--- On Fri, 8/29/08, demack5@comcast.net <demack5@comcast.net> wrote:
These things, along with Mosley's great writing style (its like fine poetry, at times) and wonderful characters (like Mouse, who helps Easy when the going gets tough, but creates moral dilemmas for him in the process), make him a great addition to the hardboiled tradition, yet distinct enough to be way more than a Chandler knock-off.
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I think I've read all of Mosley's books so I do enjoy his work, but he's too sentimental for me most of the time. His lead characters become too emotionally involved in The Cause of each story to make these books believable. The villains are bad with no explanation. Real evil people have more depth to them. You don't run into this kind of thing with Tony Hillerman or Ruth Rendell, two authors who tell similar stories to those Mosley tells but are technically better writers. Hillerman's characters are self interested, Rendell's Inspector Wexford is doing the job he's paid to do. Their villains are greedy or mentally ill and both writers explore the reasons for these problems. Mosley's protagonists seem to always have a philanthropic objective that over-shadows all their other purposes. Mouse is easily Mosley's most interesting character. He's a sadist and a bully, but he's loyal and tenacious too. I love his line in DEVIL IN THE BLUE DRESS to the effect:
"If you didn't want him killed, Easy, why did you leave him with me?"
Patrick King
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