Little Scarlet 
By Walter Mosley

     This story is set in the aftermath of the 1965 L.A. riots. In this installment of the Easy Rawlins series, Easy is asked by the police to help them find out what happened to a woman known on the streets as Little Scarlet. He has no witnesses and only the words of her aunt who isn't well.

     Easy's search takes him to places in his own neighborhood that the police fear to tread and to white neighborhoods where an African American man is not welcome. They feel that by sending Easy to investigate they can control the outbreak of further racial tension. Will Easy be able to get the information they need? Will Easy's own racial feelings help or hurt this case and the investigation into Little Scarlet’s death? Easy relies on friends, criminals, and people he has little reason to trust including a white police officer named Suggs. Will Suggs back Easy up or will he leave him to rely on his own methods to investigate who killed Little Scarlet?

    Mr. Mosley takes the reader into a time where racial tensions affected every facet of the lives of the people who lived and worked in the Watts area of Los Angeles. They lived in a time where the first thing anyone saw was skin color and everyone's motives were in question. This is an interesting weave between crime, human nature, and decisions based on race. I really enjoyed this story. Mr. Mosley has created some very vibrant and interesting characters.