesn't beat you over the head (like some authors) with signposts of the 1940s.

Not going to send you into deep philosophical thought, but it's a good story with interesting characters and a perfectly LA noir atmosphere.