Devil in a Blue Dress Audiobook By Walter Mosley cover art

Devil in a Blue Dress

An Easy Rawlins Mystery

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Devil in a Blue Dress

By: Walter Mosley
Narrated by: Michael Boatman
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Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.Hear more of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins mysteries.©2002 Walter Mosley (P)2009 Audible, Inc. African American Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Hard-Boiled Literary Fiction Literary History & Criticism Mystery Noir Private Investigators Series Essentials Crime

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Winner, Mystery and Suspense, 2010
  • Top 100 Mysteries of All Time (Mystery Writers of America)
  • 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century (Independent Mystery Booksellers Assn.)
"Richly atmospheric....Devil in a Blue Dress honors the hard-boiled tradition of Hammett/Chandler/Cain in its story line and attitude, but Mosley takes us down some mean streets that his spiritual predecessors never could have.... A fast-moving, entertaining story written with impressive style." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"Ezekiel 'Easy' Rawlins, a young, tough black veteran living in 1948 Los Angeles, only wants respect and enough money to pay his mortgage. When fired from his factory job, however, he undertakes some paid errands for a shady white mobster who wishes to locate a light-haired, blue-eyed beauty. As Easy plumbs his usual hangouts for clues, he relays information to the mobster, runs afoul of the police, meets the mysterious woman, discovers a murder, then investigates in self-defense. An unusually refreshing protagonist...talented prose, and evocative, realistic descriptions of speech, manners, and social life make this an exceptional and welcome addition." ( Library Journal)

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Compelling Noir Mystery • Vivid Historical Setting • Excellent Narration • Complex Protagonist • Authentic Dialogue
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Wonderful story with fantastic characterization and dialogue. The narrator is amazing I think he captured the essence of the characters really well.

Black Noir at its finest

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Good mystery and good character. The relationships are complexed. I enjoyed the old fashion detective mystery.

Real good

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Excellent story! The narrator held me hostage in a good way. If ALMOST straight through!

Excellent story! The narrator held me hostage.

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got this booknright after i hqd finished the latest Dresden files book and was lookingbfor something to fill that void. This story totally did the trick! not only did the plot keep menriveted but the themes about racial prejudice and discrimination are still so relevant today. totally woke 5/5

Scratched my detective noir itch

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I accidentally stumbled upon this series of books. Smart, well-written and complex motive arising out of base human desires. Plus, EZ solves the mystery without relying on superhuman reasoning, observation or intuition.

I'm definitely listening to more in this series.

EZ is smart fun

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book because it is well-written and centered in the African American community which is a perspective not covered enough.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was unpredictable and engaging, keeping us interested and eager to hear what came next. It was more violent than we expected and seemed more realistic in some ways, not your usual "turn the bad guys in to the authorities" ending.

What about Michael Boatman’s performance did you like?

Good dialect work. Easy to listen to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

We listen as we drive across country so we listen to one or two books in each direction from California to Illinois. We definitely wanted to return to the book when we were comfortably on our way.

Good story, well read by narrator.

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Great story!! The characters were amazing. The story flowed from the beginning to the end.

Summary

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I Loved the movie. And love the book even more.I dig EZ..but Mouae is MY FAVORITE Character. I will be reading and listening to the next in the series. Thanks Walter.& Michael Boatman.*This is my 3rd time listening 🤭🙃🥰

The Mouse..

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_Devil in a Blue Dress_ receives five stars from me. The characters, the plot, the asides--are all great bits of literature, and I enjoyed it all.

This was an audiobook read by Michael Boatman. How about a wow for that guy! I love the voices he choose for the characters. They were rich in variety. His interpretation of the characters, and the narrator is excellent. I enjoyed his work and will buy a book narrated by him again.

The book. OK, I'm a late bloomer on Mosley, and that is my loss. The writing is great. I love the way he gave us background on Easy throughout the novel. The plot is not straight forward by not direct either. It moves as a mystery should. I also enjoyed how the novel starts out with one "mystery" and changes as the novel progresses. I loved how Easy isn't a detective at the beginning but kind of falls into.

Recommended: yes. I will be reading the next as well.

great novel, but WOW! performance!

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Loved the characters and storyline. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

A real page turner

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